After breaking up with Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes is learning to rely on a broader support network.
During a conversation on SiriusXM’s Morning Mashup, the singer—songwriter was asked what he does with feelings—both good and bad-now that he doesn’t have a girlfriend to share them with, a struggle he recently began to reveal. “I think a lot of it had to do with giving yourself a lot of grace, you know, and not being too hard on yourself about feelings and outbursts of being good and outbursts of not being good,” he told the interviewer.
He continued: “It was very important for me to realize that there are so many people in my life that I can rely on. I don’t need to dump all my, you know, difficulties on one person… And I think it was very important. It was, it was learning to trust my friends again, learning to trust my family, learning to trust the people around me in my life. Instead of just calling one person, I now had six people I could call. Similarly, it was a lot of deep breaths and saying to myself: “You’re good, man,” you know? ‘You got it. It’s all right.'”
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It is this combination of trusting friends, family and, above all, himself that keeps Mendes grounded while he works to become a “stabilizing force for himself.”
He continued: “I think it’s a combination of two things. You can’t just isolate yourself and say, “I’ll deal with it myself,” because it will eventually come back. At the same time, you should be able to take a deep breath at such moments and say, “I get you. We’re doing well.”
Listen to the moment of the interview here:
Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello dated for two years, but were friends for much longer; they also worked together on music. They announced their breakup in a joint statement in November 2021, although reports suggest Mendes initiated the breakup. “Hey guys, we decided to end our romantic relationship, but our love for each other as people is stronger than ever,” they said at the time, per E! News. “We started our relationship as best friends and will continue to be best friends. We really appreciate your support from the very beginning and in the future.”
On March 19, the singer of “Stitches” told fans on Instagram about the lyrics he wrote based on this transitional period in his life. “A lot of things that also resonate in the lyrics for me, like, ‘Oh fuck,’ you know, you don’t understand when you break up with someone… you think it’s right, you don’t understand all this shit that comes after that,” Mendes said in video. “For example, who should I call when I have, like, a panic attack? Who the hell should I call when I’m on edge? I think it’s the reality that kind of hit me, it’s like, “Oh, I’m on my own now.” Now I feel like I’m finally really on my own, and I hate it. This is my reality, you know?
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Shawn Mendes is not the only one who writes music about life after a breakup. Earlier in March, Cabello shared her feelings about the breakup after the release of the new song “Bam Bam”, in the text of which there are many references to Mendes.
“My priorities have been changing, and throughout my life I’ve been changing,” Cabello told Zane Lowe during an appearance on New Music Daily on Apple Music 1 on March 4. — Those years that we met, I don’t even feel, even when I was writing this album, and even now, I think I’m really focused on how I can be a well-rounded person? And besides my career, I didn’t even focus on my career.”
She added: “And it’s the same with the years we’ve been together. My focus was only on how can I live a happy life and be in a healthy, happy relationship? I’ve been doing a lot of therapy. My focus has really shifted. And even now, while I’m in promo mode, to be honest, if I’m not having fun, what the fuck is the point? I think as I get older, yes, priorities change. And I feel like that was the case for both of us. Since we both started too early, we are really learning to be healthy adults. And that sometimes means that your career shouldn’t be in the spotlight. And that’s fine.”
The singer promises that there is “nothing but love” between her and her ex. “I love Sean,— Cabello said, per E! News. “And I feel like there is literally nothing but love for him. And this song is basically about something like, “Okay, how do I write a song that shows the cycles of love and life and gives people…” – about what’s going on in your life… I hope it helps you say, “It’s like this now, but everything always takes crazy turns.”
