Shawn Mendes appears to reference Camila Cabello during his VMAs performance

Shawn Mendes apparently referred to his ex-girlfriend Camila Cabello in the new song he sang at the MTV Music Video Awards.

When Mendes, 26, sang “Nobody Knows” on Wednesday, Sept. 11, he seemed to allude to his past relationship with Cabello, 27, singing, “You're an amateur drunk and everybody knows it / But damn, you're the one and I live for these moments / When the bottle's open, anything can happen / When I fly too close to the sun.”

Significantly, the line “Flying too close to the sun” is an allusion to Cabello’s Instagram biowhich states: “Long, thick black hair turned white because it flew too close to the sun.”

Hair dyed her hair blonde in February of this year. At the VMAs on Wednesday she walked the red carpet with her typical black hair.

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Some fans also speculated that the “bottle” line could be a reference to Cabello's single “June Gloom,” which she recently hinted is about reconnecting with an ex.

“We decided to take a harmless stroll on this beach with a bottle of alcohol and suddenly we were on this beach where there was no one, it was this deserted beach, and we were on a playground and he was spinning me on this carousel in this deserted playground,” she recalled during a recent appearance on Apple Music. “I don't know what I was more drunk on, him or the alcohol.”

Mendes and the “Havana” singer were together for two years before in November 2021 endYou briefly Reunification in 2023 Weeks after rumors circulated that Mendes and Sabrina Carpenter were together. Mendes denied that he and the 25-year-old “Espresso” singer were more than just friends.

But Carpenter’s new album, In short, drops hints to the contrary. Her fans speculated that several songs were about Mendes, particularly “Coincidence,” which seemed to refer to a guy who got back together with his ex shortly after breaking up with the song's narrator. Meanwhile, “Taste” is aimed at an ex's new girlfriend, with lyrics like, “I heard you guys are back together and if that's true / Then you just gotta taste me when he kisses you.”

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Carpenter sang “Taste” during the VMAsshortly after Mendes left the stage. She was nominated for six VMAsand won Song of the Year for “Espresso”.

Cabello, meanwhile, was nominated for two Moon Person trophies in the categories of Best Pop and Best Trending Video.

Mendes is expected to release his fifth studio album. Shawnon October 18. It will be his first since 2020 Wonder.

He and Cabello are still part of each other's lives despite their separation. After the ex-partners were seen together at the Copa América final on July 14, a source reported exclusively told We weekly The they “are not dating. They are just friends.”

According to the insider, Cabello and Mendes “won't speak for months” but are “always friendly” when they meet.[It is] as if no time had passed,” the source added at the time.

Mendes and Cabello “tried to make things work again romantically in the summer of 2023, but realized neither was ready to get back into a relationship,” the source explained. “It wasn't a bad breakup, so they remained friendly.”

Cabello and Mendes have “been through a lot together,” the insider said Us. “[They] will always have a bond to some degree as they have helped each other with their mental health issues over the years. Shawn and Camila both enjoy seeing each other, but it's purely friendly.”