Do you get deja vu? Ooh. Sabrina Carpenter has had a lot of public love affairs— most recently with the hunky Barry Keoghan (Spoiler alert: it did not go well). But now, we’re looking back at the love triangle that propelled these three stars into the forefront of the pop culture sphere.
Olivia Rodrigo’s “driver’s license” was released in 2021 and became an instant hit. The gossip surrounding the song help make it become one of the most recognizable songs of the year. It was a simple girl likes boy, boy likes another girl, boy and another girl get coupled up kind of song. Sabrina Carpenter and Joshua Bassett got roped into the drama when they released their own songs “Skin” and “Lie, Lie, Lie,” respectfully. Even though it happened a couple of years ago, fans of each artist are still feeling the effects of it today.
Related: Take a look back at Sabrina Carpenter’s dating history
Look at the complete timeline of Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, and Joshua Bassett’s love triangle below.
Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett met on the set of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and it’s assumed that they started a relationship when they were filming, but it isn’t known when they broke up.
Joshua Bassett and Sabrina Carpenter were spotted going to a Black Lives Matter protest. According to an onlooker at the protest, Joshua kissed Sabrina on the forehead.
Olivia Rodrigo broke through the mainstream with her debut hit “Driver’s License.” The song includes the lyrics “And you’re probably with that blonde girl / who always made me doubt / she’s so much older than me.” Many fans speculated this to be about Sabrina as she was dating Joshua at the time.
Joshua Bassett releases his own song “Lie, Lie, Lie” which fans assumed was a response to “driver’s license.” In an Instagram Story before the release of “Lie, Lie, Lie,” Bassett explained that the song is about a friendship that fell apart, not a love triangle like fans assumed. His description on his “friend,” however, is quite vague.
“I wrote ‘Lie, Lie, Lie’ after i found out a friend had been lying about me behind my back for a long time. It always sucks to hear that someone you thought you could trust would throw you under the bus when it benefits them. It happens to all of us, and I think all you can do is seek out people that build you up rather than tear you down,” he wrote
In a back-to-back single showdown, Sabrina releases her single “Skin” where fans think she’s referencing “driver’s license.” “Maybe we could’ve been friends / If I met you in another life,” she sings. The former Disney Channel star also references “sides” to a story, which led fans also believe that “Skin” is a direct response. “You been tellin’ your side / So I’ll be tellin’ mine,” Carpenter sings.
Joshua reacted to the song on his Instagram story: “Been stuck in my head since I heard it. Congratulations @sabrinacarpenter on ‘Skin,’ the new label, & all that’s to come.”
Joshua and Sabrina only seemed to fuel more rumors of a love triangle when they revealed they were working on a song together, “We Both Know,” just weeks after Olivia’s debut single. Sabrina admitted that the collaboration was one that was “very dear to [her] heart” during an interview with Radio.com at the time: “I can’t say too much,” the Austin & Ally star explained. “It’s on his project, so I’m like, I don’t want to say too much that I can’t say, but it’s a collaboration very dear to my heart that I’m excited about. We did it a while ago now. I guess you’ll have to see!”
In an interview with Billboard, Joshua Bassett reveals that he didn’t add the song with Sabrina on his EP. “I didn’t want my EP to be overshadowed by some other narrative that people were trying to make,” he told the publication. “I really want the focus to be on the art instead of some of the talk and the chatter. You shouldn’t live to please everybody, but at the same time, there are ways to be sensitive to situations where maybe [the duet] has a better chance at a different time.
In an interview with radio.com, Olivia reveals that she doesn’t really know the Girl Meets World actress “at all.” She told the publication, “I think we’ve met once or twice in passing, but I’ve never had a conversation with her. I don’t think I could write a song that was meaningful or emotional about somebody that I don’t know.”
In an interview with GQ in June 2021, Bassett responded to rumors that he inspired “driver’s license” and Rodrigo’s debut album, Sour. “People don’t know anything they’re talking about,” he said. He went on to note that “the hardest thing” about the experience has been “biting my tongue, in a lot of ways, but the reality is it’s kind of like a lost cause trying to talk about any of that stuff, and I refuse to feed into any of the bullshit, so I just don’t.”
He continued, “[Everyone] is asking me about Sabrina and Olivia. Why don’t we focus on these women for who they are? Let’s focus on the art that they’re making and how great they are instead of their relationship to a boy.”
Sabrina addressed the accusations that she was dissing Olivia in “Skin” “I felt like in that moment, the most honest thing would be to put it out when it was accurately reflecting what was going on in my life,” she explained to Teen Vogue. “Because that’s literally all I ever do is write about my life and my situations, not just my life, but the way I see the world through situations I’m experiencing, people I’m experiencing. Then it’s kind of on everyone else and what they choose to make it about.”
Joshua Bassett confirms that he is single in an interview with GQ in December 2021. “I think that’s something that’s been good about this last little bit: I’m good on my own. I don’t need somebody else,” he continued.
Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter both attended the 2022 Met Gala and were photographed together by Vogue.
Sabrina released a song that reflected on her time with Joshua Bassett and the hate she received. “Now I’m a homewrecker, I’m a slut/ I got death threats filling up semi trucks/ Tell me who I am, guess I don’t have a choice/ All because I liked-/ I’m the hot topic on your tongue, I’m a rebound gettin’ ‘round stealin’ from the young/ Tell me who I am, guess I don’t have a choice/ All I because I liked a boy,” she sings on the chorus of “All Because I Liked A Boy.”
Sabrina slyly references her first love triangle in the song “Taste” off her latest album Short N’ Sweet. She sings, “You can have him if you like / I’ve been there, done that once or twice / And singin’ ’bout it don’t mean I care / Yeah, I know I’ve been known to share.” In the album, she references a new love triangle—one between Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello.
