In the past couple months, Shawn Mendes has become much more open about his relationship of over a year with Camila Cabello. He shared a photo of her kissing him on his Instagram this afternoon and spoke to Apple Music's Zane Lowe in a new interview about how being in love with her changed him.
"A lot happens when you fall in love for the first time, because you really feel this support, this grounded, 'Hey, if everything goes away, I'm going to be okay,'" he mused. "It's perspective, and it's beautiful. And it really allows you to be like, 'OK, well, if I'm going to do this [make music, etc.], I might as well be doing it for the right reasons and really, really, really enjoying it.' Otherwise, I'd just rather watch movies with you all day."
He added that it's essential to watch out for and love yourself first, and that has influenced his and Cabello's decision to make sure they prioritize themselves too, even as they quarantine together. "You can not be the best version of a son or a brother or a boyfriend or a friend to anybody if you're not constantly there for you, and you're watching out for you, and you're checking in on your heart and your space and your energy," he said. "And the closer you get to that clarity and that freedom within you, the more space you have for everybody else in your life. And I think that that was something that really happened over that period too, especially with Camila and I, is that we started giving ourselves a lot more time, which then allowed us to give everything more time and space, if that makes sense."
Being with Cabello and having the courage to be honest with her fundamentally changed him, Mendes said. "I have always considered myself a really vulnerable guy, I was the guy who wrote In My Blood. I'm the guy who talks about anxiety. I'm cool, I'm sensitive, I'm vulnerable, I always thought of myself that way until I had a girlfriend who I was so serious about, then I realized how much I was scared of being the weak man," he said. "I mean, I went through a month where I couldn't really even communicate with her because I was struggling with anxiety and I didn't want her to see me weak. And I was on the verge of ruining our relationship. And then when you come out on the other end and you're like, 'Listen, I'm struggling here, it's hard for me to even say this to you.' And everything starts building and growing and getting stronger and the roots fortify, and you look around and you're like, 'Oh shit.' Bravery. That's bravery. That's strength."
You can listen to Mendes' full interview here.
