Newly single Sabrina Carpenter is performing at the Brit Awards tonight but for a short while her and Barry Keoghan were the sweetest couple in showbiz
Sabrina, 25 and Barry, 32 were first linked when both were seen at Givenchy's spring/summer 2024 show during Paris Fashion Week on September 28 2023. Earlier that year Sabrina attended a advanced screening of Barry's hit movie Saltburn in New York, causing tongues to wag she had a crush on the Irish actor.
By Christmas that year they were spotted enjoying a cosy dinner together Brentwood, California. Barry had been single since splitting with Alyson Kierans, a dental nurse and orthodontic therapist, with whom he shares two year-old-son Brando. Meanwhile Sabrina's previous rumoured beau was singer Shawn Mendes.
They made their first public appearance together at the January Grammys after-party, but played it coy - covering their faces infront of photographers.
The pair continued to keep their cards close to their chests in interviews. Then in February Barry left some telling evidence of a romance on Sabrina's Instagram. The young pop starlet shared some clips and photos from her duet with Taylor Swift in Sydney, Australia, where she was the opening act for the Eras Tour.
She wrote on Instagram: "9 year old Sabrina singing 'White Horse' would never see this sh** coming! I love you so so so dearly Taylor. Always have always will."
In the comments, Keoghan left a queen emoji. A month later he was by Sabrina's side on tour. Footage shows a smitten Sabrina running into Barry's arms after one of her Singapore shows. At an LA Awards dinner with Louis Vuitton and W magazine, the equally smitten actor was seen wearing a Taylor Swift-style beaded friendship bracelet that reads 'Sabrina.'
In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Sabrina said: "A lot of it, for me, has been fate. I know that's super broad, but I don't actively look for it. The relationships that I actually want to put my energy into have to be so interesting or invigorating because they take me away from the other things I love. So yeah, it's fun and it's messy. I think I'm still just at this place where I'm really enjoying the newness of all of it," she said.
During Coachella, while Sabrina performed on stage, supportive Barry was seen filming her throughout her set. Sabrina matched his adoration and changed the intro of her hit 'Nonsense' while onstage singing, "Man his knees so weak, he had to spread mine. He's drinkin' my bath water like it's red wine.' - a reference to his much talked about Saltburn scene.
Barry then threw a surprise party when Sabrina turned 25 in May. The singer shared pictures from the event, which featured a cake that read, "Is 25 that sweet? I guess so!" This was a nod to her hit single, Espresso. Additionally, there was a second cake with a Leonardo DiCaprio meme printed on it, which said, "Nooo, don't turn 25! You're so sexy, aha!" - a dig at 50-year-old Leonardo's penchant for dating girls no older than 25.
But the pair took it to the next level when Barry appeared in the music video, for Sabrina's hit single Please, Please, Please - depicting the pair getting cosy in prison.
The song is about her hoping her new partner doesn't make her look bad, with lines like, "I beg you don't embarrass me / Mother f*****r' and "I heard that you're an actor / So act like a stand up guy."
She later spoke of Keoghan's reaction to the song in her Variety interview. "He loved the song," she said. "He's obsessed with the lyrics, and I'm so grateful for that. I don't want to sound biased, but I think he's one of the best actors of this generation. So getting to see him on the screen with my song as the soundtrack made the video better and all the more special."
She also touched on their astrological compatibility later in the interview. "Barry's a Libra, and so is my sister," she said. (Carpenter is a Taurus.) "They're very different, but they have similarities. I tend to gravitate towards Leos as well."
But just a few weeks later it appeared to be all over. Barry attempted to quash split rumours by liking Sabrina's Instagram post of her in blue lingerie. However he seemed to make it clear their link was now purely professional after his video appearance. Speaking to the Guardian she said: "I'm very honoured and I got to work with such a great actor!"
The Oscar nominated actor has left a flirty message on a post about her Taste music video where she and co-star Jenna Ortega are Bratz dolls, writing: 'Can I have one?'. He also left another cheeky message on another post.
Barry appeared to still be carrying a torch for his ex, although a insider confirmed the break-up last Christmas, telling People: "They are both young and career-focused, so they've decided to take a break."
In December, before their split was confirmed, Barry also hit back at the online backlash over his relationship with Sabrina and 'absent father' claims, saying he received messages filled with 'lies, hate, and disgusting comments'. He also begged people to stop 'knocking at my grannies door'.
The statement reads in full: "I can only sit and take so much. My name has been dragged across the internet in ways I usually don't respond too. I have to respond now because it's gettin [sic] to a place where there are too many lines being crossed.
"I deactivated my account because I can no longer let this stuff distract from my family and my work. The messages I have received no person should ever have to read them. Absolute lies, hatred, disgusting commentary about my appearance, character, how I am as a parent and every other inhumane thing you can imagine.
"Dragging my character and everything I worked extremely hard for and stand for. Talking about how I was a heroine baby and how I grew up and dragging my dear mother into it also. Knocking on my grannies door. Sitting outside my baby boys house intimidating them. Thats crossing a line.
"Each and every day I work harder to push myself on every level to be the healthiest and strongest person for that boy. I want to provide opportunities for him to learn, fail and grow. I want him to be able to look up to his daddy, to have full trust in me and know I will have his back no matter what. I need you to remember he has to read ALL of this about his father when he is older. Please be respectful to all. Thank u x."
The Saltburn actor, who is filming for the Netflix film of Peaky Blinders, also spoke out about the trolling he had received due to his time working in Hollywood and away from his son in an interview with Louis Theroux. He said: "Just trying to get a good body of work and create safety for my child".
Keoghan won the Bafta best supporting actor prize in 2023 for his role in the dark comedy The Banshees of Inisherin, for which he also received an Oscar nod.
This month Sabrina made it clear she has moved on by rereleasing Please, Please, Please - and bringing in the country legend Dolly Parton as a guest artist to star in the new video.
The video showcases Sabrina and Dolly in a black-and-white, Thelma and Louise-style sequence, cruising in a pickup truck. It concludes with a shot of a man tied up and gagged in the truck's trailer, a bag over his head. At one point, the pair are seen staring proudly at the bed of the truck after successfully capturing Carpenter's bound ex lover.
Eagle-eyed fans spotted that the man's attire bears a striking resemblance to what Barry wore in the original music video. And fans are lapping up the plot twist.
"Barry was the only man to ever survive a Sabrina video so she had to come back and make things right," one YouTube commenter quipped. Another chimed in: "This is so much shade to Barry and I couldn't love it any more."
![JT Thomas opened up about the cast's recent trip to the Bahamas, saying "half the group" didn't even "acknowledge me" and revealing that "my chest [was] pounding" during a dinner fight - lulu](https://i-1.cybergalleria.com/uploads/images/tinymce-uploads/20250306/14-1741279381-q80.webp "JT Thomas opened up about the cast's recent trip to the Bahamas, saying \"half the group\" didn't even \"acknowledge me\" and revealing that \"my chest [was] pounding\" during a dinner fight - lulu")
