Inside Sabrina Carpenter’s bold Man’s Best Friend lyrics: What they reveal about her exes

Like her mentor, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter isn't shy about dropping a message or two for her exes through music. Her seventh album, Man’s Best Friend, released on August 29, 2025, has sparked speculation that it references her relationship with actor Barry Keoghan.

The celebrity couple began dating in December 2023 and broke up a year later, in December 2024. Keoghan appeared in the music video for Carpenter's Please Please Please. Carpenter appeared on CBS Mornings on August 29, 2025, and discussed writing and singing about her former boyfriends and relationships:

“You know what’s funny … I feel pretty transparent going into any of my relationships that I write songs,”

She added that her partners were somewhat flattered to get shoutouts on her albums:

”And I think they’re just as down for it. I think also most of the time, they’ve been pretty flattered when they get a song written about them, good or bad.”

Continue reading for a breakdown of some of the bold lyrics in the album and what they could mean.

Exploring lyrics and their meanings in Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend album

Man's Best Friend features 12 tracks, and the Grammy Award-winning singer mostly talks about poor treatment in a relationship, a breakup, and her sexual frustrations. She doesn't name-drop anyone.

The chorus of Tears stylishly paints the man as irresponsible and infers that she dreams about when he would man up and treat her right:

”I get wet at the thought of you (Uh-huh)/ Being a responsible guy (So responsible; shikitah)/ Treating me like you're supposed to do (Uh-huh)/ Tears run down my thighs.”

Sugar Talking is another track where Sabrina Carpenter calls out a man on his behavior:

“Put your loving where your mouth is/ Your sugar talking isn't working tonight, oh/ Put your loving where your mouth is/ Yeah, your paragraphs mean sh** to me/ Get your sorry a** to mine.”

On My Man on Willpower, the singer talks about an ex who started trying to improve his character and unwittingly distances himself from her:

”My man on his willpower is something I don’t understand / He fell in love with self restraint / And now it’s getting out of hand,"

We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night sees the Grammy-winning singer reminding her love interest to prove his love for her via actions and not words:

"All the 'I love yous' and 'I’m sorry's' were said / We had our sex and then we made amends, that’s right," she sings in the chorus. "Called it a false alarm to all of our friends / Then we almost broke up again last night."

On When Did You Get Hot?, Sabrina Carpenter is astonished that an ex has experienced a glow-up:

”Congratulations on your new improvements / I bet your light rods, like, bigger than Zeus's," she sings in the second verse. "Hey, wait, can you lift my car with your hand? / You were an ugly kid, but you're a sexy man."

Go Go Juice is perhaps the song where Sabrina Carpenter was more direct about describing her exes:

“I'm just drinking to call someone/ Ain't nobody safe when I'm a little bit drunk/ Could be John or Larry, gosh, who's to say?/ Or the one that rhymes with "villain" if I'm feelin' that way,”

“Larry” could be a play on words for “Barry,” while “John” is likely Shawn Mendes, whom she was spotted with in February 2023. “The one that rhymes with ‘villain’” is likely Dylan O’Brien, whom she reportedly dated in 2022.

Trending

Other tracks in Man’s Best Friend where Sabrina Carpenter talks about exes include House Tour and Nobody’s Son.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback