It doesn’t sound too sour.
Olivia Rodrigo’s music has sparked a lot — like, a lot — of interest in her dating life, lest we forget the “Drivers License” saga of 2021. Though Rodrigo never fed into the drama (and the rumored love triangle between her, Joshua Bassett, and Sabrina Carpenter), she continued to release heartfelt and heartbreaking songs. “Vampire,” Rodrigo’s first single from her sophomore album Guts, came out on June 30 — and there’s already plenty of speculation about the song’s inspiration.
In the song, Rodrigo sings about a six-month relationship that sounds very toxic. “The way you sold me for parts / As you sunk your teeth into me, oh / Bloodsucker, fame f*cker / Bleedin' me dry like a goddamn vampire,” the lyrics read. (Ouch.) Though Rodrigo has kept her recent romances private, it seems clear she’s got bad blood — vampire pun intended — with someone.
Back in January 2021, when asked by Billboard whether a cetain someone (Bassett) inspired her breakup music, Rodrigo gave a cryptic response. "I totally understand people's curiosity with the specifics of who the song's about and what it's about, but to me, that's really the least important part of the song," she said about “Drivers License.” "It's resonating with people because of how emotional it is, and I think everything else is not important."
Fans likely won’t hear from Rodrigo herself about who inspired her new track, but if you want to take your best guess, here’s a rundown of Rodrigo’s dating history.
Dating rumors about Rodrigo and Wacker first began circulating in July 2018, but the Bizaardvark co-stars didn't confirm anything until January 2019, when Wacker posted a sweet Instagram in honor of his six-month anniversary with Rodrigo. "Happy 6 months! You are the greatest," he wrote in the since-deleted post.
A few days after that, the duo went on a trip to Hawaii together, and judging by the pics they shared on Instagram, it seemed like everything was going swimmingly. However, by August 2019, it appeared they had gone their separate ways, as Rodrigo deleted all of the IG pics she had with Wacker, per J-14. But apparently, the two worked through their problems to become friends again, because Rodrigo congratulated Wacker on getting into Vanderbilt University for the fall of 2020. "Ahhhh I'm so proud! He's the best!" she wrote on her Instagram Story.
As for "Drivers License," Wacker seemingly confirmed the song wasn't about him when he responded to a fan who asked him about it on TikTok. "Nope. I treated her well," he wrote in response.
Rodrigo and her HSMTMTS co-star Bassett first sparked dating rumors while playing on-again, off-again love interests Nini and Ricky, mostly due to their undeniable on-screen chemistry and flirty behavior during interviews. In March of 2020, Rodrigo even shared a love song on IG that she wrote about someone with a "brown-eyed grin and messy hair," which fans speculated was about Bassett. But by May, fans noticed the two had stopped liking each other's IG posts, and in August, Rodrigo raised eyebrows when he was spotted grabbing lunch with Sabrina Carpenter in L.A., per Just Jared Jr.
However, neither Rodrigo nor Bassett has ever confirmed those dating rumors — even if everyone believes “Drivers License” (and most of the Sour album) is about a love triangle between the three of them.
Rodrigo’s romance with DJ Zack Bia started off sporty. "They've been dating since the Super Bowl,” a source told People in June 2022. “Zack [feels] that Olivia is really down to earth and he loves how low-key she is. It's a good balance between them,” an insider told E! at the time, adding that their relationship was “a lot of fun.”
However, by August, things were over between them. A source explained to Us Weekly, “Their relationship sort of fizzled.”
Here’s to more lyrical analysis as Rodrigo releases more of Guts.
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