How Avril Lavigne And Mod Sun Got Together (And Why They Split)
What's really went on with Avril Lavigne and Mod Sun (aka Derek Ryan Smith)? The pop/punk singer has had quite the rollercoaster love life in the public eye since she shot to fame in 2002 when she dropped her debut single, "Complicated," before launching a plethora of other major hits into the world, including "Sk8er Boi," "Girlfriend," and "What the Hell."
Lavigne was famously married to Sum 41's Deryck Whibley from 2006 until 2010, with Lavigne claiming in a since-deleted statement on her website that they were still on good terms despite their split. "Deryck and I have been together for six-and-a-half years. We have been friends since I was 17, started dating when I was 19, and married when I was 21. I am grateful for our time together, and I am grateful and blessed for our remaining friendship," she said. Proving she clearly has a thing for rockers, Lavigne later went on to marry again, this time walking down the aisle with Nickelback's Chad Kroeger in 2013. The two didn't waste much time either, as Kroeger popped the question a mere month and six days after they met. But this one also just wasn't meant to be. The former couple went their separate ways in 2015, with Lavigne confirming the news in a deleted Instagram post.
Then there was Mod Son. And things didn't exactly end happily there, either.
How did Avril Lavigne and Mod Sun meet?
This relationship all came about because of a love of music. It's thought the now-former couple met as a result of a collaboration, as they teamed up to co-write their duet "Flames," which they released back in January 2021. The song was technically Mod Son's and featured Lavigne, as it was included on his album "Internet Killed the Rockstar." The two also fanned the romance flames (pun intended) when they appeared together in the music video.
Music producer John Feldman, who co-wrote "Flames" with the new couple, actually seemed to be the one who outed the love birds, as he first shared Instagram snaps of them all in the studio together back in December 2020, and the gang sure looked pretty happy to be working on new music together. The images even included a picture of Lavigne sitting on her now ex-boyfriend's knee as he playfully sat on Feldman's lap.
Lavigne wasn't shy when it came to opening up about how well they got along during that early stint in the studio, either. "Mod and I had an immediate connection from the first day in the studio," she told "Entertainment Tonight Canada" in 2021. "He's an incredible artist and producer. ['Flames'] is the first of many." And it was.
They've collaborated on plenty of music
"Flames" doesn't mark the only time Avril Lavigne and Mod Sun worked together — even though it almost didn't happen. Mod Sun revealed that it took a lot of courage to ask Lavigne to actually collaborate with him, recalling to Metro in February 2021: "I finally got the guts to ask her, and I was like 'Yo, there's no one else on my album — I want so badly for you to be on my album as the only person that appears besides myself on it, and you said you really liked that 'Flames' song.'"
Clearly all that begging worked, as it wasn't just the one song they ended up working on together. Lavigne and Mod Sun also collaborated behind the scenes on her album "Love Sux," which she dropped in February 2022. Mod Sun is one of three producers credited on the album, alongside John Feldman and none other than Blink-182's Travis Barker. But he's not just a co-producer on every single song. The musician also collaborated with his ex on the writing side of things too. The impressive writing trip is that Lavigne, Mod Sun, and Feldman struck again to pen the album's lead single "Cannonball."
That's not all, though. Lavigne and the man who would eventually propose to her duetted again on the song "Shelter," which features on Mod Sun's album "God Save The Teen" — which awkwardly dropped in February 2023, the month of their reported split.
They made their red carpet debut at the MTV Video Music Awards
Avril Lavigne and Mod Sun made their red carpet debut at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12. The two showed off similar looks as Lavigne rocked a pink plaid suit with a large cut-out over her torso and a sparkly bra with black platform shoes. As for Mod Sun? He sported a punk rock look too in a black suit covered in patches over a white shirt and black tie. He also showed off his rocker side with bright green hair and sunglasses.
The twosome's red carpet walk appeared to do all the talking, but they still talked too. The two chatted with Access, as Mod Sun gushed of his girlfriend, "I'm so lucky to be standing next to an icon." He added, "I just get to stand next to her and that is the luckiest part of my entire life pretty much," and they flashed big smiles when the interviewer commented on how cute they looked together. Just in case that wasn't enough confirmation, the two also planted a kiss on each other's lips during their night out.
The PDA came a few days after Lavigne called him "my love" in an Instagram tribute, to which he replied, "I love u so much... Ur an absolute icon + the most beautiful thing on this planet." Aww!
Mod Sun tattooed Avril's name on him
Mod Sun was clearly pretty taken with Avril Lavigne from the very start. So taken, in fact, that he was willing to put it in ink. The singer went as far as to get Lavigne's name tattooed on the back of his neck in February 2021, proving he was in it for the long haul.
