Yvan Fabing

Camila Cabello paces Sunset Boulevard in the sweltering heat. Having just finished an acting class, she laughs easily and often into the cell phone cradled to her ear as she makes her way toward her mother’s car for a ride home. She seems like a regular, endearing, playful 22-year-old—except for the fans swarming to greet her along the way.



There are many ways you could describe Cabello’s life over the past year, but “regular” isn’t one of them. Since the rise of 2017’s radio smash “Havana,” she’s become Spotify’s second-most-streamed artist. She opened for Taylor Swift on the pop star’s Reputation tour, and headlined her own Never Be the Same world tour. She was nominated for two Grammy awards; her self-titled album went platinum; and she became a L’Oréal Paris spokeswoman and collaborated with the brand on a makeup collection. And, more recently, she purchased a villa reportedly worth $3.38 million in the Hollywood Hills. She even found time to fall in love. Most importantly, however, she found her confidence. “I think I just know myself more,” she says. “I’m more gentle with myself. I think I naturally have less anxiety now, because I realized that so many of the things that brought it on weren’t so scary after all.”





Vest. shirt, both, Etro. Earrings, rings, all, De Beers. Yvan Fabing

Born just outside Havana and raised in Miami, Cabello had a lot of anxiety growing up. As the breakout star of the singing group Fifth Harmony, she was always terrified of being interviewed as she rose to fame on X Factor. Then, after four and a half years together as a girl group, Fifth Harmony suddenly announced Cabello’s departure via Twitter before she had a chance to confirm it herself. Ultimately, she was fast-tracked into going solo before she was really ready to leave. Her anxiety peaked, her obsessive-compulsive tendencies skyrocketed, and she was left to figure out who she was.

Dress, Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello. Earrings, Messika Paris. Yvan Fabing

Over time, she slowly learned to quiet her negative thoughts and took her grandparents’ advice not to let things bother her so much. “You don’t even realize how much stuff doesn’t matter,” they would tell her. Looking back, Cabello thinks growing up does that to you. “It just chills you out,” she says, laughing. “I started trusting myself and liking myself more.”



Lately, Cabello has been writing every day. Even though her new, still-untitled album is nearly finished (with no release date at press time), she’s still jotting down lyrics, brainstorming music videos, and creating new songs. Only a year removed from her first solo album, Camila, Cabello believes her new offering really bares her soul, drawing from recent experiences of finding love and finding herself.

With the release of her steamy duet “Señorita,” with love interest Shawn Mendes, this past June, Cabello also feels she’s grown as an artist. She recalls how she’d tried to impress Pharrell Williams while working on Camila. Eager for him to praise her talent, she created songs that weren’t as heartfelt. These days, she’s not afraid to speak her mind. “No matter who the person is or how much I want to impress them, I’m not going to let that rule how I act, how open I am, or what my opinion is,” she says. “I’m just going to be myself. I listen to my gut. That’s all I can do.”

Where do you think your insecurities and anxieties stem from?

I ask myself this question every day. I think it’s chemical; I think I have high cortisol levels. I’m at a point in my life where everything feels so intense—it’s weird. And even when it’s something exciting, I think that just translates to anxiety and stress. I just have to breathe through stuff.

Did your obsessive-compulsive disorder worsen when you left Fifth Harmony?

The compulsive behavior happened to me as far back as elementary school. But the OCD, the more difficult side of it, came full swing at the end of my time with the group. I was under insane amounts of stress, and it was too much anxiety for me to handle; it turned into OCD. I’ve never taken medicine. I learned a lot of self-soothing and coping mechanisms to rewire my brain along the way. I think learning how to navigate it and be gentle with it—and even love it—makes you a better person in the end.

Camila Takes Over Spotify's Fresh & Chill Playlist

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You’ve hinted that there is much more personal material on your new album, and that you’re really emotional about it. Why is that?

