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Nearly two years after Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan's relationship had the internet in a chokehold, the Banshees of Inisherin star addressed the cheating rumours and "absolutely disgusting" backlash he received after their breakup.
Barry opened up about the cheating speculation during an episode of the Friends Keep Secrets podcast released yesterday (April 28).
“I have been avoiding stuff,” the actor admitted.
“I came off Instagram and social profiles. I stopped going to events. I stopped socialising.”
While the 33-year-old actor did not name Sabrina Carpenter by name, he did refer to an old "narrative" about him, which nods to the backlash surrounding him following their breakup in December 2024.
“A narrative that’s not true that I’ve never said anything about it,” Barry continued. “I just disappeared.”
While admitting that celebrity gossip often "gets amplified", Barry went on to criticise the way people treated him after his and Sabrina's year-long relationship came to an end.
“I’m not asking people to become my fan or like me,” he continued, “but I’m asking people to stop assuming and to stop jumping on this narrative and attacking me and dragging me down in any way. Just absolutely disgusting, vile.”
Although it was clear which relationship he was referring to, he stressed that he would never want to “mention other people or involve them.”
“Even if it is those people that I was in a relationship with, it’s not my place or their place to speak on my or their behalf,” he explained.
“It’s unfair to them. They’re also in the relationship. It’s both of us out there. I’m very aware of that.”
Sabrina appears to share a similar mindset, choosing to express herself only through her music—and even then, without ever naming real names.
“I just wouldn't say,” she told CBS Mornings of who her songs are about, noting that for her fans listening to her music, “It’s more fun to picture the person in their head than the person I picture in my head.”
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Published 11:13 29 Apr 2026 BST