Barry Keoghan has hit back at rumours that he was unfaithful to Sabrina Carpenter during their relationship, describing it as “a narrative that’s not true”.
The two were first rumoured to be dating in September 2023, then made their first public appearance together at the Grammys after-party the following February. From there, they attended the MET Gala together, Carpenter made a nod to his infamous Saltburn scene at Coachella 2024, and the Banshees of Inisherin actor also starred in the music video for her hit song ‘Please Please Please’.
They were rumoured to have split in December 2024 amid rumours of cheating, and the actor later took to social media to call out some of the “disgusting” behaviour he faced from fans, saying his name had “been dragged across the internet”.
Now, after taking a brief step back from the public eye, he has taken part in a new interview and hit out at the rumours that he was unfaithful during their time together.
Speaking to Benny Blanco, Lil Dicky, and Kristin Batalucco on their Friends Keep Secrets video podcast, the actor called the videos spreading rumours “absolutely disgusting and vile”, and added that it had created an environment that was “very unfair”.
Explaining how it made him want to “disappear”, he said: “I have been avoiding stuff. I came off Instagram and social profiles. I stopped going to events. I’ve stopped just socialising.”
“It’s because there was a narrative out there that was never really even spoken on, a narrative that’s not true, and I never confirmed or said anything about it. I just disappeared,” he added, before one of the hosts asked him to clarify what exactly he was referring to.
“It’s that I cheated. I don’t want to ever bring anyone else into it, but unfortunately, having a relationship in the public eye, it’s – we all know this from our own stories – it gets put out there,” he replied, not explicitly naming Carpenter as the partner in question.
“I don’t want to bring anyone else into it,” he continued. “I’m not asking for people to become my fan and like me, because that’s not normal either, but I’m asking for people to stop assuming and to stop jumping on this narrative, attacking me, and dragging me down in any way you can.”
The 33-year-old Oscar nominee has a three-year-old son with a former partner and has spoken openly in the past about his challenging childhood, which saw him grow up in foster care. His mother died when he was 12 after struggling with drug addiction.
“[It’s] just absolutely disgusting and vile,” he said, referring to videos he sees online “involving my parents” and saying that they “hate him”.
“Because for someone who went through a lot – and I’m not saying this for a pity card – but why is it cool to hop on and beat somebody who’s come from a lot?,” he said.
“Stuff I’ve seen as a kid… and shit that I have to fight every day and do a lot of therapy. I went through addiction myself and [I am] in sobriety and battle all of that. To then want to drag that person…”
Barry Keoghan addresses rumors that he cheated on Sabrina Carpenter on the Friends Keep Secrets podcast:
“There was a narrative out there that was never really sort of even spoken on. A narrative that’s not true and I never confirmed or said anything about it. You know, I just… pic.twitter.com/u8R7dvg4Io
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) April 29, 2026
The actor also seemingly spoke about how Carpenter alluded to their split in her seventh studio album ‘Man’s Best Friend‘. The lead single from that album ‘Manchild’, for example, saw Carpenter call out inept men, leading fans to believe it was written as a dig at Keoghan.
She would later acknowledge that the content of her music had led to Keoghan getting “a lot of backlash” when talking to Gayle King on CBS Mornings last September, but said that she thinks “most of the time, [past boyfriends] been pretty flattered when they get a song written about them, good or bad.”
Seemingly referring to the rumours about their relationship that stemmed from ‘Man’s Best Friend’, Keoghan claimed that “a girl made a video” about their relationship, but then made another “video [which] went, ‘Sorry for making that up’,” but despite that, “no one seemed to latch onto” that clarified stance.
As well as the Friends Keep Secrets podcast, Keoghan has called for more empathy on social media before, and said on The Louis Theroux Podcast that he is deeply hurt by the comments online claiming that he is an absent father.
He later made a post doubling down on the stance, writing: “Each and every day I work harder to push myself on every level to be the healthiest and strongest person for that boy […] I need you to remember he has to read ALL of this about his father when he is older. Please be respectful to all.”
More recently, he said that comments about his appearance have led to him “not want to go outside”.
The actor is best known for roles in Saltburn, Banshees Of Inisherin, and the new Peaky Blinders film. He is set to play Ringo Starr in the forthcoming four-part biopic film series centring around The Beatles – acting alongside Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.
