Why Camila Cabello Dating Shawn Mendes Was ‘Kind of Weird’ at First

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She loves it when he calls her señorita, but Camila Cabello recently admitted that it took her two months to call her boyfriend Shawn Mendes ‘baby.’

Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello at the 2019 American Music Awards Press Room in Los Angeles on November 24, 2019Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello at the 2019 American Music Awards Press Room in Los Angeles on November 24, 2019

Last week, the 22-year-old singer made a guest appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she talked about her platonic-turned-romantic relationship with the 21-year-old Stitches singer.

After seeing an old photo of her and Shawn, Camila jokingly said: “We were awkward and nervous and weird, and now we’re older and nervous and weird.”

When asked about a pet name for each other, Camila opened up about how weird she felt dating a long-time friend. “It’s kind of weird in the beginning, right? It took me like two months to be able to call him ‘baby’! Like, I could not, I didn’t want to say his name, because we were dating, and I couldn’t call him ‘baby,’ so I was like, ‘Hey! You!’ it’s weird. But it’s great.”

Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes at Pitbull's New Year's Revolution Rehearsal at Bayfront Park in Miami on December 30, 2015Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes at Pitbull’s New Year’s Revolution Rehearsal at Bayfront Park in Miami on December 30, 2015

The Crying in the Club singer also felt awkward introducing Shawn as her boyfriend to her family and friends.

“The people around you already know them ‘cause you’ve known them for a long time,” she explained. “So it’s just like, and uh, now we kiss and hold hands,” she added.

How did Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello meet?

Shawn and Camila, also known as Shamila, first met on Austin Mahone’s 2014 summer tour, where Camila’s then-girl group Fifth Harmony opened for Austin.

“I remember I wanted to hang out with you, but you were always on the tour bus, just learning guitar,” Cabello said in an interview with V Magazine about meeting her future boyfriend.

Mendes replied, “Yeah, that was me. I didn’t talk to anybody. You were the only person that talked to me. Like, you were the only one of everybody on that tour who would say words to me. Actually, I think if we go into our DM’s or something, there’s a photo from the day we met, I think.”

She discussed her and Shawn’s early days on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Friday, saying, “I for sure had a crush on him there. We were stupid, I think we both had a crush, but we were being babies about it. But we’re grown now.”

Shamila’s first collaboration

Shamila reunited in July 2015 when they opened for Taylor Swift’s 1989 tour. The two got close during the tour and wrote a song together, I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Camila later told her Twitter followers that they created the song during a “random jam session” backstage on Taylor Swift’s tour.

We wrote this together backstage at one of Taylor's 1989 shows out of a random jam session

Shamila started exchanging flirty tweets

In August of the same year, Shamila began a series of flirty tweets.

Shawn tweeted that he was going to try to learn Spanish again, while Camila hinted that she’ll teach him the language.

Don't worry, you'll learn fast because you have an INCREDIBLE Spanish teacher whose name rhymes with Vamila Carmello

In return, Shawn will be teaching Camila how to play Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car.

Is going to teach me how to play fast car by Tracy chapman- until then im playing a team like a good student

Shamila released their first single together

A few months later, Camila and Shawn dropped I Know What You Did Last Summer along with a music video.

With the release of the steamy music video and their growing closeness, dating rumors spread like wildfire. Fans also started to ship the two singers.

The release of Senorita

For the past two years, Shawn and Camila occasionally exchanged tweets to express their support for each other’s careers.

It wasn’t until 2019 when the then-rumored couple found themselves back in the headlines, thanks to their new hit song, Senorita. They have been inseparable since teaming up for their second collaborative song.

Fourth of July

During a fan Q&A meeting in October, a fan asked Shawn, “I know there have been rumors about you and Camila for a while, but how long have you two actually been together?

Shawn candidly answered: “We haven’t been dating for that long. We’ve been dating since July 4 officially.”