Honestly, this past year and a half was the first time I really experienced falling in love with another person. I think there is so much more depth to love when you know you are in it with another person. You have so much more to say—I think that’s what makes me emotional.

You’d never felt in love before?

No, I hadn’t. I’ve loved people from afar, but falling in love with someone and having feelings for someone but they don’t know.... It’s different.

You’re so open about your personal life, but then you seem cautious about your romantic relationships.



I am, to a maddening degree. Love is the most sacred, precious thing to me. I want to always feel like my love is between me and that person, and never belonging to anyone else. As much as I love my fans, and as much as I love people, I like to live my life as normally as possible. In a relationship, it makes me feel uncomfortable to invite everyone in on that.

Top, pin, both, Giorgio Armani. Hoop earrings, Tiffany & Co. Yvan Fabing

There have always been a lot of rumors about you and Shawn Mendes. Do you think the secrecy created more buzz?

I don’t know; people can say whatever they want to say. They can speculate, but at the same time, we are going to live our own lives, enjoy it, and fall for each other like nobody is watching. That is how I want to live. I never want to open the door for people to feel like they are involved. Like I said, I want it to be mine and [his]. That’s why I’m so tight-lipped about it: because I want to protect it.

You’ve known Shawn for over five years and recently worked together on the song “Señorita.” What’s it like working with him?

I mean, I love him. We have always connected; we have the best time together. Shawn texted me the idea for the chorus for “Señorita.” He was like, “Hey, what if we work on this and do it together?” I was on the Taylor Swift tour and hadn’t been in the studio for a while. I didn’t want to do it, and then a few months later, I couldn’t get the song out of my head. I [ finally] told him, “I think we should do this.” He was like, “I don’t want to do it anymore.” It went back and forth for, like, eight months. Then we finally went into the studio and reworked it so we both felt good about it, without any pressure. I love working with him so much.

How has the process been making your new album?

There was a time when I was listening to these songs that I had to turn the album off. I had to let go emotionally—I sat there and cried so much.I feel an undeniable truth that the album has captured the essence of me at this point in my life. I always think, “Could I be more honest? Could I be more open?” I feel like I’ve done that even better than on my first album. It feels like when I’m 80 years old, I’ll look back and think, “Wow,I remember this time; I remember how I felt. I remember that night. I remember that moment.” It’s pictures of my life—I love it.

What was it like working with Ed Sheeran again?

It’s probably one of the most surreal things that’s ever happened. I actually cried the first time I met him, when I was about 16. I just love his music; he’s been the soundtrack for my life. By the time we worked together for this album, we were already friends, so we were just talking about my life, and we wrote a song that really captured it. I felt very vulnerable, but that’s what writing sessions are all about.

You’re very outspoken about women’s rights and gay rights. What if there were a world in which women couldn’t legally have abortions, or gay people weren’t allowed to marry—how would that make you feel?

Obviously, it would be tragic for humans. What is incredible is that people who are not affected are feeling empathy for other humans and being like, “Hey, this is not right.” It’s so obvious that it isn’t right, and I’m so happy to be a part of my generation, which is so much more open about this stuff. I feel like minds are opening because of information.

Do you think there are many misconceptions about you in the media?

I don’t really know. Honestly, I’m, like, never on social media—I don’t know what people think about me. There are probably a lot of misconceptions, but I don’t care. I think I have a better, wiser perspective on things because I am older and I understand myself a lot more. I feel far more grown-up. Growing up! It’s an adventure.

Yvan Fabing

Top look: Top, shorts, belt, all Louis Vuitton. Bracelets, both, Cartier. Hair by Dimitris Giannetos at the Wall Group; makeup by Patrick Ta at Greyscale. Manicure by Jolene Brodeur for OPI; set design by Bryan Porter at Owl & the Elephant; produced by Paul Preiss at Preiss Creative.





This article will appear in the October 2019 issue of ELLE, on newsstands September 26.



