Shawn Mendes spills the beans on how past pregnancy scare with partner changed him ‘as a man’

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Shawn Mendes is pulling back the curtain on some of the most intimate chapters of his life, and he’s letting fans in on the journey through his latest single, 'Why Why Why'.

The song, set to feature on his upcoming fifth album 'Shawn,' reveals the singer-songwriter's candid reflections on mental health struggles and a life-altering pregnancy scare, as reported by Us Weekly.

Shawn Mendes opens up about past pregnancy scare that deeply impacted him

In an interview with The New York Times, Shawn Mendes, 26, shared the motivation behind incorporating such vulnerable themes into his music, revealing how these experiences profoundly impacted his growth, both as an artist and a person.

The album, due out on November 15, marks a significant shift for Mendes as he explores the raw, and often uncomfortable, truths that have shaped his adulthood.

In his song 'Why Why Why,' Mendes doesn’t shy away from baring the raw emotions that stemmed from an intense period in his life.

The lyrics — “I thought I was about to be a father / Shook me to the core, I’m still a kid / Sometimes I still cry out for my mother” — detail a pregnancy scare that deeply impacted him, though he leaves the identity of his partner undisclosed.

While Mendes avoids pinpointing who he wrote about, fans are quick to recall his high-profile, two-year relationship with singer Camila Cabello.

The couple, whose romance was often in the public eye, separated in 2021 before briefly reuniting in 2023, only to part ways again.

Mendes was also been linked briefly to fellow musician Sabrina Carpenter, though he clarified that they were simply friends.

Reflecting on the gravity of the pregnancy scare, Mendes admits it forced him to confront maturity on a new level.

“It taught me a lot as a man,” he explained, adding that it presented him with a defining choice.

“I realized there [were] two options for me. It was literally like, ‘I’m going to go down this path of speaking my exact truth, or I’m going to dance around it,’” he shared with Zane Lowe in an interview on Apple Music 1 back in August.

Mendes ultimately chose to be as transparent as possible, even if the song’s intensely personal lyrics made him apprehensive.

Shawn Mendes recalls hesitation to share his personal experience with the world

"Why am I doing this?" Shawn Mendes remembers asking himself, recalling his hesitation to share such a personal experience with the world.

His producer, however, encouraged him to be honest. “I wanted to break down any walls that were remaining, between me and people listening,” Mendes explained, emphasizing that allowing his fans to see his truth was a form of healing and growth.

Alongside the personal story of a pregnancy scare, 'Why Why Why' dives into Mendes' ongoing struggles with mental health, a theme that has surfaced increasingly in his work.

His openness about the challenges of fame has resonated deeply with fans, particularly following his decision in July 2022 to cancel the remainder of his world tour in order to focus on his mental health.

The pressures of his fast-paced career had begun to weigh heavily on the young artist, leading him to a breaking point.

“I felt super, super lost,” Mendes revealed in his interview with The New York Times, explaining that while he could muster the energy to perform, he found himself emotionally depleted offstage.

“The shows I could get through and find beauty in them. But when I would step offstage, I just didn’t recognize myself. I was a shell — like talking to a wall.”

The isolation Mendes experienced after performances made him reevaluate the toll his career was taking on his well-being.

With fame came an intense pressure that he initially attempted to drown out with smoking and drinking.

However, Mendes soon recognized that relying on these coping mechanisms would lead him down a dark and all-too-familiar path for many artists in the music industry.

“I was like, ‘I’m not going to rewrite the same story that’s been written a thousand times by musicians and artists,’” he said. “Where they can’t cope and they’d start taking more drugs, more alcohol, until it’s too much. I’m not doing that. I’m just going hard left.”