Inside The Weeknd's Relationship With Bella Hadid
The Weeknd (real name Abel Makkonen Tesfaye) and model Bella Hadid have had an off-and-on relationship for over five years. It all started back in 2015 at Coachella, where the Weeknd closed out the mainstage shows (via Billboard). A source told E! that the pair "were hanging out in Coachella and were flirting lots. They have many things in common and really enjoyed each other's company. She loves his music as well. They are hanging out for sure now."
The sultry singer confirmed the relationship in an interview with Rolling Stone later that year, saying, "I actually asked her to be on the artwork for Beauty Behind the Madness. My motive was literally to work with her." That was for his second studio album that was released in August 2015, but apparently she turned down the offer. The Weeknd rolled with it and after she rejected the idea, he said, "I was like, 'All right, cool — we can meet up face-to-face'" (via Rolling Stone).
They were spotted out and about holding hands at events through the end of 2015 (via Elle), and she starred in his music video for "In The Night." But then over the 2015 holiday season, according to E!, they were on a break due to their busy schedules.
By 2017, The Weeknd moved on to dating Selena Gomez
A couple months later, February 2016, the pair made their red carpet debut at the Grammys, and Bellia Hadid posted a pic of them together on Instagram with the caption, "This is YOUR day baby! I'm so proud of you I feel so lucky to be by your side." In May 2016, they went to the Met Gala together (via Instagram), and the two seemed to be going strong through 2016 with Hadid sharing a picture of them together at her 20th birthday party in October. All may have seemed happy on social media, but a source told People in November 2016 that, "Their schedules have been too hard to coordinate and he is focusing on finishing and promoting his album. They still have a great deal of love for one another and will remain friends."
Just a month after that, December 2016, they were spotted together again, but this time it was at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show with Hadid walking the runway and the Weeknd performing (via E!). But a reconciliation wasn't on the cards for the couple since in January 2017, he was spotted smooching Selena Gomez (via Elle). When asked about the split by Teen Vogue, Hadid said, "It was my first breakup [...] and so public. As an outsider, you might think I handled it so well, but it's always in your heart, and you always feel it very heavily. It'll be hard for a while. Love hurts, but you have to pull through."
Coachella found the two together again in 2018
Fast forward to November 2017. Gomez and the Weeknd have broken up (in October), and according to E!, the singer was then spotted leaving Bella Hadid's New York City apartment, with a source saying, "Abel reached out to Bella asking to hang out and catch up, and she decided to see him and see where things go. She knows that if they don't date again, they can at least be good friends." Apparently things went well since at Coachella in April 2018, the two were seen kissing (via US Weekly) and they were seen locking lips again at the Cannes Film Festival the next month (via E!).
Then for Hadid's 22nd birthday in October, she posted on Instagram some pictures of the two of them hugging and happy, and she wrote, "I know I'm a lil late but I'm still in shock thinking about my birthday this year. I've never felt so much love & happiness. Thank u to my baby, my beautiful family and friends for making this surprise so special. This was the best day ever( EVER) .. thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes. I feel so lucky, I can't believe it".
They kept going strong through much of the year with the Weeknd attending the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and the two celebrating his 29th birthday together in February 2019 (via Elle).
By fall 2019, the two were just friends
There were rumors of a breakup in August 2019, though a source told ET that "[t]he couple travels a lot, works a lot and that often creates tension. However, the two love one another, have lost one another in the past and want to try and make it work. Right now they are together and working on keeping it that way."
But by October 2019, for Hadid's 23rd birthday, a representative for the Weeknd told People that he'd attended the party just as a friend. The public speculated that some songs on the Weeknd's album After Hours, which came out in March 2020, referenced Hadid (via Billboard), like lyrics in the song "Too Late": "Sources say that we're done, how would they know?" Though the lyrics could also have been about Gomez, and when asked about it in an interview with Esquire, the Weeknd wouldn't confirm or deny who the songs were about.
The two did see each during rehearsals for the 2020 MTV VMAs in August 2020, and according to the Daily Mail, they seemed like they were on good terms but just as friends. With such a history, who knows what 2021 will bring? Either way, here's hoping for love for them both.