Entertainment

Your Complete Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello Relationship Timeline, From PDA To Puppies
by Kristie Rohwedder and Kayla Blanton
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Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes are parents — puppy parents, that is. The pop stars, who confirmed their relationship in the summer of 2019, announced their cuddly new addition on Instagram on Nov. 3. And now that they're expanding their family, curiosity surrounding their romance is at an all-time high.

Interestingly, the singers' relationship timeline dates back way earlier than last year. The two have been in each other's lives since 2014 when they first met on tour. But as Shawmila shippers would agree, a lot has happened since then. In 2019, the two almost locked lips during their duet at the MTV Video Music Awards. And in Mendes' Netflix documentary, Mendes: In Wonder, the "Treat You Better" singer gushed about how all of his songs are about Cabello.

Their relationship may only officially have lasted just over a year so far, but the two musicians have a pretty magical love story. And since they just added to their brood with a new puppy, let's reminisce on how it all started, shall we?

2014: They Met

Cabello and Mendes first crossed paths in 2014 when they were both opening for Austin Mahone. Mendes had not yet released his debut album; Cabello was still a part of Fifth Harmony. Five years may not seem that long ago on paper, but in the pop music world? It might as well be a full century. Needless to say, a great deal has changed since then.

In their June 2019 interview with V magazine, Mendes and Cabello waxed nostalgic about the moment they first met. Cabello said, "I remember thinking we met on the Austin Mahone tour, and I remember I wanted to hang out with you, but you were always on the tour bus, just learning guitar." Mendes admitted that he "didn't talk to anybody," adding:

“You were the only person that talked to me. Like, you were the only one of everybody on that tour who would say words to me. Actually, I think if we go into our DM’s or something, there’s a photo from the day we met, I think.”

Important question: Where did Mendes get the gigantic ice cream sandwiches that are in that picture? (Follow-up question: Those are ice cream sandwiches, right?)

September 2014: They Shawnyboy'd

This would be one of the many tweets Shawmila shippers added to their evidence boards.

Around this time, Cabello and Mahone were in a relationship. In November 2014, Cabello confirmed they'd split up.

2015: They Collaborated

2015 was a big year for Shawmila because it was when they joined musical forces for the first time. That November, Cabello and Mendes released "I Know What You Did Last Summer," a song they wrote together while hanging out backstage at Taylor Swift's 1989 World Tour.

More like "I Know What You Did Backstage At One Of Taylor Swift's Concerts," no?

August 2015: They VMAs Afterpartied

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The two pop stars attended the same VMAs afterparty and were spotted leaving in the same car. Gotta love a carpool situation.

September 2015: They Goofed Around

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When Cabello was posing for photos at the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Festival, Mendes snuck up behind her and gave her a fright.

The Monday after the festival, E! News reported that an insider claimed Mendes and Cabello were a couple. The two went on to deny such reports.

November 2015: They Talk Showed

Near the end of 2015, Mendes and Cabello appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden. In the interview, they talked about being pop stars, their joint single, and of course, their relationship status. The duo told Corden that they weren't dating, haven't shared any make outs, and were just good buddies. Corden seemed less than convinced.

December 2015: Ringing In The New Year

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Cabello and Mendes sang "IKWYDLS" on Pitbull's New Year's Revolution.

January 2016: The People's Choice Awards

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At the 2016 People's Choice Awards, Cabello and Mendes performed "I Know What You Did Last Summer." Mendes kicked off the performance with an acoustic version of "Stitches" before the "Havana" singer joined him for their passionate duet.

June 2016: They Won Awards

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"I Know What You Did Last Summer" scooped up Best Pop Video and Fan Fave Video at the 2016 iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards. Cabello and Mendes accepted the awards together.

October 2016: They Were Just Friends

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When speaking to People in October 2016, Mendes addressed the romance rumors directly:

“A thing? No, we weren’t, actually. We’re just really close friends. She is one of those people who is just very easy to connect with and still, to this day, is one of my greatest friends. You find that instant connection with people, and she’s one of them.”

May 2017: They Cried In The Club

Mendes took to Twitter after Cabello dropped "Crying in the Club," her first post-5H single. He wrote, "speechless.. goosebumps all over. You're incredible." Cabello replied, "i love u SO much and i miss u even more than I love u thank u for being such an amazing friend."

