Is Phoebe Bridgers' 'On My Own' Lyric in Her SZA Collab Hinting at Paul Mescal Breakup?
Have Phoebe Bridgers and Paul Mescal called it quits?
The "Motion Sickness" singer, 28, and the Normal People actor, 26, have been linked since 2020, but fans are speculating that a new set of lyrics from Bridgers may be hinting at a breakup.
Bridgers contributed a verse to SZA's new song "Ghost in the Machine," and in the lyrics, appears to reference an argument that took place at The Ludlow Hotel in New York City.
"You said all of my friends are on my payroll/You're not wrong, you're an assh---," she sings. "Screaming at you in the Ludlow/I was yours for free."
The star later sings about being "on my own in an airport bar or hotel lobby," and in a recent interview with NME, said the lines were written within the past few weeks.
RELATED: Paul Mescal Talks Indie Roles — and Which Movie Franchise Universe He'd Like to Join
Amy Sussman/WireImage Paul Mescal and Phoebe Bridgers
"[SZA] just hit me up, she just sent me a DM," Bridgers said. "It all happened so fast. I wasn't really used to that in the pop world, because vinyl isn't so much of a consideration until way later, it's just like, 'Do you want to be on this record? OK, it's out next week', which I really like. I like that turnaround time."
The song's release came days before Bridgers sent tongues wagging further with an Instagram post shared by The 1975 frontman Matty Healy that featured the two longtime friends sharing a kiss in front of comedian Bo Burnham.
"Gay Poets Society," Healy, 33, captioned the cheeky post.
Bridgers and Burnham, 32, are also pals, and Jezebel reported this week that the two were spotted sitting together at comedian Kate Berlant's one-woman show, which Burnham directed, in New York City on Monday.
The four-time Grammy nominee made her red carpet debut with Mescal in November 2021, and made things Instagram official that December with a sweet photo she shared that featured her actor boyfriend leaning in close as she smiled for the camera.
The pair attended the Met Gala together in May, and even reunited with Mescal's Normal People costar Daisy Edgar-Jones on the red carpet, where the trio posed for a photo together.
It was after watching Normal People that Mescal first caught Bridgers' eye, as she tweeted in May 2020: "finished normal people and now i'm sad and horny oh wait."
Mescal, who had openly been a fan of Bridgers' music, responded, "I'm officially dead," and the two continued to flirt online.
Later that month, their chemistry was put on display for the world to see when Bridgers interviewed him on Instagram Live for Wonderland magazine.
RELATED: Phoebe Bridgers and Paul Mescal's Relationship Timeline
Taylor Hill/Getty Phoebe Bridgers and Paul Mescal
In June 2020, the "Kyoto" singer referred to him as "the cute boy" in an interview with NME, and said he'd recently followed her on Instagram.
"I got a little pitter-patter in my heart when I saw," she said, adding that she then sent him her new album.
Mescal had a cameo in her "Sidelines" music video in June, and in September, opened up to PEOPLE about watching movies with Bridgers.
"We do have the same taste, but it's also really fun to take your partner to something which is not their world. It's cool to sit in at the Women Talking world premiere with your partner and get to experience that together and talk about it after."
