Shawn Mendes Opens Up About His Sexuality And Dating Pressures During Concert

Shawn Mendes, 26, shared a deeply personal moment with fans during his For Friends and Family Tour stop at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre on October 28. In between songs, the Mercy singer opened up about his journey of self-discovery, discussing his sexuality and the pressure of modern dating.

Shawn has been performing his new song The Mountain, a track from his upcoming album, where he reflects on the speculation surrounding his personal life. The song’s lyrics tackle conversations about his sexuality head-on, with lines like, “You can say I like girls or boys / Whatever fits your mold.”

While speaking to the audience, Shawn elaborated on the subject, revealing that the constant questioning of his sexuality has always felt intrusive. “It always felt like such an intrusion on something very personal to me, something that I was figuring out in myself, something that I had yet to discover, and still have yet to discover,” he explained. 

Shawn shared that he’s now in a place where he feels ready to be open about his feelings, admitting that he’s “just figuring it out like everyone else.”

The Canadian singer, who has previously faced speculation about his sexuality, acknowledged that society often puts pressure on people to define who they are. “The real truth about my life and my sexuality is that, man, I’m just figuring it out like everyone. I don’t really know sometimes, and I know other times. And it feels really scary because we live in a society that has a lot to say about that,” Shawn said, his voice steady yet vulnerable. 

“I’m trying to be really brave and just allow myself to be a human and feel things. And that’s all I really want to say about that for now,” he concluded.

In addition to opening up about his sexuality, Shawn touched on his views about dating. Addressing the often overwhelming search for The One, he confessed that the pressure can take away from enjoying relationships as they are. 

“When you’re single, there’s this pressure of looking for ‘The One,’ who’s ‘The One?’… Damn, that’s a lot of pressure to put on someone when you first start dating,” Shawn told the crowd, reflecting on the weight of modern expectations.

Instead, the Stitches singer shared that he’s focusing on experiencing love in the present, without the heavy expectations that come with dating. “For me, I’ve just been trying to take that pressure off of whoever, and just allow myself to experience the love that is happening in that moment. Man, we all need a little bit of cuddling, a little bit of hugging,” he stated.

Shawn, who has previously dated fellow singer Camila Cabello and was linked to Sabrina Carpenter, has faced speculation about his sexuality throughout his career. He spoke about this in 2020 on Dax’s Armchair Expert podcast, explaining the frustration of being in the public eye while trying to navigate such a personal journey. 

“It’s such a tricky thing,” he said at the time, “You want to say, ‘I’m not gay, but it’d be fine if I was gay — but also there’s nothing wrong with being gay, but I’m not.’”