Who was Dua Lipa's ‘dishonest’ ex-lover? A look at her heartbreaks as she talks about her past in 'Song Exploder'
With the next volume of the Netflix docuseries 'Song Exploder' around the corner, fans can look forward to key songs from their favorite artists being explained. The docuseries weaves together in-depth interviews, archival footage, and raw recordings as each artiste breaks down their hit song, layer by layer, and gives an intimate insight into the personal inspiration behind the music and lyrics.
In the first episode of Volume 2, Dua Lipa deconstructs 'Love Again' from her sophomore studio album 'Future Nostalgia', and apart from its interesting composition, one of the highlights from the episode is her statement on the song's meaning. In the beginning of the episode, Lipa describes the time she wrote the song. "I was going through, like, a bunch of personal sh*t," she says. "I was running late and in such a kerfuffle, and I just got into the studio and I was like, 'Okay, maybe, you know, some things need to end, and I need to manifest a new positive energy in my life.'"
"Does it sound like I'm talking in code?" she asks, adding, "Because I'm clearly talking about a relationship and about love." Lipa continues, "I was at a point in a long-term relationship with... [sighs] someone who I guess was quite dishonest with me. And I was like, 'I need to release from this and this isn't healthy for me."
"I see myself as such a strong woman, but there were so many moments where I found myself in positions where I didn't even recognize myself."
Lipa's co-writer for the album, Clarence Coffee Jr., comments, "When you're with someone and the relationship is so close and you're together so long and then it's done, it's like this is gonna be impossible for me to find or get to a space where I can say 'I'm in love again.' And dua felt like she had lost her power."
Although it is not confirmed who the song was about, 'Love Again' clearly originated from a broken relationship, yet the episode continues to reference Lipa's creative duality and she evolved the song into an attitude of self-worth and new confidence.
Relationship history
But who was Lipa's former love? If we're going on the most significant timeline, it's best to look at the period when 'Love Again' was written and recorded. According to reports, Lipa began work on 'Future Nostalgia' in January 2018 and finished in November 2019. However, during the first year of production, she was still promoting her first album on the Self-Titled Tour, and was still figuring out the direction she wanted to go in. Additionally, Lipa had begun thinking of ideas for the LP before her self-titled debut album was released in June 2017. Considering much of 'Future Nostalgia' contains themes of the transformative nature of romance, sex, inequality, empowerment, self-possession, the exploration of vulnerability, and more aspects of love, the album can also be seen as the singer coming into her own and moving on from past troubles.
The only relationship around the length of that timeline (made public) is with Isaac Carew. The singer began an on-again off-again relationship with the celebrity chef and model back to 2015. Two years later, the couple amicably went their separate ways in February 2017. Around the time, it was alleged that the cause of their breakup was blamed on busy schedules and not being able to spend quality time together. Later that year, Dua was linked to Paul Klein of alt-rock group LANY, but broke things off to reconnect with ex Isaac. Then in 2019, Lipa and Carew officially ended their relationship in May 2019.
Paul Klein only dated Lipa for five months and their relationship ended in January 2018. Furthermore, both Lipa and Coffee noted that 'Love Again' stemmed after a "long-term relationship," so the safest guess is it was Isaac Crew.
Shortly after the break-up with Crew, Lipa's relationship with Anwar Hadid was made public. The pair are inseparable and have just celebrated their one-year anniversary. Additionally, they are now a family of three!