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By Nia Tipton — Written on Sep 12, 2022
Sabrina Carpenter and Dylan O'Brien have sparked dating rumors after a source claims to have seen the two making out while in New York City.
O'Brien, 31, and Carpenter, 23, were reportedly spotted hanging out together in NYC recently by an eyewitness, who even snapped a photo of the two. The speculation only seemed to grow after a rumored kiss was seemed to be shared between Carpenter and O'Brien.
Are Sabrina Carpenter and Dylan O'Brien dating?
According to a blind submission posted by celebrity gossip site Deux Moi, a source claimed to have seen Carpenter and O'Brien "making out in nyc" while at Attaboy, a cocktail bar in the Lower East Side, though there wasn't any photo evidence provided.
However, another source snapped a photo of O'Brien looking back at the camera while Carpenter stood in front of him, immediately sparking dating rumors.
Despite the rumors, neither Carpenter nor O'Brien publicly confirmed or denied that they were romantically linked.
Previously, Carpenter was linked to Disney star Joshua Bassett shortly after he had dated singer Olivia Rodrigo in 2020. The relationship between Carpenter and Bassett caused Carpenter to become vilified by fans online, who accused the singer of "stealing" Bassett from Rodrigo.
Carpenter recently addressed her relationship with Bassett, and the subsequent backlash because of it, on her single "Because I Liked a Boy," which was featured on her July 2022 album "Emails I Can't Send."
In the song, Carpenter seemingly addressed the hordes of backlash she'd received following Rodrigo's 2021 single "Drivers License."
"Now I'm a homewrecker, I'm a sl-t / I got death threats fillin' up semi-trucks," Carpenter sings in the chorus. "I'm the hot topic on your tongue / I'm a rebound getting 'round, stealing from the young."
After Rodrigo released her song in early 2021, fans speculated that it was inspired by Bassett, Rodrigo's on-screen love interest in "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series."
Her lyrics about "that blond girl" ("She's so much older than me / She's everything I'm insecure about") were widely rumored to be about Carpenter, who started dating Bassett in the summer of 2020 after they were photographed together, and also wore matching Halloween costumes later that same year.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Carpenter called the process of writing her song "Because I Liked a Boy," "very therapeutic to write."
"That song came from a really real place in my life, so it didn't feel right to not kind of write that song," she said, adding, "For me, it was just important to tell the story from my perception."
As for O'Brien, the 'Maze Runner' actor recently sparked rumors that he was dating actress Chloe Bennet after photos obtained by TMZ showed the two on what appeared to be a lunch date in Los Angeles, though neither of them has spoken publicly about the speculation.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.