The Truth About JP Saxe And Julia Michaels' Relationship
JP Saxe and Julia Michaels have been happily dating since 2019 — but the pair, who have also collaborated on music together, haven't always felt the warm fuzzies in relationships.
Michaels released the disco-influenced pop banger "Lie Like This" in October 2020, showing off a new freeing side to herself that's full of love and happiness. The exciting and bold new single was inspired by Saxe, with some of its lyrics even related to a sweet interchange between the two. Michaels told People she was laying in bed with Saxe and went to Spiderman kiss him — referring to the steamy upside-down kiss between Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Macguire in the film franchise — when he told her, "You're pretty upside down." Keeping a mental note of the interaction, Michaels then got back into the studio and began writing "Lie Like This."
The playful song is a far cry from her debut hit "Issues," which discusses problematic relationships, and also her relatable hit "Anxiety," a collaboration with friend Selena Gomez. But Michaels hopes fans will still find comfort in her boppy new musical direction after she experienced heartbreak and self-confidence issues before dating Saxe. Here's a look inside their relationship and what makes it so special.
Julia Michaels said she's 'thriving' after dating 'narcissists'
Julia Michaels told People her new album is full of firsts, particularly when it comes to the way she talks about love. "This is the first time I've written about love where I'm not pessimistic about it and bitter about it," she said. For example, a couple of months after Michaels broke up with her then-boyfriend electronic producer Lauv, she released the brooding heartbreak song "What a Time" in collaboration with Niall Horan. "It feels really good to just write about love and write about healthy love, because I feel like it's just not something that really happens very often anymore. She's thriving," Michaels told People.
Lauv and Michaels dated for just two months and may have ended on bad terms. Shortly after their breakup, Michaels posted a resolution on Instagram, per E! News. She wrote: "No more dating narcissists," before proceeding to share a series of posts describing possible narcissistic traits.
But Michaels was full of glowing positivity about her current beau, calling JP Saxe a "good human" and "supportive." She told People, "He's just a good human. He's a good human. He's supportive. He's caring. He's genuinely a beautiful person, and that goes a long, long way in a relationship. And he puts up with all my BS which is nice — always helps!"
The couple first met while recording their poignant duet "If The World Was Ending" in mid-2019 and instantly felt a connection to one another.
Julia Michaels and JP Saxe said sparks flew the first time they met in the studio
Julia Michaels and JP Saxe must have known they had something magical when they wrote their first song together in an hour and a half — on the day they met. Saxe told E! News his first impressions of Michaels were rather bold: he immediately felt that she was his "favorite person in the whole world." He said, "It seems crazy to say after just meeting her, but it just seems like it's going to be true." Similarly, Michaels was equally gushing, saying she couldn't get over how "cute" he was. The duet, "If the World Was Ending," at its core isn't very romantic — it's inspired by an earthquake that struck Los Angeles a few weeks prior to recording — but somehow the couple's chemistry reverberated in the booth.
Michaels and Saxe officially confirmed their relationship in January 2020, almost six months after "If the World Was Ending" was released. However, fans began speculating the two were involved after they shared PDA-filled photos to their respective Instagram Stories, per E!. It wasn't until Saxe shared a touching tribute to his late mom that he truly revealed his "love" with Michaels.
Julia Michaels has given JP Saxe some of his 'happiest moments'
JP Saxe posted a lengthy statement to Instagram at the beginning of 2020 where he reminisced on the year before. He began by saying, "Somewhat delayed 2019 thoughts.. but.. in a lot of ways this photo sums up my year." The picture accompanying the caption shows him and Julia Michaels next to his mom in the hospital. Saxe explained that four days after being told his mom had just months to live due to cancer, coincidence would have it that he "met a girl in a writing session" who he shortly fell in love with. He said watching his mom lose her cancer battle was the "saddest thing" he's ever experienced, but 2019 did present some of his "happiest moments" also. He then reminisced on his mom watching his performance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon! and called it "pretty cool." Saxe, who performed his duet with Michaels on the show, subtly referred to her as being his rock: "I was on that stage with a person I love and who has loved me through all of this with more generosity and compassion than I know how to believe." Saxe concluded the caption by saying while it was the "worst year" it was "kinda the best one too," which he'll "never forget." We're sure Michaels has "No Issues" with that comment at all.