From exes to heartbreak: All the Easter eggs in Sabrina Carpenter's new album.

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Sabrina Carpenter's seventh studio album is here, and Man's Best Friend is already garnering glowing reviews.

From her record teaser to her raunchy lyrics and cheeky album covers, the 'Manchild' singer is no stranger to drawing headlines, and predictably, her new album is rife with references to her past relationships.

"I started writing this album pretty much the day after I finished Short n' Sweet because I was in the midst of a lot, personally in my head, and I was like, 'It would be really bad if I just stopped writing'," she said in a Q&A with actor Owen Thiele.

She noted the album's lead single 'Manchild' was fuelled by "a specific, unfortunate chapter of my life."

As her star has risen, Carpenter's romantic pursuits have made headlines in recent years. Beginning with the relationship between Carpenter and Disney's Joshua Bassett, this took centre stage in the context of an alleged 'love triangle' involving Olivia Rodrigo, which was said to have inspired her first album SOUR.

Watch the hosts of Cancelled discuss Sabrina Carpenter. Post continues after video.

Then came her rumoured connection with Shawn Mendes in early 2023 based on public sightings. Fans have speculated that Mendes inspired several songs from her Short n' Sweet album, especially 'Taste' which people have hypothesised is about the singer rebounding back to his on/off flame, Camila Cabello.

Carpenter has also been romantically linked to actors Griffin Gluck and Dylan O'Brien and YouTuber David Dobrik.

But her most high-profile romance was with Irish actor Barry Keoghan, with the famous pair first sparking dating rumours in late 2023.

The Saltburn actor was spotted attending Carpenter's tour and they were photographed together at the 2024 Met Gala. The actor publicly praised Carpenter, stating he was "incredibly blessed" and calling her a "strong, independent lady who's massively talented," in an interview with Louis Theroux on his podcast in late 2024.

lol barry keoghan was reacting all sabrina’s messages in her broadcast channel in instagram, he’s working hard in his boyfriend duties 🫡 pic.twitter.com/13vaBHPSsv

— je ✨ (@ttpdhearts) August 30, 2024

The couple reportedly broke up in December 2024. Following their split, rumours of Keoghan's alleged infidelity with a TikTok influencer circulated, though the influencer denied these claims. Keoghan later released a statement condemning the "inhumane" online harassment and "absolute lies" directed at him and his family.

Carpenter has never addressed the breakup publicly. However, for a Dolly Parton remix of her music video 'Please, Please, Please', which originally starred Keoghan, the new version had his character tied up and bound in her car boot. Make of that what you will!

This brings us back to her new album Man's Best Friend, and oh boy, Sabrina had a lot of material to mine for this one.

In the angsty track 'Never Getting Laid', she sings about an ex: "At the end of the rainbow, I hope you find a good whole lot of nothing."

Some on TikTok have speculated that she is referencing a leprechaun here, which could be a (rather offensive??) nod to Keoghan and his Irish heritage.

@joemorris.11

Barry larry getting mugged off lyric after lyric #sabrinacarpenter #mansbestfriend #fyp #lyrics

♬ sonido original - jm

In the same song, Sabrina says she hopes her ex will "get agoraphobia some day," which has a striking similarity to her singing in 'Please, Please, Please' that "I have a fun idea, babe, maybe just stay inside."

Then in 'Go Go Juice', Carpenter seemingly references the name of her most famous exes.

"Could be John or Larry, gosh, who's to say? Or the one that rhymes with 'villain' if I'm feelin' that way," she sings.

The most popular comment on the above TikTok has speculated that John is Shawn, Larry is Barry, Gosh is Josh and the word villain is referring to Dylan O'Brien.

@thatespressoo

edit : someone said John = Shawn Mendes, Larry = Barry Keoghan, Gosh = Joshua Bassett and Vilain = Dylan O'Brien and it's way more accurate #mansbestfriend #sabrinacarpenter #barrykeoghan #album #breakup

♬ son original - 𝓥𝓪𝓷𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓪 🐾🍷

In other lyrics of the album, Carpenter sheds light on a breakup and what led to the demise of a relationship.

For 'Nobody's Son', she recalls being told "Hi, I hope you're great, I think it's time we took a break, so I can grow emotionally — that's what he said to me."

She elaborates on a tumultuous romance in 'We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night'.

"All the 'I love yous' and 'I'm sorry's' were said. We had our sex and then we made amends, that's right," she sings. "Called it a false alarm to all of our friends then we almost broke up again last night."

A rare photo of Barry Keoghan and Sabrina Carpenter together at the 2024 Met Gala. Image: Getty.

Then in 'My Man on Willpower', she questioned why her partner's feelings changed.

"He used to be literally obsessed with me, I'm suddenly the least sought-after girl in the land," she sang.

On one of the album's saddest songs, 'Goodbye', she speaks about being dumped after being led on.

"Goodbye means that you're losing me for life. Can't call it love, then call it quits. Can't shoot me down, then shoot the shit. Did you forget that it was you who said goodbye?"

Ooft. This is a lot to digest, Sabrina. In the meantime, I'll be blasting Man Best Friend until the next TikTok theory drops.

Feature image: Getty/Sabrina Carpenter.