Since the release of her 2021 song “Driver’s License,” there’s been a lot of interest in Olivia Rodrigo’s boyfriend and who she’s dating. Rodrigo made her Hollywood debut in 2019 as the lead in Disney+’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, but it wasn’t until the release of “Driver’s License,” a breakup ballad believed to be about her co-star Joshua Bassett, and her debut album, Sour, that she became the superstar we know today.
In an interview with The Guardian in May 2021, Rodrigo explained why most of her songs are about love. “I’m a teenage girl, I write about stuff that I feel really intensely—and I feel heartbreak and longing really intensely—and I think that’s authentic and natural. I don’t really understand what people want me to write about; do you want me to write a song about income taxes? How am I going to write an emotional song about that?” she said.
As for why she thinks her music resonates with listeners so much, Rodrigo reasoned that it’s because she sings about emotions that aren’t often talked about. “Something I’m really proud of is that this record talks about emotions that are hard to talk about or aren’t really socially acceptable especially for girls: anger, jealousy, spite, sadness, they’re frowned-upon as bitchy and moaning and complaining or whatever. But I think they’re such valid emotions,” she said.
So…who is Olivia Rodrigo’s boyfriend and is she dating anyone now? Read on for what we know about Rodrigo’s past relationships.
Louis Partridge (2023)
According to The Sun UK, Olivia Rodrigo’s boyfriend is Louis Partridge, who starred in Netflix’s Enola Holmes opposite Millie Bobby Brown. “Olivia flew to London with her best pal, singer Conan Gray, but it was Louis who she came to see. “They met through mutual pals earlier in the year and have been messaging quite a bit,” the source said.
They continued: “She has spent a few days in the capital hanging out with them all but it’s been Louis who she has been inseparable from. They have been for dinners and nights out. They hit a club together on Friday night and were acting very coupley. It’s really sweet to see her happy.”
Page Six confirmed their relationship after posting paparazzi pictures of the two kissing in New York City. Olivia Rodrigo allegedly wrote the song “So American” about him, with lyrics saying: And he says I’m so American / Oh God, I’m gonna marry him / If he keeps this shit up.”
Zack Bia (2022)
Zack Bia. Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
People confirmed Olivia Rodrigo and DJ/socialite Zack Bia were seeing each other in June 2022. “They’ve been dating since the Super Bowl [February],” a source told the publication. “They really like each other.” An insider also E! News at the time: “[Zack] invited her to Super Bowl parties that he was DJing that weekend, and she went to support him. They hit it off and have been casually hanging out,” they revealed.
But by August 2022, Olivia and Zack reportedly split, with a source telling Us Weekly: “Their relationship sort of fizzled. They were casually dating but haven’t spent time together in a while. There were no issues — they both have different work schedules and different friend groups.”
After the release of her June 30, 2023, single “Vampire”, fans believed the lyrics were a direct dig at Bia or her previous boyfriend Adam Faze, with words like: “Look at you, cool guy, you got it / I see the parties and the diamonds sometimes when I close my eyes / Six months of torture you sold as some forbidden paradise / I loved you truly / You gotta laugh at the stupidity.”
Adam Faze (2021 – 2022)
News broke of Rodrigo’s relationship with movie producer Adam Faze in June 2021. E! News reported at the time that Rodrigo invited Faze her plus-one to the premiere of Space Jam 2 at Six Flags America in Valencia, California. The site reported that Rodrigo introduced Faze as “her boyfriend.”
According to a source, Rodrigo and Faze were “together the entire night,” rode “all the rides” and were seen “holding hands at one point.” TikTok star Stuart Brazell, who attend the party, described the couple to E! News as “really cut, but not too overly touchy.” She said, “The two of them together felt comfortable and newish, and it seemed like he also knew a lot of people there. It just felt like comfortable, cuddly, new young love.”
Brazil also added that Rodrigo, who “seemed to be having a really good time,” met TikTok star Charli D’Amelio at the event. “She was smiling a lot and definitely really loved her time with Charli,” she said. “They were just teenagers hanging out on a summer fun night at an amusement park, eating food, riding the rides and having a really good time.”
As for how Rodrigo and Faze know each other, E! News source said that the two “met through industry friends” a few months before their June 2021 date. “It’s only been a few months but she seems really happy with him and they are definitely dating exclusively and getting serious,” the insider said. Rodrigo and Faze split in February 2022 after less than a year of dating. “They’ve been over for a bit now,” a source told People at the time.
Joshua Bassett (2020)
Rodrigo and Bassett starred as love interests, Nini Salazar-Roberts and Ricky Bowen, in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Though they never confirmed their relationship at the time, fans believe that the two dating secretly in 2020 and that Bassett broke up with Rodrigo to date Disney Channel star Sabrina Carpenter. It’s believed that Rodrigo’s debut single, “Driver’s License,” is about her split from Bassett.
“You’re probably with that blonde girl / Who always made me doubt She’s so much older than me / She’s everything I’m insecure about,” Rodrigo sings in one lyric, which is presumed to be about Carpenter. Fans also believe that “Driver’s License” is about Bassett because of past social media post, where Bassett taught Rodrigo how to drive.
After the release of “Driver’s License,” Bassett released his own song titled “Lie, Lie, Lie,” which fans assumed to be about Rodrigo. Carpenter also released her own song at the time titled “Skin,” which fans also assumed to be about Rodrigo. Though Rodrigo never confirmed who “Driver’s License” is about, she told Billboard at the time that she “understands” the curiosity over who inspired the single’s lyrics.
“I totally understand people’s curiosity with the specifics of who the song’s about and what it’s about, but to me, that’s really the least important part of the song,” she said. “It’s resonating with people because of how emotional it is, and I think everything else is not important.”
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.”
