Olivia Rodrigo's rollercoaster love life - high-profile love triangle to Paddington star

Daily Mirror

6 days ago

Olivia Rodrigo has had a string of rumoured high-profile romances, many of which have inspired her hit songs, from her fling with Joshua Bassett to her current partner Louis Partridge
As one of pop's leading voices on the agony of young love, it's fair to say Olivia Rodrigo has had her share of personal pain. 'Her first album Sour was very much written in the pit of despair, and most of the songs seemed to be about losing the same boy,' says BBC music correspondent Mark Savage. 'She was definitely in that place where you're stuck in a cycle and can't think about anyone or anything else.'
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With 22-year-old Olivia - who is now in a relationship with Louis Partridge - admitting that Sour was inspired by 'earth-shattering' heartbreak, she told how Drivers License was based on her own journal entries. 'I realised part of the reason I wanted to get my licence so bad was because of… this boy,' she said, sharing an excerpt from her diary.
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'I always felt bad about being too young to drive over to see him.' It was widely assumed the boy in question was her ex, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series co-star Joshua Bassett, who was rumoured to have moved on with Sabrina Carpenter after he and Olivia broke up in July 2020.
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'She never confirmed any of those stories, but I'm not sure it even matters who the song is about,' says Mark. 'What matters is whether you feel what she's feeling, and with Olivia you absolutely do.'
She and Joshua first met in early 2019, playing on-screen love interests Nini and Ricky, when they were 16 and 18 respectively. Regular Instagram selfies sparked speculation they had grown close off-camera, and at one point Olivia said, 'I love him so much. He's my best friend… It was like I wasn't acting.' But by the following summer, it was claimed they had split, with Olivia posting a TikTok video in which she ate a muffin with her song All I Want playing in the background. 'All I want is a good guy / Are my expectations far too high?' she sang, while captioning the clip, 'And that's on failed relationships.'
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Regardless of the mystery, an earlier relationship with her Bizaardvark co-star Ethan Wacker was said to have ended amicably. Though never confirmed, they were thought to have started dating in 2018, and Ethan, now 23, shared an Instagram post in January 2019 saying, 'Happy 6 months! You are the greatest.' The pair also enjoyed a trip to Hawaii, where Olivia captioned a photo, 'Heaven is a place on earth wit u.'
It's thought they parted later that year, but despite deleting all their social media posts, they remained on good terms, with Olivia commenting 'He's the best!' when Ethan announced he was off to university in 2020.
The following year, Olivia was reported to be seeing music producer Adam Faze. Again, it was never officially confirmed, but the two attended showbiz events together and were snapped kissing. But it was thought to have ended when Olivia unfollowed Adam on Instagram in January 2022.
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Soon afterwards, she was linked to DJ Zack Bia, and he attended her 19th birthday celebrations that February. However, by August the romance was said to have fizzled out, apparently due to clashing schedules. 'We hung out, we're both busy and we ended up not furthering our relationship,' Zack said. 'There was never any drama, you know?'
When Olivia released fiery comeback single Vampire the following year, rumours spread that it was either about Adam, now 28, or Zack, now 29, since the lyrics suggested friction over a woman older than her. 'Went for me and not her / 'Cause girls your age know better,' she vented.
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Unsurprisingly, there was no official comment, and Mark says, 'We'll never know who Vampire was about, and that's probably for the best. In this kind of internet-sleuthing era, trying to guess is almost half the fun. From Olivia's point of view, keeping quiet about the subject of her songs helps grow their mystique.'
When talking about her second album Guts, Olivia did reveal that a string of bad relationships had influenced the record, saying, 'Maybe I did things that maybe I shouldn't have – dated people that I shouldn't have.' And while on tour, she told fans in LA, 'I met so many people that I've dated on Instagram DM.
Some of them a little questionable.' On another occasion, she spoke of a serious red flag when weighing up potential love interests. 'I always ask them if they would want to go to space… If they say yes, I don't date them,' she said. 'I just think if you want to go to space, you're a little too full of yourself.'
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Thankfully, Olivia's romantic status is currently far rosier, and she has been with British actor Louis Partridge for more than 18 months. After meeting through mutual friends, they were first snapped together in London in October 2023 as they shared a series of nights out.
Louis, 22, who starred in the Enola Holmes films and Apple TV+ series Disclaimer, then showed up to support Olivia at iHeart Radio's Jingle Ball in New York that December, singing along with her best pals, Conan Gray and Madison Hu. In August 2024, they made their debut at Venice Film Festival, with Louis tenderly kissing Olivia on the head in one picture. They also enjoyed a lowkey outing to watch Manchester United play Chelsea in November, and surprised locals when they took a trip to north Wales the same month.
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Although she has avoided talking about Louis publicly, Olivia did post on his Insta page on his birthday last year, writing, 'Welcome to the 21 club angel boy!!!!' Meanwhile, the pair have looked particularly loved-up in recent months, schmoozing at the Grammys in February and the Oscars in March, while in January they joined pals Tate McRae, the Kid LAROI, Iris Apatow and The White Lotus actor Sam Nivola for a couples' break in the Caribbean.
Louis was a regular supporter during Olivia's Guts World Tour as well as for her headline slot at Glastonbury, where she was also spotted on his shoulders watching Pulp play. During her Dublin show last April, many noted that she changed the lyrics of So American from 'Think I'm in love' to ''Cause I'm in love'. It was even suggested that the song, which featured on the deluxe reissue of Guts, was a message about their future plans: 'Oh God, I'm gonna marry him / If he keeps this sh*t up,' she sang.
After admitting to being 'a hopeless romantic' in the past, Olivia once told how she hopes to tie the knot in the next few years. 'I just wanna be, like, 30, in a cool mid-century modern house with two babies and a husband, writing songs that I like, and having brunch with my girls on the weekends,' she said. But there could be a little more drama before she gets to that stage. 'Last time I interviewed Olivia, she told me, 'I've still got a few heartbreaks left in me,'' Mark tells us. 'I'm not sure she's quite ready to settle down just yet!'
Olivia Rodrigo OK! Special Collector's Edition
Amid the UK's 'summer of Olivia', this special issue of OK! explores her incredible journey from the child star with big dreams to one of the most compelling artists in music today
We uncover the chain of events that led to her runaway success and the songwriting that has won her so much respect, and check out some of her greatest live performances
Along the way, we revisit her romantic history and get to know more about her British actor boyfriend Louis Partridge, while also taking a closer look at her fabulous fashion credentials