Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello's Relationship Timeline

What's going on with Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello, anyway? The former couple has been keeping fans guessing lately, what with that headline-making cozy reunion during Weekend 1 of Coachella 2023. The couple initially called it quits in November 2021 after about two years of dating, but it seems like there could be magic in the air once more for them. Mendes and Cabello love a game of romantic cat-and-mouse, starting with their early duets all the way back in 2015 to their steamy music videos and performances, so a reunion is definitely plausible. Post-Chella, it seems like the two singers have been dropping hints of a reunion — or maybe they're just briefly revisiting the warmth of an old flame?

Regardless of their current relationship status, Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello's romance has been a long time in the making. Let's take a trip down memory lane for all things Shawnmila, from their first duet to that Coachella connection.

September 2015: Mendes and Cabello sing together on Instagram.

The friends and rumored couple shared a video of themselves singing a mashup of Destiny's Child and Ed Sheeran songs, a tease of the actual duet to come.

November 2015: Mendes and Cabello record “I Know What You Did Last Summer.”

Mendes and Cabello recorded their first duet, "I Know What You Did Last Summer," in late 2015 after lots of "are they or aren't they?" back-and-forth.

December 2015: Cabello says "I Know What You Did Last Summer" is not about Mendes.

The Fifth Harmony singer squashed any and all dating rumors surrounding the duet when she told Teen Vogue that it was written about a different guy she had been "talking to," not Mendes. She did, however, say that she considered Mendes one of her best friends. "He knows what it means to be a friend. You don’t meet a lot of people like him, especially in the music industry," Cabello explained. "When I’m anxious or sad or feel overwhelmed, he makes me feel better. He’s not just a friend when it’s easy or convenient, but he’s there when it’s hard, too."

October 2016: Mendes shuts down dating rumors.

Mendes gave some clarity regarding his relationship with Cabello in 2016, telling People that the pair were just friends — period. “We’re just really close friends," Mendes emphasized. "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.”

December 2016: Mendes defends Cabello after her Fifth Harmony exit.

A lot of drama ensued after Cabello left Fifth Harmony to pursue a solo career. Mendes publicly defended his friend on Twitter, re-sharing her statement and highlighting one excerpt in particular. "'Pursue what makes your heart pound, happiness is our responsibility' beautifully said," Mendes tweeted.

February 2017: Mendes and Cabello reunite with a cute selfie.

The pair documented their hangout in early 2017 with a cute selfie, reminding the world that their friendship was here to stay.

March 2017: Mendes posts a throwback duet with Cabello.

Shortly after denying he and Cabello were dating, Mendes shared a sweet throwback video of himself and Cabello singing "Kiss Me" by Ed Sheeran. (They'd later revisit this duet in 2020!)

May 2018: Mendes and Cabello attend the BBMAs with Taylor Swift.

The friends hung with their good pal Taylor Swift at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards, dancing in the audience and supporting Mendes when he performed.

December 2018: Mendes and Cabello announce a new collab.

A few years after "I Know What You Did Last Summer," the singers teased their next duet with a black-and-white pic of them rehearsing together. Of course, that song would eventually go down in Shawnmila history, but we didn't know that then.

June 2019: The "Señorita" music video sparks more dating rumors.

The besties' steamy, mega-popular duet "Señorita" really had fans talking, especially after they saw the music video, which included an almost-kiss. Platonic, huh? The video added a lot more fuel to the fire, but answers were close on the horizon.

July 2019: Mendes and Cabello are seen kissing and holding hands.

In July 2019 the alleged couple was spotted sharing just enough PDA, including holding hands and kissing, adding to the speculation around their relationship status post-"Señorita."

August 2019: Cabello wishes Mendes a happy birthday on Instagram.

Cabello made a sweet birthday post for Mendes on IG, but one part in particular had fans scratching their heads. “Happy birthday to this magic human,” Cabello wrote. “I love you!!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️” Still platonic, huh?

August 2019: The pair duet at the MTV VMAs.

Mendes and Cabello performed the song of the summer, "Señorita," at the 2019 MTV VMAs and continued sparking rumors about their relationship status with their super-close, hot and heavy performance. (Joe Jonas loved it.)

September 2019: Mendes confirms their relationship.

Mendes confirmed he and Cabello were dating in September, saying that his feelings on love had changed. “Honestly, I wanna… talk to you guys about this stuff but it’s not just me in the relationship,” he said to fans at the time. “There’s another person involved and I can’t say things that I feel. It’s not just me deciding you know?”

September 2019: Cabello explains why she doesn't often talk about her relationship.

Shortly after Mendes shared that they were dating, Cabello also addressed the rumors and her relationship status with Elle, saying she was protective about their privacy. "People can say whatever they want to say. They can speculate, but at the same time, we are going to live our own lives, enjoy it, and fall for each other like nobody is watching," she told the magazine. "That is how I want to live. I never want to open the door for people to feel like they are involved. Like I said, I want it to be mine and [his]. That’s why I’m so tight-lipped about it: because I want to protect it."

