Shawn Mendes Seemingly References Ex Camila Cabello in VMAs Performance

Shawn Mendes seemingly referenced his ex-girlfriend Camila Cabello in the new song he performed at the MTV Music Video Awards.

While singing “Nobody Knows” on Wednesday, September 11, Mendes, 26, appeared to hint at his past relationship with Cabello, 27. He sang, “You’re an amateur drunk and everyone knows it / But f–k, you’re the one and I live for those moments / When the bottle is open, anything can happen / Flying too close to the sun.”

Tellingly, the line “flying too close to the sun” nods to Cabello’s Instagram bio, which reads, “long, thick black hair turned white from flying too close to the sun.”

Cabello dyed her hair blonde in February of this year. At Wednesday’s VMAs, she hit the red carpet sporting her signature black hair.

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Some fans also speculated that the “bottle” line could be a reference to Cabello’s single “June Gloom,” which she recently hinted was about reconnecting with an ex. 

“We decided to take what was an innocent walk on this beach with a bottle of alcohol and, cut to, we were on this beach, where therе was nobody there, it was this desеrted beach, and we’re on a playground and he’s spinnin’ me in this merry-go-round in this deserted playground,” she recalled during a recent Apple Music appearance. “I don’t know what I was more drunk on, him or the alcohol.”

Mendes and the “Havana” songstress dated for two years before calling it quits in November 2021. They briefly reunited in 2023 weeks after rumors circulated that Mendes and Sabrina Carpenter were dating. Mendes denied that he and the “Espresso” singer, 25, were more than just friends. 

However, Carpenter’s new album, Short n’ Sweet, drops hints to the contrary. Her fans speculated that several songs were about Mendes, particularly “Coincidence,” which seemed to reference a guy who got back together with an ex soon after splitting from the song’s narrator. Meanwhile, “Taste” is directed at an ex’s new girlfriend, with lyrics like, “I heard you’re back together and if that’s true / You’ll just have to taste me when he’s kissin’ you.”

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Carpenter sang “Taste” during the VMAs, moments after Mendes left the stage. She was nominated for six VMAs, winning Song of the Year for “Espresso.”

Cabello, meanwhile, was up for two Moon Person trophies in the Best Pop and Best Trending Video categories. 

Mendes is slated to release his fifth studio album, Shawn, on October 18. It will be his first since 2020’s Wonder.

He and Cabello have remained in each other’s lives despite their split. After the exes were seen together at the Copa América final on July 14, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that they “are not dating. They are just friends.”

According to the insider, Cabello and Mendes “will go months without speaking” but are “always friendly” when they run into each other. “[It is] as if no time has passed,” the source added at the time.

Mendes and Cabello had “tried to make it work again romantically in the summer of 2023 but realized neither of them were ready to be in a relationship again,” the source explained. “It wasn’t a bad breakup, so they have remained friendly.”

Cabello and Mendes have “gone through a lot together,” the insider told Us. “[They] will always have a bond to an extent, as they have helped each other through their mental health struggles over the years. Shawn and Camila both enjoy seeing each other, but it’s strictly friendly.”