So, it’s no secret that Lorde’s dating history is a little...complicated. (Please see: her relationship with photographer James Lowe that began when he was 24 and she was 16, followed by whatever may have happened between her and Jack Antonoff while he was still dating Lena Dunham, to her maybe-engagement to Universal Music exec Justin Warren, etc.) Now the singer is sparking dating rumors with songwriter and producer Jim-E Stack, though the two actually go way back (and naturally, there is a bit of drama involved).
All seemed innocent when Lorde and Jim-E first began collaborating four years ago, but things took a turn when Jim-E’s ex, singer-songwriter Kacy Hill, made some pointed accusations about Lorde (which, of course, had fans referring back to Twitter user @buzzkillary’s infamous 29-slide PowerPoint from 2018 detailing the breakdown of Jack and Lena’s relationship). Need to get caught up to speed? Here’s what you missed.
2022
Jim-E and Lorde first meet “in 2022 right before she was about to start rehearsing for the Solar Power Tour,” according to Jim-E. He adds, “I think she was eyeing what would be next for her creatively. We hung and got along super well, and then after a leg of the tour, she came to my studio, and we spent a week cranking out ideas.”
2023
Jim-E produces both Lorde’s version of “Take Me to the River” for the 2024 Talking Heads tribute album, as well as her iconic verse on Charli xcx’s “Girl, so confusing” remix. Then the two start working together on Lorde’s fourth album, Virgin.
In an Instagram post following the album’s release, Jim-E writes, “Ella & I met and made some songs in 2022 before an album was on either of our minds. In 2023 we finished a few and made a few more. We started to meet up every couple weeks building and chipping away. We followed the music and a year and a half later we had album.”
He adds, “There’s no one I’d rather be in the trenches with. Eternally grateful for the journey together. Love you forever Ella.”
Later, during an interview with British GQ, Jim-E spills more deets about the collaboration. “She had just gone through a breakup of a very long-term, significant relationship,” he says, likely alluding to Lorde’s split from music exec Justin Warren. “So I went to New York and we just started making ideas [to] see what happened.”
2024
Jim-E and Lorde keep toiling away on Virgin, and he shares a few updates with fans along the way:
2025
Virgin finally comes out, and to celebrate the drop, Jim-E’s ex, singer Kacy Hill, posts a TikTok with the caption, “Let’s hear it for the man who ended a 6.5 year relationship while making a girl’s album, then started dating her.”
In case there is any doubt about who she is alluding to: Kacy sets the video to Lorde’s single “Man of the Year.”
Right around the same time, The Sun runs photos of Lorde and Jim-E seemingly cuddling in the crowd at Glastonbury. A source notes, “Lorde is really happy with Jim after they bonded making the album. But there was no overlap and she was very respectful.”
That said, Lorde’s song “Current Affairs” definitely raises some eyebrows.
2026
Jim-E hits the 2026 Grammys red carpet solo while Lorde noticeably skips...
...but the two are later spotted leaving Justin Bieber’s after-party together, per JustJared. Oh, and a few nights before that, the pair is spotted attending the after-party for Charli xcx’s The Moment.
Most recently, on July 8 (the same day that the news of Jack’s reported split from wife Margaret Qualley breaks, coincidentally), DeuxMoi posts pics of Lorde and her “boyfriend” Jim-E kissing in NYC.
Does this mean things are official? Time will tell!