Fans got their first look at his inking (a large A with a circle around it, followed by the rest of her name in slightly smaller letters) in a pretty sweet way too, as it made the headlines after TMZ paparazzi filmed him and his then-girlfriend enjoying a date night together. There was some speculation at the time that Mod Sun may have opted for a temporary tattoo to show off his love for the "What the Hell" singer, though a source close to the musician quickly shut down that talk. They made it pretty clear that he wasn't doing things by halves, telling People, "[He would] never get a temporary tattoo." The insider also confirmed that the two had been getting closer, sharing that they'd spent almost every day together for around two months working on music in the studio.
Mod Sun dedicated a song to his 'girl'
Ah, young love! At least, it was, anyway. As if getting Avril Lavigne's name tattooed across the back of his neck wasn't enough, Mod Sun also wanted to show off his love in song. Just like Jennifer Lopez's "Dear Ben," or Ariana Grande's "Pete Davidson," he didn't make much of a secret of who he was singing about, either. Titled "Avril's Song," the track featured on his February 2023 released album "God Save the Teen" — and it featured some pretty telling lyrics. "She is the only one who cared/That's why I get so scared/That one day, I'll wake up and she won't be there (she won't be there)/I'm such a basket case/I want my casket laced/With pictures of your face (of your face)," he sings.
Mod Sun also opened up about the song and his relationship with Lavigne in a now very bittersweet interview, telling Rolling Stone the same month as the album's release, "I'm so fortunate to be in this really healthy relationship ... [Lavigne] balances being this total bada** rockstar with being a grown up and being like, it's cool to do that. And she has really shown me that in so many ways and it's just made my future so much more exciting." He then added of the song, "I have a song that I wrote specifically for my girl and I know that it's going to end up being something that so many other people connect to."
Avril Lavigne and Mod Sun got engaged in Paris
Mod Sun is clearly a very romantic kind of guy. In addition to him professing his love via love songs and tattoos, the singer seemed to think long and hard about how he could make his proposal to Avril Lavigne as romantic as possible. And what's more romantic than Paris?
Yep, this was a real traditional popping the question, as Mod Sun got down on one knee in front of the Eiffel Tower. He shared several photos from the uber-romantic moment on Instagram in April 2022, even writing a touching poem in the caption. "The day we met I knew you were the one. Together forever til our days are done. I had a dream where I proposed in paris. I pulled out a ring + asked you to wear it. I was on one knee as I looked in your eyes. You're too beautiful for my words to describe. I grabbed your hand + took one last breath... I said 'will you marry me?' + she said 'yes,'" he captioned the upload, finishing off his adorable message by professing his love. As if this couldn't get any cuter, he even gave her a heart-shaped ring, and they enjoyed a boat ride scored by a violinist.
Lavigne also shared proposal photos on Instagram, including giving her followers a look at the bunch of red roses he bought her. Writing in French, she confirmed she said yes.
He's called her his 'soulmate'
Keeping on the romance train, as we know, Mod Sun made absolutely no secret of just how much he loved Avril Lavigne — even publicly calling her his "soulmate" on more than one occasion. He repeatedly shared lengthy, gushing messages about the "Complicated" hitmaker on his Instagram account, alongside posting several sweet photos of them together.
In one now very bittersweet post from May 2022, he wrote, "Here's the truth, if you are lucky enough to find your soulmate in this world cherish it everyday with your entire heart." He then shared how fortunate he was to have just returned from a major tour, noting, "... The best part was I got to share that experience with the love of my life. I do not take that lightly."
Mod Sun then got gushy again in September 2022 when he shared two Instagram photos of himself and Lavigne getting cozy in celebration of her birthday, including one image that showed them locking lips in front of the Eiffel Tower. The star posted another lengthy caption including a super sweet poem, writing in part, "To my soulmate, you are such a gift in this world + to say I'm lucky to share a life with you is the understatement of the century ... not to mention you are also the most beautiful woman that's ever walked this earth."
Avril Lavigne reportedly ended her engagement to Mod Sun
So much for her happy ending. After all that love gushing, this is going to be tough to read if you're a lover of love. Mod Sun and Avril Lavigne reportedly split in February 2023, when a source claimed to People that they'd actually been on rocky ground since the start of the year. "Avril and Mod Sun have been on and off for the past two months, but are no longer together as a couple," a source told People. TMZ reported it was Lavigne who supposedly made the decision to call time and also claimed there wasn't thought to be any infidelity.
That didn't stop the rumor mill from churning after Lavigne was spotted at dinner with Kylie Jenner's ex, rapper Tyga. But not so fast if you think Tyga had anything to do with the end of her engagement or there's a new romance brewing. "Avril and Tyga are genuinely friends and nothing more. There was absolutely no third party involved in the split," People's source said.
Exactly what's going on with the two, though, is still all a little up in the air. Neither officially confirmed the breakup rumors, though Mod Sun's rep did tell People, "They were together and engaged as of three days ago when Mod left for tour so if anything has changed that's news to him." Notably, all their pics of each other are still on their Instagram accounts too. Watch this space ...