Shawn Mendes officially started dating Camila Cabello on July 4, 2019 Shawn Mendes officially started dating Camila Cabello on July 4, 2019

Since then, the young lovebirds have been making their relationship as public as possible. They were even spotted a few times making out and getting intimate in public.

Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello at the 2019 MTV VMA Winners Press Room held at the Prudential Center in Newark on August 26, 2019Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello at the 2019 MTV VMA Winners Press Room held at the Prudential Center in Newark on August 26, 2019

In her recent outing, however, Camila went solo as she hit the red carpet at KIIS FM’s iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2019 at The Forum in Los Angeles.

This came a day after she released her sophomore studio album, Romance, which includes a new track with short rapper DaBaby. Entitled My Oh My, the song is produced by Billie Eilish’s brother, Finneas.

For the event, Camila went for a cute but sexy look in a white Raisa Vanessa Spring/Summer 2020 dress. The one-shoulder mini features an asymmetrical neckline with sheer and ruffle-detailed long sleeve, a cutout waist detail, and a ruched ruffled mini skirt that allowed her to show off her nice legs.

Camila Cabello flaunts her legs in a white Raisa Vanessa mini dress at KIIS FM's iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2019Camila Cabello flaunts her legs in a white Raisa Vanessa mini dress at KIIS FM’s iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2019 in Los Angeles on December 6, 2019

The Cuban-American pop star wore her signature long curls down with a parted fringe and accentuated her features with metallic eyeshadow, complementing blush, and pink lip gloss.

Camila Cabello wears her signature long curls with metallic eyeshadow and pink poutCamila Cabello wears her signature long curls with metallic eyeshadow and pink pout

She kept the accessories to a minimum with pearl earrings and a pair of embellished heels to boost her 5’2” height. Unfortunately, she didn’t pick the right size, causing an unsightly toe overhang.

Camila Cabello suffers toe overhang in Aquazzura sandalsCamila Cabello suffers toe overhang in Aquazzura sandals

The Shameless singer wore the Aquazzura ‘Very Vera’ sandals in nude suede with light-catching crystal embellishments, open toes, and about 4.25-inch heels.

Aquazzura ‘Very Vera’ Sandals, $995

This pair has been crafted in Italy from suede that's punctuated with faceted, light-catching crystals and has a leather sole and 105mm stiletto heelThis pair has been crafted in Italy from suede that’s punctuated with faceted, light-catching crystals and has a leather sole and 105mm stiletto heel

On Wednesday last week, Camila graced the L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth Awards red carpet held at The Pierre Hotel in New York City.

She dressed to the nines in a dramatic mini from Ralph & Russo’s Fall 2019 Couture collection.

The colorful one-shoulder ruched frock features a sweetheart neckline, a large bow detail on one shoulder, and another bow on the waist with a floor-sweeping sash train.

Camila Cabello at the L'Oreal Paris 14th Annual Women of Worth Awards in New York City on December 4, 2019Camila Cabello at the L’Oreal Paris 14th Annual Women of Worth Awards in New York City on December 4, 2019

Wearing her long hair in soft waves, Camila rounded out her look with Christian Louboutin’s Follies Strass pumps.

Camila Cabello pairs her dress with Christian Louboutin mesh pumpsCamila Cabello pairs her dress with Christian Louboutin mesh pumps

They are made of beige mesh and feature hand-applied Swarovski crystals, pointed toes, and silver glittered heel counters and heels.

Christian Louboutin ‘Follies Strass’ Pumps, $753

Christian Louboutin ‘Follies Strass’ Pumps

Just last Sunday, Camila went for a risqué look as she performed at the B96 Pepsi Jingle Bash in Illinois.

She wore a one-sleeved, one-legged sheer floral jumpsuit with liquid leather gloves and matching thigh-high boots.

Camila Cabello at the 2019 B96 Pepsi Jingle Bash at the Allstate Arena in Chicago on December 8, 2019Camila Cabello at the 2019 B96 Pepsi Jingle Bash at the Allstate Arena in Chicago on December 8, 2019

Credit: JLN Photography / Instar / WENN