Shortly after Shawn Mendes‘ ex-girlfriend Camila Cabello announced she would be taking a break from social media, the singer revealed he is having a “hard time” with the apps, as well.
“I’m having a little bit of a hard time with social media at the moment, just kind of my relationship with it, but I have lots of people sending me videos and telling me what’s going on,” the singer 23, shared in a nearly two-minute-long video on Instagram on Thursday, December 30.
Speaking candidly from his home in Toronto, the Canadian native spoke directly to fans who connected with his song “It’ll Be Okay.” The ballad details the sad ending of a relationship, but ultimately the singer reveals that “it’ll be OK” and despite “the future we’ve dreamed of … fading to black,” the love still remains.
“I think that when I make music the ultimate goal is to kind of be sitting there and have some sort of my own truth revealed to me and a lot of the times when I’m writing songs, I’m usually using music as a platform to be able to get to a place inside of myself that I wouldn’t be able to get to by just kind of talking to people or thinking about it,” the musician continued.
He also addressed his followers who have been supporting him and shared videos of them reacting to the emotional song.
“I see a lot of TikToks of people crying and getting emotional and stuff, and I hope that’s because there’s some truth in the song, and there lies honestly in it,” he said. “I just feel so proud of that song and I’m so grateful you guys are connecting with it, and I feel so grateful that people are being vulnerable with it and people are just having fun with it.”
“I see you guys, and I see how much love you’re giving the song — and giving me — and that means the world to me, so thank you,” he added.
Camila, 24, announced in December she would be taking a break from social media after Christmas. “Going on a lil social media detox till the new year!!!” she wrote on her Instagram Story. “Just wanna spend a little less time on my phone this week x love ya’ll.”
Shawn and the “Havana” singer, who dated for over two years, announced their breakup in a joint statement shared via Instagram Stories in November.
“Hey guys, we’ve decided to end our romantic relationship but our love for one another as humans is stronger than ever,” the statement read. “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.”
“Shawn and Camila were drifting apart. The lockdown actually helped them hang on much longer than they would have,” an insider previously told Life & Style. “The breakup has been brewing for at least a year.”