Lorde’s latest album release has fans revisiting her alleged relationship with 45-year-old music executive Justin Warren, so let’s talk about it.
According to The New Zealand Herald, the 28-year-old pop star (born Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor) met Warren when she was signed to Universal Music Group in 2009. Their professional relationship reportedly turned romantic sometime in 2015, though neither party explicitly confirmed the rumors.
Despite telling fans she was “living with heartbreak” in 2023, Lorde did not even comment on her relationship status until an interview with Rolling Stone published in May 2025. During the interview, the singer said she began unpacking her “pattern” of dating and seeking validation from older people during a “painful” breakup in May 2023.
“I had this feeling that I had never been alone. There’d always been someone, not even necessarily a romantic partner. And often that was an older person. I was always choosing someone to be God. It was a pattern I found myself repeating,” Lorde told Rolling Stone. “I think because of leaving home so young and not quite being ready to be on my own. I had this very acute sense that I needed to be alone to really meet myself."
Ultimately, Lorde described the breakup as “so painful” but said she continues to “cherish” her relationship with her ex. So, what do we know about Lorde's history with Justin Warren? Here’s a complete timeline of their relationship, with the most recent updates up top.
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May 15, 2025: Lorde tells Rolling Stone she moved to London during a breakup in May 2023. “I went through a breakup,” she says. “It was so painful, as they are, but there was real dignity to it and grace and a lot of respect. It continues to be a relationship that I cherish.”
“I had this feeling that I had never been alone,” Lorde said of that time in her life. “There’d always been someone, not even necessarily a romantic partner. And often that was an older person. I was always choosing someone to be God.”
She continued, “It was a pattern I found myself repeating. I think because of leaving home so young and not quite being ready to be on my own. But I had this very acute sense that I needed to be alone to really meet myself.”
April 24, 2025: Lorde releases her first Virgin single, “What Was That.” Its lyrics include, “Since l was 17, I gave you everything. Now we wake from a dream. Well, baby, what was that?”
While some fans questioned whether the song was written about Warren, others have pointed out she was still dating photographer James Lowe when she was 17. “I think she was still committed to Justin as a figure in her life even if she was dating James and working closely with Justin,” one fan countered on Reddit. “She was still giving him her all by pouring all her life into her work.”
Others believe Lorde is describing her relationship with the music industry as a whole, given that she released her first album, Pure Heroine, when she was just 16.
September 20, 2023: Lorde says she’s “living with heartbreak again” in a vulnerable newsletter to fans, instantly sparking breakup rumors.
“It’s different but the same. I ache all the time, I forget why and then remember. I’m not trying to hide from the pain, I understand now that pain isn’t something to hide from, that there’s actually great beauty in moving with it,” she wrote. “But sometimes I’m sick of being with myself. I eat chocolate to try and manipulate the endorphins, bring back the sweet happiness of Easter morning. I sit in the time machine and wait for it to move, but it hasn’t been invented yet.”
She later continued, “I know I’m gonna look back on this year with fondness and a bit of awe, knowing it was the year that locked everything into place, the year that transitioned me from my childhood working decade to the one that comes next—one that even through all this, I’m so excited for. It’s just hard when you’re in it.”
November 10, 2021: Lorde and Warren are photographed together at a Knicks game.
March 19, 2019: Engagement rumors begin circulating after Lorde is photographed wearing a ring on her left hand while rug shopping with Warren.
February 23, 2018: Lorde denies dating music producer Jack Antonoff amid rampant online rumors. “Guys, no! Jack and I are not dating,” Lorde said during an Instagram Live stream. “For the last time. But I love him. He’s awesome. But we’re not dating!”
February 10, 2016: Warren calls romance rumors “ridiculous” after tabloids allege Lorde and Warren were photographed on a “date.”
“Ella and I have worked together for years and we’re good friends. Any rumors of us being ‘a pair’ are ridiculous,” Warren tells The New Zealand Herald. “Ella has a really busy year ahead of her and we’ll be spending more time together as plans for the next Lorde record unfold.”
November 19, 2015: Warren accompanies Lorde on the red carpet at the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards in Auckland.
2013—2015: Lorde begins dating photographer James Lowe when she’s around 16 years old and he is 24, per Harper’s Bazaar. Prior to their split in 2015, Lorde’s mom addresses the age gap in an interview with Rolling Stone.
“I didn’t say, ‘Yeah, sure, go date a 24-year-old.’ But her dad and I met James, and we liked him,” Sonja Yelich says in 2014. “When Ella was much younger, her first boyfriend was older—four years or something.”
2009: Lorde meets Warren when she was signed to Universal Music in 2009, according to The New Zealand Herald. At the time Lorde would have been around 13 years old, while Warren would have been about 30.
Nick and Priyanka make an 11-year age gap look so easy…
