Real-Life Love
Look Back at Sabrina Carpenter’s Romances That Have Inspired Her Music: Barry Keoghan & More
“It’s time!” Mariah Carey announces every November 1 to ring in the holiday season, and this year’s bound to be a great one. Everyone’s favorite 4’11” pop star has her very own Netflix special coming out on December 6, A Nonsense Christmas With Sabrina Carpenter.
A variety of other icons are joining her, like Chappell Roan and Quinta Brunson, so it’s going to be a special to remember. Sabrina Carpenter is known for her fun music that can make everyone stand up and dance, but also for her witty humor, perfectly-styled ensembles, and for always being on the nose of pop culture.
Before you head into the Carpenter universe, it’s necessary to look back at some of her muses that have inspired her music over the years. Rumored to have dated Dylan O’Brien and Griffin Gluck in the past, these two past lovers have not made the in-depth cut. Scroll down below to read all about the others in Sabrina Carpenter’s love life.
Barry Keoghan
Dimitrios Kambouris / Jon Kopaloff / Getty Images
The Irish actor has been making waves with critically acclaimed roles like Dominic Kearney in The Banshees of Inisherin and Oliver Quick in Saltburn. Shooting into superstardom in 2023, the Oscar nominee and Carpenter became an item, gracing red carpets together as they jet-setted across the world. Both enjoying career highs, it’s no wonder they connected so well. He was also seen supporting his then-girlfriend at Taylor Swift‘s The Eras Tour in Singapore.
How did Barry & Sabrina meet?
They reportedly met at Paris Fashion Week in 2023, and the couple’s relationship was thrust into the open when photos of Carpenter and Barry Keoghan hanging out together in Los Angeles in December 2023 were released. They were seen cozying up together during the awards season circuit, and by the time the Met Gala came around, the two were no longer shying away from seemingly confirming their romance.
In June 2024, Keoghan even played Carpenter’s love interest in her “Please Please Please” music video.
Why did Sabrina & Barry break up?
Claims of them having an on-again-off-again relationship came to light earlier this year, but this time it might actually be over for good. With insider sources confirming the split to PEOPLE, Entertainment Tonight, and Us Weekly, no one knows for sure where these two stand.
PEOPLE‘s source is the most optimistic in thinking they could potentially revisit their burning flame one day, while Us Weekly is certain that Carpenter and Keoghan won’t get back together. “Sabrina and Barry are broken up. They had a little bit of a break a few months ago, but this break was very recent,” the source said. Friends don’t believe “they’re getting back together.”
Rumors of The Batman star cheating on the “Espresso” hitmaker have making the rounds, as influencer Breckie Hill, who was claimed to be involved, has been indirectly sharing information about the alleged misstep.
Joshua Bassett
Rebecca Sapp / Getty Images for The Recording Academy / Frazer Harrison / Getty Images
One of Carpenter’s most talked-about relationships is, of course, the one between her and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series alum Joshua Bassett.
When Olivia Rodrigo rose to fame with the breakout hit “drivers license,” fans quickly noticed the connection between Bassett and Carpenter. After all, the superstar did sing about a “blonde” who was “so much older” than her.
This romance became even more of a hot topic when Rodrigo’s second single “Deja Vu” included hints that it could also be about the “Nonsense” singer’s relationship with her ex.
What happened between Sabrina & Joshua?
After all that drama, the couple slowly fizzled out. With fans of both parties coming to social media to bash the other artists, Carpenter and Bassett must have gone through a tough time.
The confirmation of their split was announced on September 2021 when Carpenter took to TikTok to explain her track “Skinny Dipping,” which talked about her recent romantic separation. She also confirmed that she was single.
Since then, the former Disney Channel star hasn’t spoken much about Bassett, but she did open up to Zane Lowe about going through her worst breakup in 2021, the year she was linked to the “Lie Lie Lie” singer.
