Sometimes, you just need to get away from everything. Nobody knows this better than Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes, who’ve been trawling around Coral Gables, Florida, since mid-March. Maybe the stress of being in a highly visible relationship which they’re frequently required to talk about—whether by industry pressure or contract stipulations—finally got to them. Perhaps she just wanted to sit uncomfortably with him in her mother’s kitchen while he answers questions about what his “intentions are.” Who really knows! But these two are undoubtedly having bucketloads of fun, if the many paparazzi pictures documenting their sabbatical are anything to go by. Isn’t it nice that they’re keeping the shutterbugs employed?
Take, for instance, the amount of programmatic walks they take with each other each morning down a palm tree-lined street, wide and scenic enough and for all sorts of interesting paparazzi shots. Just look at how much fun she’s having! They’re such a playful couple, and clearly have so much affection for each other.
Often, they’ll take coffee mugs with them, from which Camila will sometimes drink. Sometimes the mug is empty from the start, which is weird, considering the purpose of a coffee mug is for either drinking coffee or eating cereal. Other times, she’ll dump the coffee out. I’d like to imagine her inner monologue, in this particular moment, was: “Fuck these beans!”
Unfortunately, when you take a coffee mug with you on your loving and wholesome relationship walk, you have to carry it with you the entire time—especially when paparazzi are carefully documenting your every move! That doesn’t seem to stop these two lovebirds, though. They’re determined to have fun together, coffee mugs be damned.
These walks are also a time for Camila and Shawn to show off their outstanding physical chemistry. These are two people who undoubtedly have a bottomless love for each other. Look at the way his hands delicately cradle his mug as he takes care not to actually touch her shoulder! It’s so romantic, how he vacuums up the stray droplets of coffee from her lips while her own fingers white knuckle around the Minion mug she’s clenching.
I also love how much their relationship subverts the traditional expectations around gendered dynamics in heterosexual relationships. Where less confident men might grab their girlfriend’s hand in a sexist, shallow attempt to claim their “territory” over her body and self, Camila and Shawn are more than content to enjoy their strolls without interlocking their sweat-soaked digits. These are two people who not only love each other, but themselves!
Of course, don’t be confused. Camila and Shawn still hold each other’s hands plenty. Even when, it seems, the heat is getting to them, and each likely needs a bit of breathing room. No matter! When you’re in love, you’re OK with getting sweaty and miserable with each other.
But with any good relationship, there also comes a great need for space. No matter how much time you’d like to spend soaked in each other’s body fluids, one should always take the time they need to decompress, and recenter themselves. Camila knows this best. She loves kissing Shawn, but also, she loves kissing her inner peace and serenity. I would too, if I were a mega-famous pop star churned around by the industry machine and all those walks I had to take with my equally famous boyfriend!
