Olivia Rodrigo reflects on what her first romantic relationship taught her:
“When I was younger, I was always reaching for something. I was like, ‘Oh, if I have this, then I’ll be happier. If I, like, have this guy and he loves me the way I always thought he would love me, like, I’ll feel better about myself.’ Slowly, throughout the course of my life and this relationship that I’m talking about, I kind of just realized that the issues that you have aren’t just going to be solved by some other person. Like, something can distract you, but they’re your issues. I also think falling in love actually makes those issues even clearer to you. I think that’s why it’s so important, like, you know yourself so deeply and so intimately by falling for people and being raw and gross and making mistakes. I think I was figuring that out too. I was in a romantic relationship that was actually real and intimate for the first time, and being like, ‘Whoa!’ This is like holding a mirror to me, and I’m seeing sh*t that I don’t like about myself. And that was a tough realization.” (via Popcast)