Shawn Mendes Says He Congratulated Rumored Ex Hailey Baldwin After Her Engagement to Justin Bieber

Emily Zauzmer
Updated

Shawn Mendes hardly needs “Stitches” after hearing the news that Hailey Baldwin is tying the knot with Justin Bieber.

Their close friendship has led some fans to wonder whether the pair were ever a romantic item, but Mendes insists he was one of the first to congratulate Baldwin when she got engaged.

“I texted Hailey the day of, and I said congrats,” Mendes said on the Australian show The Project, as reported by the Daily Mail. “That’s what it is. I think everybody wants there to be more — there’s not.”

In June, Mendes responded to Baldwin’s relationship with Bieber, which was then just in the rumor stage. “I don’t know if they’re dating or not,” he told Canada’s ETALK. “I love them both. They’re both really awesome people.”

Shawn Mendes, Hailey Baldwin, and Justin Bieber.
Shawn Mendes, Hailey Baldwin, and Justin Bieber.

Before Baldwin was linked to the “Sorry” singer, she may have been involved with Mendes. Last year, Mendes and Baldwin attended Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights, had dinner, and left Baldwin and Kendall Jenner’s cohosted Halloween party together while holding hands. “He’s amazing, and I think that his music is also amazing,” Baldwin gushed to PEOPLE at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in March.

This May, Mendes and Baldwin walked the Met Gala red carpet side by side. However, Mendes denied that the red carpet stroll indicated a relationship.

“No, we were not making our big debut,” the musician, who recently released a self-titled album, told PEOPLE at the time. “Obviously Hailey and I are friends, and it was just really cool for me to be able to walk with her because she’s a vet and it was my first year, so it kind of took the pressure off a little bit.”

Shawn Mendes and Hailey Baldwin at the 2018 MET Gala in May.
Shawn Mendes and Hailey Baldwin at the 2018 MET Gala in May.

Baldwin deleted her snapshots with Mendes from the Met Gala when she started dating Bieber. The couple’s whirlwind romance culminated in a proposal on July 7. They are currently planning an intimate wedding.

After the proposal, Bieber wrote on Instagram: “My heart is COMPLETELY and FULLY YOURS and I will ALWAYS put you first! You are the love of my life Hailey Baldwin and I wouldn’t want to spend it with anybody else.”

A source told PEOPLE, “It’s kind of a surprise, but kind of not. Justin has been extremely happy these past few weeks.”