Later that year, it was reported that Mendes and Hailey Baldwin were a thing. They never confirmed it, but they did attend the Met Gala together the following May. A few months after the 2018 Met Gala, Baldwin was engaged to Justin Bieber.

January 2018: They Were Just Friends Some More

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Here is what Cabello said when Zach Sang Show host Zach Sang brought up Mendes in 2018:

“We never hang out, but we’re always texting. We’re always talk on the phone. We’re never in the same place at the same time, but we’re always texting about random stuff. We talk about Harry Potter. He was working his album and he said he needed some help because he was going to sing a line in Spanish, so I voice memoed him the correct pronunciation. I love Shawn. He’s a real friend. I actually sent him my album before it even came out.”

About a month later, E! News reported Cabello was spotted on vacation with dating coach Matthew Hussey.

May 2018: They Professed Their (Platonic?) Love For One Another

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And here is what the "There's Nothing Holding Me Back" singer said when Zane Lowe brought up Cabello later that year:

“She is my favorite person in the whole world. I don’t think you’ll ever meet somebody who can feel emotion like her, in all aspects. She can feel hurt like no other, and she can feel love like no other. It’s really amazing. I remember when we wrote ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer,’ in the studio with her, just her love for what she believed in was just so powerful that it kind of just pushed me to make an entire album out of inspiration of the one night, you know what I mean? I’m so proud of her, truly.”

February 2019: They Went To The Grammys

Both pop stars performed at the 61st Grammy Awards, but not together. Cabello opened the show with "Havana" alongside Ricky Martin, J Balvin, Young Thug, and Arturo Sandoval; Mendes sang "In My Blood" with Miley Cyrus.

June 2019: They Collaborated Again

And what a collaboration it was. "Señorita" and its piping hot music video were released on June 21, and it quickly climbed to the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100.

Days after "Señorita" dropped, E! News reported Cabello and Hussey split up after one year.

Summer 2019: They Canoodled A Lot

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August 2019: They Celebrated His Birthday

On Aug. 8, Mendes turned 21. Cabello wished him a happy birthday on Instagram with a throwback photo. "Happy birthday to this magic human," she wrote. "I love you!!!!

August 2019: They Booped Noses At The VMAs

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Whew, the 2019 VMAs was quite the night for Shawmila. Mendes and Cabello cuddled in the crowd, won the award for Best Collaboration, and almost smooched during their performance of "Señorita." A Shawmila smooch never happened, but a nose boop sure did. Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner were among the many humans who were very disappointed when they realized Mendes and Cabello would not give us more than a nose boop.

What will Shawmila do next? We'll just have to boop in to find out.

September 2019: They Kissed On Stage & Made Out On Instagram

After being caught in multiple acts of PDA by paparazzi, Mendes and Cabello recreated their VMAs performance at his concert in Toronto. Except this time, they actually kissed. Later that month, they decided to troll everyone who made fun of how they kissed by... well, kissing some more.

"So we saw on Twitter and stuff you guys saying stuff about the way we’re kissing and how it looks weird, like we kiss like fish," Mendes said. "So we just want to show you how we really kiss." Cabello then dramatically (and jokingly) lapped his face like a puppy.

On Sept. 19, TMZ cameras stopped Mendes in the airport, where he (very awkwardly) confirmed that their relationship is "definitely not a publicity stunt."

On Sept. 27, fans grilled him during a pre-concert Q&A. One asked if he'd ever been in love with someone who didn't love him back. He immediately mentioned his "Señorita" duet partner. "If I told you the whole story of Camila, it would take a long time," he said. "I would say that you have to fight for someone you really love. And if you really truly love them, you'll get them.”

October 2019: They Drop The "L" Word

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On Oct. 3, Cabello told U.K.'s Capital Breakfast radio show that she and Mendes were "pretty happy." "I really, really love him a lot," she added.

In an interview with The Sun, she explained that their close friendship made it scary to cross the line into romance. Still, she admitted that she's seen him as more than a friend for a long time. "Definitely there were feelings, but I think we were just too young to know what to do with them," she said.

