- LIFESTYLE
- FASHION
- FOOD
- ENTERTAINMENT
- EVENTS
- CULTURE
- VIDEOS
- WEB STORIES
- GALLERIES
- GADGETS
- CAR & BIKE
- SOCIETY
- TRAVEL
- INDULGE CONNECT
Pop star Sabrina Carpenter is no stranger to turning heartbreak into pop gold, and her upcoming single Manchild has the internet buzzing — not just for its infectious teasers, but for who fans believe it's about: her ex-boyfriend, Saltburn actor Barry Keoghan.
Earlier this week, Sabrina teased her new release with a grainy social media video showing her hitchhiking by a roadside — a cryptic nod to a journey of escape, perhaps. Alongside the video, fans spotted billboards off Interstate 69 with slogans like “Hey men!” and “I swear they choose me, I’m not choosing them”, fuelling speculation that Manchild is a pointed breakup anthem. Confirming the song’s title shortly after, Sabrina also posted the cover art and cheekily added: “This one’s about you!!” The caption, along with a teaser from the vinyl reading “Inside of your head when you’ve just won an argument with a man”, only intensified suspicions that Keoghan might be in the lyrical crosshairs.
The pair were first linked in late 2023 and went public in early 2024, attending events like the Grammys after-party and the MET Gala together. Fans even clocked Sabrina referencing Barry’s viral Saltburn scene during her Coachella set, and he featured in the video for her chart hit Please Please Please. But by December 2024, the couple had reportedly split, with Barry later addressing rumours and online backlash in a strongly worded Instagram post. “I can only sit and take so much… my name has been dragged across the internet,” he wrote, calling out the “disgusting commentary” he’d received, including attacks on his parenting and appearance.
With Manchild dropping tomorrow, fan theories have hit fever pitch. “If Manchild is half as savage as her caption, Barry’s going to need a helmet,” one fan quipped on X (formerly Twitter). Another added, “Barry, you are finished.”
Whether or not the track is about Keoghan, Carpenter seems to be embracing her villain era — unapologetic, stylish, and sharply on-brand. The singer is currently on a short break from her Short N’ Sweet world tour, set to resume in Europe with a major BST Hyde Park slot alongside Clairo, Beabadoobee and Olivia Dean. She’s also rumoured to be circling a role in Mamma Mia 3 and was recently announced as part of an ‘epic dance party’ in Fortnite — proving, yet again, that heartbreak may slow you down, but it won’t stop Sabrina Carpenter.
