The couple was photographed laughing between kisses in New York City on Wednesday, seemingly confirming dating rumors first sparked in October when the two were spotted together in London.
Rodrigo was last linked to DJ Zack Bia, a record producer, whom she reportedly dated for six months in 2022. Fans have suspected that Rodrigo’s hit single “Vampire” — whose lyrics reference a turbulent relationship with an age gap — was inspired by her romance with Bia, who is seven years her senior.
Between her 2021 debut, “Sour,” and her recently released sophomore album, “Guts,” the singer-songwriter was also involved with film producer Adam Faze, who was eight years older than Rodrigo.
She reflected on those relationships in an August interview with the New York Times.
“I had such a desire to live and experience things and make mistakes and grow after ‘Sour’ came out, I kind of felt this pressure to be this girl that I thought everyone expected me to be,” she said. “I think because of that pressure, maybe I did things that maybe I shouldn’t have — dated people that I shouldn’t have.”
Partridge is also several years younger than his last flame, Sydney Chandler, whom he met on the set of the Hulu limited series “Pistol.” The “Enola Holmes” actor accompanied Chandler to the “Don’t Worry Darling” premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2022, sharing a selfie of himself and Chandler on Instagram after the fest. Partridge and Chandler never confirmed their breakup.
When photos of Rodrigo and Partridge in New York surfaced, fans immediately expressed their support — in part because the two are close in age.
One X user wrote they were “glad that olivia rodrigo and louis partridge are finally dating people their age and not weirdos in their late twenties who think it’s okay to date teens.”
Another wrote, they “can’t wait to hear the love songs about him.”
Even if Rodrigo does pen Partridge a love song, she’s unlikely to confirm his identity.
In a recent interview with The Times, Rodrigo said she prefers hearing listeners’ guesses as to whom her songs are about rather than telling them outright.
“I just think it’s not classy to come out and say it’s about this person,” she told The Times, adding that she wouldn’t want to “set a weird precedent where I’d have to clear the air with every song I write.”
Rodrigo, coming off of performances on “Saturday Night Live,” “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and NPR’s “Tiny Desk” in recent weeks, is up for six prizes at February’s Grammy Awards, including album of the year for “Guts” and record and song of the year for “Vampire,” and will kick off her sophomore tour a few weeks after the awards ceremony.