John Mayer & Shawn Mendes Bond Over Exes Writing Songs About Them

During a recent conversation, John Mayer and Shawn Mendes opened up about an experience not many others can relate to: having a high-profile ex write a hit song about you.

On the latest episode of the “Daughters” singer’s How’s Life With John Mayer program on SiriusXM, the two men — who, between the two of them, are believed to have inspired bangers by artists such as Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Camila Cabello and Sabrina Carpenter — got real about the “psychological toll,” as Mayer called it, of those songs opening up their personal lives to public scrutiny.

“No one’s gonna understand,” Mayer began, conceding that he and his friend are “handsomely rewarded for the stuff we have to deal with.” “You and I are both talking as people who’ve heard songs that — at least other people are saying — are references to us.”

Agreeing, Mendes shared, “It sucks to feel like … It’s a funny feeling to feel like you’re being written about, and maybe the whole picture’s not being expressed.”

As Mayer pointed out, it’s also not exactly like the two musicians can talk about these issues to a professional who relates to the pressures of celebrity life. “You talk to a therapist and go, ‘You ever seen your ex-girlfriend on a billboard before?’” the “Your Body Is a Wonderland” artist said, laughing. “‘Let me tell you, it’s a weird two weeks.’”

Even so, the Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile star said he wouldn’t let that prevent him from falling in love with another songwriter. “The suffering that is from hearing a song talking about you in a way you don’t want to be talked about is not even close to the beauty of falling in love with someone for the first time,” he told Mayer.

Neither of the artists named names, but both have been in public relationships with very famous women in music. Between 2012 and 2015, Mayer dated the “Teenage Dream” singer — whom he bumped into at a recent Carpenter concert — and before that, he had a relationship with a certain Eras Tour headliner, whose scathing 2010 ballad “Dear John” is widely believed to be about the guitarist.

Speaking of the “Espresso” singer, Mendes is the long-rumored center of a love triangle with his “Señorita” duet partner and Carpenter. Cabello’s “June Gloom” and the Girl Meets World alum’s “Sharpest Tool” and “Taste” detail a love interest who’s still not over his ex, seemingly mirroring how Mendes was spotted with Carpenter several times in 2023 right before rekindling things with Cabello.

Without getting into details, Mendes did appear to touch on the situation with Mayer. “The biggest lesson I’ve learned is no one gets out of this life without getting hurt, and no one gets out of this life without hurting someone,” the “Mercy” singer said.

Watch Mayer and Mendes talk about being the inspiration for songs below.