This is not a drill! Lorde has just released her first single in four years, with 'What Was That' dropping yesterday. As well as rewatching the music video countless times (Lorde + riding a bike around the city = consider us obsessed) many fans have been deep diving into the meaning behind the lyrics of the new song, with many wondering if there's a romantic undertone to the music.

The lyrics "Since I was seventeen, I gave you everything / Now, we wake from a dream, well, baby, what was that?" have got fans wondering if this is a loaded reference to a past relationship of Lorde's.

While we don't know for certain what Lorde is meaning with the lyrics, we can tell you exactly who the 28-year-old New Zealand singer, real name Ella Yelich-O'Connor, has dated in the past.

So consider this your essential guide to Lorde's relationship history.

Who has Lorde dated?

James Lowe - 2013 to 2015

When Lorde was 16 she began a relationship with 24-year-old photographer James Lowe. While Lorde is usually pretty private about her romantic life, her mum Sonja Yelich did speak out about the relationship and referenced the couple's eight-year age gap.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Yelich said: "I didn’t say, 'Yeah, sure, go date a 24-year-old. But her dad and I met James, and we liked him. When Ella was much younger, her first boyfriend was older—four years or something."

The couple dated for two years before breaking up in 2015. Following the breakup Lorde later released the album Melodrama, and amongst the album's tracks is a song called 'Green Light', which some fans have theorised is about her relationship with James.

And in interview with Zane Lowe, Lorde did say the song was about a breakup but didn't go further into the details of who specifically it was about.

"The song is actually about a heartbreak. And it’s not something that I really am used to writing about. It took me a while to be able to figure out how to write about that. It was my first major heartbreak," she revealed.

Justin Warren

Following her breakup with James, it was then rumoured Lorde was dating Justin Warren, who worked for Universal Music in New Zealand, as promotions director. The pair are said to have first met in 2009 when Lorde was initially signed to the label.

In 2016 the pair were said to be dating, however Justin shut this down, revealing the pair were just friends and colleagues, after they were spotted having lunch together.

At the time he told the New Zealand Herald: "Ella and I have worked together for years and we're good friends. Any rumours of us being 'a pair' are ridiculous. Ella has a really busy year ahead of her and we'll be spending more time together as plans for the next Lorde record unfold."

Skip forward a few years later to 2019 and it was reported the pair were "engaged", after Lorde was spotted with a ring on her finger and they were seen buying homewares together. However, the pair never commented on these rumours, nor confirmed they were dating.

In 2023, Lorde wrote in her newsletter to fans she had just gone through a breakup, leading many to speculate it was a split from Warren.

In the letter she wrote: "I’m living with heartbreak again. It’s different but the same. I ache all the time, I forget why and then remember. I’m not trying to hide from the pain, I understand now that pain isn’t something to hide from, that there’s actually great beauty in moving with it. But sometimes I’m sick of being with myself."

Since then there's been no more speculation as to her current dating life.