Olivia Rodrigo is entering her next era with intention—and a tighter grip on her privacy than ever before.
In a wide-ranging new interview with British Vogue, the global pop phenomenon offered a rare, unfiltered glimpse into her personal life, creative process, and evolving perspective on fame. With anticipation building around her forthcoming third album (already dubbed “OR3” by fans), Rodrigo touched on everything from her songwriting inspirations to the complexities of modern dating—and, notably, hinted at where her relationship status may stand amid speculation surrounding her and actor Louis Partridge.
Despite her diaristic songwriting style, Rodrigo made it clear that her real life remains carefully guarded. “I lead a very private life, sort of… That makes me feel protected enough to be able to bare my soul in the songwriting,” she shared. It’s a balance she’s refined since her meteoric rise—one that allows her to mine emotional depth without surrendering everything to public scrutiny.
That creative tension seems to be shaping her next body of work. Rodrigo revealed that much of her upcoming album draws from time spent in the UK. “I’ve found a lot of inspiration from being in London. I’ve spent so much time here over the course of making this album. It has a lot of songs that are London vibes, about experiences that I’ve had here,” she said. While she didn’t name Partridge directly, the London connection hasn’t gone unnoticed by fans—especially as reports swirl that the two may have quietly parted ways.
If her comments about relationships are any indication, Rodrigo may indeed be entering a new chapter. “Relationships these days are so weird! I don’t know if you find that. I’m definitely a lover girl. Like, I want to be in something committed and so in love. And yeah, it’s hard these days.” The remark reads less like confirmation and more like reflection—but it’s enough to keep the rumor mill turning.
Elsewhere in the interview, Rodrigo showed a refreshingly candid sense of humor about her past dating experiences—particularly her brief foray onto celebrity dating app Raya. “I was like, ‘Wow, never again. It was just so bad.’ I didn’t even see anyone cool! I thought I would see, like, ooh, some really hot actor guy. I don’t even know any of these people… It’s [always] some weird ‘creative director.’ Like, you just don’t have a job.”
Even her own attempts at sliding into DMs didn’t escape her retrospective cringe. “I would just, like, send DMs sometimes…I had a pretty high success rate at the time… But what does success mean? Going on a date? Sure. Were they good? No! It’s so cringe thinking about my younger self dating. I just want to grab my shoulders. Like, ‘Girl, what? What are you doing?!’”
Rodrigo also didn’t shy away from addressing more serious topics—including her criticism of the White House’s use of her music in a controversial ICE-related video. “That was awful. Dystopian. The way that Ice is ripping apart communities and terrorising people is so disturbing. It’s a really sad, scary time,” she said, underscoring her growing willingness to speak out on political issues.
Looking back on her early fame, Rodrigo struck a more reflective tone. “Sometimes I meet a 17 or an 18-year-old nowadays and I’m like, ‘Wow, you are such a baby.’ I can’t believe people were that mean to me.” She added, “I was going through a break-up, working a full-time job, making [Sour], a student in high school and taking, like, three AP [college-level] classes. Looking back, I always think, ‘Wow, life will never be as hard as it was when I was 17.’”
And as for long-standing rumors of tension with Sabrina Carpenter? Rodrigo appears ready to close that chapter. “I think she’s great. I’m so happy for all of her success too. I love the album she’s put out.” Addressing lingering speculation, she added, “No, no, no, it’s good. It’s just people just get weird and clickbaity – it’s all love, though. I’ve talked to her many times.”
With OR3 on the horizon, Rodrigo isn’t just revisiting the emotions that made her a star—she’s reframing them with a sharper, more self-aware lens. And if this next era is anything like her recent reflections, it promises to be her most nuanced yet.
