Sabrina Carpenter Shares the Tragic Event That Inspired “Man’s Best Friend”

Sabrina Carpenter’s new record Man’s Best Friend brims with playful melodies and tongue-in-cheek lyrics, yet at its core, the singer explains, lies a tale of heartbreak.

In a forthcoming interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, airing Thursday, September 4, Carpenter reveals how she channeled the emotional aftermath of her split from Barry Keoghan into buoyant pop anthems. “I think I emerged from that chapter with far less resentment than I ever anticipated,” she confides.

“There’s a certain maturity in recognizing that relationships involve two people,” she continues. “I didn’t want to remain adversaries with someone I once loved. Even the album’s opener, ‘Oh, Boy’, began as a wry eye-roll to myself—like, ‘Here we go again.’”

On the Billboard Hot 100–topping single “Manchild,” Carpenter playfully teases an inept partner. Released earlier this summer as the lead track from Man’s Best Friend, the Grammy-nominated artist followed it with “Tears,” a cheeky celebration of finding charm in minimal effort.

Beyond the humor, Carpenter emphasizes that she refused to wallow. “If you lock yourself indoors and fixate on what went wrong, you only invite more despair,” she advises on Lowe’s show.

“Experiencing pain doesn’t mean you’re broken,” she adds. “It doesn’t prevent you from trusting again or embracing new beginnings. This felt like one of my clearer heartbreaks.”

This candid conversation arrives about nine months after the end of her year-long romance with Keoghan—a relationship that played out on red carpets, including the Met Gala, and even in her “Please Please Please” music video.

In a separate discussion with Gayle King on CBS Mornings, Carpenter addressed the backlash Keoghan faced post-split. “I’ve always been transparent about writing from real experiences,” she explained. “From what I hear, people usually feel honored to inspire a song—whether it’s loving or litigious.”

Watch the full Zane Lowe interview on Apple Music 1 this Thursday.

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