“I was heartbroken two years ago. I was in a really, really different mental place,” Carpenter said during the episode. “For me, that was truly my first heartbreak. And so I think when you’re going through something like that, you question everything about yourself and you take it really personal.”
Did she write a song about him?
Yes, even her hit “Espresso” is allegedly about him. In the Zane Lowe interview she admitted, “That’s why even [the phrase] ‘my give a f–ks are on vacation,’ it’s such a simple funny line, but so much of this song really kind of gets to a place where it really measures up with where I’m at right now, and you have to go through life to get there.” She added, “I think there’s a big difference between two years ago and now, but I’m just having fun, which I think is the biggest difference.”
Another famous song of hers “Because I Liked a Boy” is supposedly about the famous love triangle with Rodrigo. In the track, she sings, “Now I’m a homewrecker, I’m a slut / I got death threats filling up semi-trucks / Tell me who I am, guess I don’t have a choice / All because I liked / I’m a hot topic on your tongue / I’m a rebound gettin’ ’round, stealin’ from the young / Tell me who I am, guess I don’t have a choice / All because I liked a boy.”
Since Bassett is supposedly her first big heartbreak, it is to be assumed that more of her discography could be about him.
Shawn Mendes
Monica Schipper / Getty Images / Anthony Devlin / Getty Images for Paramount
The “There’s Nothing Holding Me Back” pop star and Carpenter never officially confirmed their relationship, but fans jumped to conclusions when they were spotted all around Los Angeles in the first few months of 2023.
Both gathering fame from an early age, Shawn Mendes and the Girl Meets World actor have a lot in common, making this pairing not hard to believe.
Did Sabrina & Shawn really date?
Although Mendes said that he was “not dating Sabrina” during a March 2023 appearance on the Dutch TV program RTL Boulevard, he did wear a green pendant — seemingly the same as Carpenter’s birthstone — while attending the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscars Party.
The two likely had a brief fling. During that time, they were also seen exiting the Gucci store in Beverly Hills after a release party for Miley Cyrus.
Which song is about Shawn?
Fans of Carpenter have noticed that some songs on her latest album Short N’ Sweet might be about Mendes. Most famously, Carpenter’s single “Taste” is allegedly about the love triangle between her, Mendes, and Camila Cabello. Jenna Ortega played the Cabello-esque character in the music video.
The lyrics “I heard you’re back together and if that’s true / You’ll just have to taste me when he’s kissin’ you / If you want forever, I bet you do / Just know you’ll taste me too” are allegedly about Mendes’ reconciliation with Cabello in April 2023, just weeks after his situationship with Carpenter ended.
Other songs that are supposedly about Mendes including “Coincidence” and “Dumb & Poetic,” with the killer lines, “Jacks off to lyrics by Leonard Cohen,” “The mushrooms aren’t changing your life,” and “You’re so empathetic, you’d make a great wife.”
Bradley Steven Perry
Marc Piasecki / Getty Images for Vogue / Instagram / Bradley Tyler Perry
Carpenter’s first official boyfriend in the public eye was Good Luck Charlie‘s Bradley Steven Perry. The two appeared on Disney Channel at the same time. Despite their breakup, there’s no bad blood between them. Perry has mentioned his ex before on his podcast, saying how wild it is to see Carpenter blow up in the way that she did.
When did Sabrina & Bradley date?
They were first linked together in 2014. Not keeping their relationship a secret for long, Carpenter opened up to J-14 about how Perry first asked her on a date. “[It was a] really unique way to ask someone out. [It was] like the pirate movies, like, they do the little bottles and they put notes in them and send them across the ocean, like one of those, and [he] put a note inside. It was cute,” she gushed. The young couple often shared glimpses of their budding romance on social media.
When did Sabrina & Bradley break up?
They called it quits in 2015, just one year after their dating adventure began. Both Carpenter and Perry were 16 when their relationship ended. Luckily, the high school sweethearts had a lovely taste of first love.
