Both Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo have skyrocketed to household names in pop music. You can’t turn on the radio without hearing a song from SOUR or Short n’ Sweet. They have so much in common as young, successful stars with similar vibes. They seemed like they would be best friends, yet they were never seen together.
That is, until the 2025 GRAMMYs.
Some casual fans might not have realized the significance of this brief but highly symbolic interaction, but their hug at the GRAMMYs was years in the making for longtime followers of the Olivia-Sabrina drama. The tension between them started over four years ago in a saga that involved heartbreak, viral hits, and relentless fan speculation.
Act 1: Young Love and Heartbreak
In 2019, Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett were co-stars on the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and fans quickly became convinced their on-screen romance had spilled over into real life.
At the start of filming, Rodrigo was in a relationship with her last co-star, Ethan Wacker. Around this time, Bassett released a song called “Common Sense,” which many believe hinted at his feelings for someone already taken. This song added even more fuel to the fire on speculations of Bassett and Rodrigo’s unignorable chemistry.
Songs have always been a way for these three to express their emotions, and shortly after Rodrigo and Wacker’s breakup, Rodrigo and Bassett started spending a lot of time together off-set, though they never officially confirmed their relationship. The internet quickly labeled them the cutest couple. Fan accounts and edits took over TikTok during this era β until things took a turn.
By late 2020, Bassett was spotted out with Sabrina Carpenter, grabbing lunch together in LA and, most notably, wearing matching Halloween costumes on TikTok. The internet wasted no time piecing things together, and rumors of a love triangle spread like wildfire.
Act 2: Enter “Drivers License”
In early 2021, Rodrigo released “drivers license,” a heartbreak anthem that shattered streaming records. The song referenced a “blonde girl” who’s “so much older than me,” and fans quickly speculated that the lyric was about Carpenter, who fit the description.
At the time, Rodrigo was 17, while Carpenter was 21, making the supposed age gap even more of a talking point among fans. This “other girl” character, assumed to be Carpenter, is referenced a lot throughout multiple songs, like “happier,” where she asks, “Do you tell her she’s the most beautiful girl you’ve ever seen?” truly lamenting for answers on whether their love was real in the first place.
“drivers license” dominated the charts, staying on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks at No. 1 and winning three GRAMMY Awards, including Best Pop Solo Performance.
Rodrigo’s debut album SOUR was raw and full of palpable anger and sadness. It encapsulates the emotions in your first heartbreak, which is why it was so incredibly successful and relatable. It dealt with other complicated emotions, such as the feeling of not being enough in songs like “jealousy, jealousy,” which many girls empathized with. Rodrigo could articulate a teenage girl’s heart and mind beautifully.
Rodrigo’s lyrics didn’t explicitly accuse Bassett of cheating, but they did imply that he moved on incredibly fast. Lines like, “It took you two weeks to go out and date her / you’re still a traitor“ left fans dissecting every word.
While Rodrigo had everyone in their feelings, Carpenter had her own response.
Act 3: Sabrina Fires Back
Not long after “drivers license” took over the world, Carpenter dropped “Skin,” a song that many took as a direct rebuttal. Lyrics like “Maybe blonde was the only rhyme” seemed like a pointed reference to “drivers license.” Just like that, the internet had its feud. It was extremely important to her to show that she wouldn’t let this drama get under her skin. She even calls out to Rodrigo, saying, “Maybe we could have been friends in another life.”
Meanwhile, Joshua Bassett, arguably the quietest member of this love triangle, released his own songs, including “Lie Lie Lie,” which featured lyrics like “You’ve been lying to yourself / lie to everyone else.” Fans immediately speculated that this was directed at Rodrigo, further fueling the drama.
In 2022, Carpenter continues about how the drama affected her with “because i liked a boy.” In this, she lets out her frustrations about being accused of being a homewrecker when, from her perspective, she liked a newly single boy. She also has opened up about how the hate she received during this time affected her. She even received death threats, which no one ever deserves. It’s easy to see her side as well. They were both just young girls in love, screwed over by the same boy.
Act 4: Moving On and Making Hits
As time went on, Rodrigo and Carpenter both took new steps in their careers, which distanced them from this drama. Olivia continued to soar in her career. In 2023, she embarked on her massively successful SOUR tour, with over 30 sold-out shows, solidifying her status as a pop powerhouse.
She followed up the success of SOUR with GUTS, a critically acclaimed, GRAMMY-winning album that proved she was far more than a one-hit-wonder. Songs like “vampire” and “get him back!” became instant fan favorites. Once again, she delivered a flawless, raw, edgy, and addicting album that cemented her as one of the most authentic and compelling voices of our generation.
Meanwhile, Carpenter took advantage of a major career breakthrough when she was invited to open for Taylor Swiftβs Eras Tour in 2023, gaining exposure to a massive new audience. She capitalized on this momentum by releasing her sixth studio album, Short n’ Sweet, and scoring an enormous hit with “Espresso,” one of the biggest songs of 2024. Shortly after, she launched her own arena tour for the album.
Now in 2025, she’s taken home two GRAMMYs for the piece. Carpenter built an iconic persona and stage presence, pulling inspiration from old Hollywood: girly, glittery, playful, and seductive. Having spent over a decade in the industry, Carpenter demonstrated that “overnight success” is often the result of years of dedication. By this point, both Rodrigo and Carpenter had firmly established themselves in pop music, separate from the love triangle that once linked their names.
The Finale: War Is Over
Then, in 2025, the moment no one saw coming, Rodrigo and Carpenter were spotted hugging at the GRAMMYs. Yes, hugging. The video is grainy and shaky, but it is undeniably them.
After years of speculation, fan wars, and coded lyrics, the tension between them was finally put to rest. Fans erupted with excitement, with some even hoping for a collaboration between the two in the future. It’s hard to tell where this new friendship might lead, but let’s hope it’s with some long-awaited answers on what really happened behind the scenes and, of course, some collab music! Sweet and Sour. It’s so poetic.
Final Thoughts: More Than Just Drama
At the end of the day, Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter are both exceptionally talented artists who turned personal heartbreak into chart-topping success. Whether or not there was ever genuine bad blood between them, one thing is sure: heartbreak may hurt, but it makes for some incredible music.
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