November 2019: Cabello shares why she and Mendes don't kiss onstage.

The "will they or won't they" allure of Mendes and Cabello's onstage performances was truly a part of their magic, and Cabello revealed that it was a bit on purpose. "It's not by design,” she told Andy Cohen about their almost-kiss strategy. “I think it's just this little rebellious part of me that knows everybody wants us to kiss, so then I don't do it.”

March 2020: Mendes and Cabello do a quarantine cover of Ed Sheeran's “Kiss Me.”

While quarantining at home in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the couple covered Ed Sheeran's "Kiss Me" as part of a concert series and revealed that they were spending their time at home rewatching some of their favorite movies. "I think everybody should start Harry Potter from top to end,” Mendes said. "That’s the way to go.”

November 2020: Cabello shares what she's learned about love.

Along with a photo of her kissing Mendes, the singer opened up about what she had learned about life and love in an Instagram post in late 2020, saying: “It’s not just the happy blissful moments you see in pictures and videos. When you’re in a relationship with someone, it feels like they are this mirror reflecting yourself back to you — I constantly have to confront my fears, my anxieties, my insecurities, my patterns of thinking, my beliefs about life and about myself. It’s not as simple as it looks in pictures sometimes. sometimes, it’s messy and uncomfortable and ugly lol.”

September 2021: Mendes and Cabello attend the Met Gala.

The couple made a very high-profile appearance together on the red carpet at the Met Gala, with Cabello looking like a 2021 version of Cher in purple Michael Kors.

November 2021: Mendes and Cabello break up.

End of an era. The couple announced their amicable split via matching Instagram Stories, writing: "Hey guys, we've decided to end our romantic relationship but our love for one another as humans is stronger than ever. We started our relationship as best friends and will continue to be best friends. We so appreciate your support from the beginning and moving forward."

March 2022: Cabello addresses the split for the first time.

Cabello publicly discussed the split in an interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe, revealing that elements of her song "Bam Bam" were taken right from her personal life; the song is about reflecting on the past and moving on with new life lessons on your side. “I f*cking love Shawn. And I feel like there is literally nothing but love for him,” she said. “This song is mostly just about like, ‘Okay, how do I make a song that shows the cycles of love, and life'… You know, whatever it is that’s going on in your life. Whether it is a breakup or a divorce, or like you said, a friend breakup, or you’ve just gone through something that just is really shitty. Hopefully, this can make you be like, ‘It is that way now, but things are always taking crazy turns.'”

March 2022: Mendes talks about life post-split.

Mendes got honest about life after the breakup in a Twitter video, saying that the moment he realized he was on his own was a rough awakening. “A lot of the things that also is like, resonating in the lyric for me is like, ‘Oh, f*ck,’ you know, you don't realize, like, when you're like, breaking up with someone, you think it's the right thing to do, you don't realize all this shit that comes after it,” he shared. "Like, who do I call when I'm like, in a panic attack? Who do I call when I'm like, f*cking, on the edge?" Looking at the camera, he added, “I think that's the reality that kinda I am on my own now… finally I am actually on my own.”

April 2023: Mendes and Cabello pile on the PDA at Coachella.

The former couple reunited at Coachella 2023 and got very cozy while enjoying the music, sparking relationship rumors for the first time since their breakup. Time for round two? Only time will tell.

April 2023: Could Cabello be leaving clues about the future of Shawnmila?

In the aftermath of their public hookup, Page Six reported that Cabello and Mendes weren’t really back together, calling the PDA a “one-off.” However, Cabello teased a brand-new song called “June Gloom” in a since-deleted Instagram post on April 19, which had some eyebrow-raising lyrics. “Are you coming to Coachella? / If you don’t, it’s whatever / If you do, it’d be all I think about,” sang Cabello, which seems like a pretty much direct reference to her and Mendes's Weekend 1 Coachella fling.

That same night, April 19, TMZ shared a 3-second-long video of Mendes and Cabello walking around Santa Monica, California holding hands. A source told People on April 24 that the former couple seemed “very happy to be reconnected” after the music festival, but are taking things slow. "They are enjoying daytime strolls and nighttime casual dinners out," said the source. "They have been hanging out just the two of them… They are very cute, keep holding hands and laughing.” 

May 2023: Mendes and Cabello are snapped hanging out in New York.

From Coachella to the streets of NYC. Things sure seem to be heating up between these exes. As noted by Popsugar, the former (and maybe current?) couple were spotted together in NYC several times at the end of May, not too long after they were spotted at a comedy show in Los Angeles. In a photo from May 25, the two were out for a walk in their best athleisure looks — giving us major flashbacks to their much-photographed quarantine strolls. The day prior, TMZ caught them holding hands while grabbing coffee. It seems like the two have been enjoying quite a lot of quality time together from coast to coast; People also has pics of Cabello and Mendes leaving his Manhattan apartment. 

So what is the truth, Shawnmila? Are you back in action, rekindling an old flame or just having some fun? Will summer 2023 be the summer of getting back together with your ex? Maybe, or maybe not, but we’re happy for Mendes and Cabello anyway.