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- Charlie Puth’s Dating History Is The Inspiration Behind His Emotional Lyrics
Charlie Puth’s Dating History Is The Inspiration Behind His Emotional Lyrics
by
lucy maddox
Getty / Kevin Mazur
When he’s not wowing us with his newest pop anthem, or his latest TikTok viral hit sprinkled with sounds uncovered in his home studio, Charlie Puth still manages to find time to pursue romance. From Charlotte Lawrence to his “We Don’t Talk Anymore” duet partner, Selena Gomez, the singer has been romantically linked to his fair share of talented celebrities. With his soothing voice and quirky, creative personality, we can’t blame these ladies for being into him.
The “Left and Right” crooner sings a lot about love, and is open about working his real-life memories (and heartbreaks) into his music. Ahead of the May 2022 release of his breakup single “That’s Hilarious” off his upcoming self-titled studio album, he opened up about the inspiration behind it. “I never told people what happened to me and the pain that I went through going through the worst breakup of my life in 2019,” he said in an emotional TikTok video. “I just wanted to throw it under the carpet and start over and surround myself with better people. But this is the hardest song that I ever had to put together, and I’m so excited for you to hear it.” Naturally, fans are curious who inspired “That’s Hilarious” and the rest of his lovey-dovey song lyrics.
Puth has shot down a fair share of false relationship rumours (including the ones about him and Meghan Trainor – and Hailee Steinfeld). If you’re itching to confirm what Puth’s actual dating timeline is, look no further.
Getty / Aaron Davidson
Bella Thorne
Thorne and Puth were first spotted holding hands while on a Miami beach stroll in December 2016. Their next public appearance was at Y100’s Jingle Ball later that month, where Thorne watched him perform.
Things quickly got shaken up, however, when the “Lightswitch” singer accused Thorne of cheating on her ex-flame Tyler Posey. “I don’t know Tyler personally, but I know he shouldn’t be treated this way,” Puth cryptically tweeted on Dec. 22, 2016. Thorne promptly cleared things up, however, tweeting that she had not publicly confirmed her split with the “Teen Wolf” actor. “Ty and I have been broken up for like over two weeks and charlie and I ARENT DATING we are friends,” Thorne said in response to the backlash on Dec. 22, 2016.
Later, in a July 2017 SiriusXM interview, the former Disney Channel star stated that the drama could have easily been avoided if Puth had contacted her directly. “Charlie saw an old news article, and he didn’t look at the date, and the date is old, and it’s about me and Ty,” Thorne said in an interview on SiriusXM’s “The Jenny McCarthy Show.” “I felt super bad.”
Getty / Kevin Mazur
Selena Gomez
The “We Don’t Talk Anymore” pair reportedly dated briefly in March 2016. In an interview with Billboard, Puth confirmed he and Gomez had a “very short-lived, very small, but very impactful” relationship, but stopped short of confirming if they were ever officially together.
“I don’t kiss and tell, but the only way a song like that can come across as real is if there’s something else going on behind the scenes,” Puth said. He admitted that the relationship ultimately “really messed me up.”
Puth said one of the reasons the relationship failed was because of someone else in Gomez’s life. “I’m trying to put this the best way possible: It wasn’t like I was the only person on her mind,” he said, a presumed reference to Gomez’s then off-and-on ex, Justin Bieber.
Getty / Stefanie Keenan
Danielle Campbell
Puth was linked to Danielle Campbell in October 2017. When Puth appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on Oct. 12 that year, he revealed, “I’m actually not single right now. I’m in a relationship . . . [but] I’m kind of done with dating people in the public.”
Puth’s statement instantly sparked rumors that he was in a secret romance with “The Originals” actor, who has also dated Gregg Sulkin and Louis Tomlinson. Fans were further convinced that the pair was a secret item when Puth shared a screenshot of him FaceTiming Campbell a couple of days later. The picture was quickly deleted, hinting that Puth was trying to keep his relationship with the actress on the DL.
If the couple were an item, it’s unclear when they ended things because of the private nature of the relationship.
Getty / Leon Bennett/WireImage
Halston Sage
In September 2018, Puth shared a number of pictures with 26-year-old actress Halston Sage on Instagram, which sparked rumors that the pair was more than just friends. The “Prodigal Son” star and Puth were inseparable and spotted together at multiple public events before apparently fizzling out after a few weeks. The photos the pair posted on Instagram were ultimately deleted.
Getty / Gilbert Carrasquillo
Charlotte Lawrence
Puth was linked to singer-songwriter Charlotte Lawrence in early 2019. Rumors first circulated about the musically-talented couple in February 2019, when Puth and Lawrence were spotted together several times during New York Fashion Week.
Puth confirmed their relationship in a since-deleted Valentine’s Day Instagram weeks later. “Happy valentine’s day,” he captioned a picture with his arm around the 19-year-old singer. Lawrence responded to the post with a blushing heart emoji in the comment section.
Sadly, the happy couple didn’t last. It’s unclear exactly when they split up, but in September 2019, Puth tweeted, “Only because I want people to stop asking the question….Yes I am single now…and please don’t believe everything you read…thank you.”
Unless Puth dated someone else privately in 2019, Lawrence was likely the inspiration behind Puth’s emotional breakup anthem, “That’s Hilarious.” In his March 23, 2022, TikTok about the song, he had this to say about the making of the song: “I’m really excited for the song to come out, but every time I hear it, I’m kind of brought back to a time that was really, really challenging in my life,” he said, adding, “It just brought me back to 2019, which was the f*cking worst year of my life.”