At the end of the month, Mendes did that aforementioned Australian Q&A, finally confirming he and Cabello are together.

November 2019: More PDA, Tattoos & A Grammy Nom

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On Nov. 11, the couple went to a Los Angeles Clippers game, where they weren't shy about their relationship.

Shortly after, they got tattoos together. According to People, it was Cabello's first. She got "it's a mystery" written on her pinky finger, a nod to Shakespeare in Love, and Mendes got the letter A behind his ear for his little sister, Aaliyah.

Cabello also announced the release of her latest album Romance, which is full of references to their relationship. And to top it all off, the pair received a Grammy nomination for "Señorita" on Nov. 20 — a real full-circle moment.

March 2020: The Couple Quarantines Together

When the coronavirus pandemic took over the world in March, Mendes and Cabello weathered the first wave together while quarantining in her hometown of Miami. The couple was spotted taking walks together back in March (so. many. walks.), one of which was so slow and leisurely that fans started mocking it.

At one point, when they were seemingly tired of walking, the artists went on Instagram Live and put on a virtual concert for fans, performing "Havana," "Lost In Japan," and of course, "Señorita." They also took questions and revealed that they started watching the Harry Potter films together, as per Glamour. "We started watching it yesterday. I knew everything about it, of course," Cabello joked. "I didn't really know much. He knows a lot about it." And yes, they answered the most pressing question: both of them think they would be sorted into Gryffindor.

October 2020: They Reunite After A Summer Apart

Summer 2020 didn't include many Shawmila sightings as Cabello resumed production on her film Cinderella and Mendes worked on his fourth studio album Wonder. However, when they finally (publicly) reunited in October, the couple made it clear that they were still just as in love as ever.

Both artists posted PDA-filled pictures with each other on their Instagram feeds. Mendes shared one of them lounging in the kitchen together, while Cabello posted a snapshot of her excitedly cuddling Mendes and making him carry her. The couple also celebrated Halloween together, sharing photos of them locking lips in their costumes. "Me, but beat up, and a Miami witch," Mendes wrote. "THE HALLOWEEN SPIRIT IS NEVER CANCELED !!!!!!!! (caption by camila)."

Although they weren't together much over the summer, Mendes admitted that Cabello greatly inspired and supported the concept for his upcoming album, set to be released on Dec. 4. In fact, if the trailer for his new Netflix documentary Wonder is to be believed, all of Mendes' songs were written about Cabello. "My song comes on the radio or something, and I’m like, 'Everything's about you. They're all, they have always been about you,'" he said in the trailer. "She goes, 'What do you mean?' Like, 'They're all about you. Like every song I've ever wrote.'"

November 2020: They Adopt A Puppy Together

On Tuesday, Nov. 3, Mendes took to Instagram to announce the couple's cuddly new addition: a puppy named Tarzan. So yeah, now that they're expanding their family, it's safe to say that things are pretty serious.

December 2020: They Talk About Marriage

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While promoting the release of his fourth studio album Wonder on Dec. 4, Mendes revealed that he and Cabello have discussed marriage. "Yeah, absolutely," he told Entertainment Tonight when asked if they've ever talked about getting engaged. "I think for me, it's always been if I'm not willing to talk about that stuff, then I kind of check out a little bit," he said. "I really think when you know, you know. She's been one of my best friends since I was, like, 15 years old."

That's not to say that the two will wed tomorrow, though. "At the same time, I know we are really young so I don't want to jump insanely fast," the pop star added. "But I think when you find your person, you feel and you know that you have found your person."

The pair's connection is clear in the new homemade music video they just dropped for their duet of "The Christmas Song." In it, the two dance under Christmas lights, sing together in their at-home studio, and snuggle their new dog, Tarzan. They're also giving back this holiday season by donating $10,000 for every 10 million streams of the song to Feeding America.

But wait, there's more. On the Dec. 7 episode of The Late Late Show with James Corden, the host made Mendes watch a 2015 interview he did with Cabello in which the duo denied that anything was going on between them. After saying that it was "really hard" to rewatch, the "Wonder" crooner elaborated. "I didn't even accept that I was completely in love with her," he said. "Three years after that is when I finally admitted it, and another two years after that was when I decided to do something about it."

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