Shawn Mendes and Ex Camila Cabello Would Never 'Cross a Line' Songwriting About Their 'Private Little Fire of Love'

Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello have maintained immense respect when writing about their breakup.

On Monday, Sept. 30, Mendes appeared on Jay Shetty's On Purpose podcast and opened up about how he's navigated his breakup with Cabello, 27, under the spotlight.

"Camila and I have done the best job at preserving our private little fire of love for each other," the "Why Why Why" singer, 26, said.

"No matter how strong mentally you are, when there are millions of people commenting on it, it's so hard not to be affected by it and to be swayed by it and to be inspired by it," he continued. "To desire it because people desire it or to hate it because other people hate it. It's just human."

Mendes and Cabello announced their breakup in November 2021 and sparked short-lived reconciliation rumors in 2023. Since then, Mendes says that he doesn't "go on social media" to see what people have to say about his love life.

"I don't see or care what people say about my love life or relationships... it's too detrimental to the relationship itself," he said.

Then, Shetty, 37, asked Mendes what they've done to protect their relationship.

"Immense honesty [and] over communication," Mendes said, adding that they'll text each other to clear the air when something may have come off the wrong way in an interview. "It immediately cuts through any type of assumption."

Mendes and Cabello have also developed a level of "understanding" as celebrities who "make music" and are "storytellers."

"I don't think either of us would cross a line — we deeply respect each other," the "Nobody Knows" singer said.

When Shetty said it's "hard" to have that perspective — Mendes assured that he's "lucky" to be going through it with Cabello.

"She's an amazing human being and she's incredibly understanding and thoughtful and caring," he said. "So communicating with her is not difficult and that's probably a huge part of it."

Mendes and Cabello announced their breakup in November 2021 after more than two years of dating.

"Hey guys, we've decided to end our romantic relationship but our love for one another as humans is stronger than ever," the statement, which they both shared on their Instagram Stories, said. "We started our relationship as best friends and will continue to be best friends."

In April 2023,  the pair were spotted kissing while attending Coachella in Indio, California. The reunion seemed to have ended by June 2023 when PEOPLE confirmed Cabello was back on the dating scene.

During an appearance on Call Her Daddy in March, the "June Gloom" singer opened up about the short-lived reconciliation.

"It took us both less time to be like, 'This doesn’t feel right and we don’t need to try so hard to make it work. It’s all good,' " she said. "I will always care about him and love him. He’s a really kind, good person.”