Is The Weeknd’s 'Heartless' New Song Hinting at His Recent Split from Bella Hadid?
If the lyrics to his new song are any indication, The Weeknd feels some type of way about his relationship history.
Titled “Heartless,” the single was released early Wednesday by the 29-year-old Grammy winner — his first solo offering since his EP My Dear Melancholy hit airwaves in March 2018.
With ambiguous lyrics like “tryna find the one that can fix me” and “tryna be a better man, but I’m heartless,” the new track takes a decidedly dark tone as the singer grapples with drugs, hypersexuality, self-destruction and loneliness.
One verse in particular has fans speculating a reference to The Weeknd’s on-off relationship with Bella Hadid, who resumed dating the musician after breaking things off and watching him move on with Selena Gomez.
“I thought I lost you this time / You just came back in my life,” he sings. “You never gave up on me / (Why don’t you?) / I’ll never know what you see (Why won’t you?)”
He continues: “I don’t do well when alone.”
In the chorus, The Weeknd — born Abel Tesfaye — repeats “never be a weddin’ plan for the heartless,” while lamenting that the single life isn’t for him.
RELATED: Selena Gomez Re-Follows Bella Hadid on Instagram After Both Women End Relationships with The Weeknd
The Weeknd and Hadid were first linked together in April 2015 when he asked her to be in the artwork for his album, Beauty Behind the Madness. She also starred in The Weeknd’s music video for his single, “In the Night.”
Their relationship was confirmed when they made their red carpet debut as a couple at the 2016 Grammys, but after a year and a half of dating, the pair split in November 2016.
“Their schedules have been too hard to coordinate and he is focusing on finishing and promoting his album,” a source told PEOPLE at the time. “They still have a great deal of love for one another and will remain friends.”
Not long after, the singer started dating Gomez. As the pair got serious, a source told PEOPLE that Hadid was upset.
“Bella and Abel’s split wasn’t dramatic, but of course she’s hurt and pissed that he’s moved on so quickly with Selena,” the insider explained, adding that it was the model who ultimately pulled the plug on the romance.
Multiple sources also told PEOPLE at the time that Gomez and Hadid were never close friends and there was no betrayal involved. “They’ve always been friendly, but they’re not best friends,” one Gomez source said.
Gomez and The Weeknd eventually called it quits in October 2017 after 10 months of dating. In the wake of their split, Hadid and The Weeknd got back together a year later in 2018 after they were spotted together at a Coachella party.
This past August, E! News reported that the pair had called it quits again, with a source telling the outlet that “distance” was to blame and that they “are in different places right now, physically and mentally.”
Most recently, Hadid and The Weeknd sparked reconciliation rumors yet again after they were seen celebrating the model’s 23rd birthday in New York City last month. However, a rep for the singer told PEOPLE, that “they just attended as friends.”
The Weeknd teased his new release “Heartless” on Twitter Tuesday night, when he hyped fans for a bold new era in his music.
“TONIGHT,” he wrote, “WE START A BRAIN MELTING PSYCHOTIC CHAPTER LET’S GOOOO.”
