As a member of BLACKPINK and one of the biggest stars in K-pop, ROSÉ has felt the need to keep her romantic relationships 100% private so as to protect them from public scrutiny.
But on the latest episode of Call Her Daddy posted Wednesday (Jan. 28), the performer opened up more than ever before about her current relationship status and past partners who behaved in “toxic” ways — though she still visibly tensed up when host Alex Cooper asked her point-blank if she’s seeing anyone right now.
“If I’m like, ‘No,’ it’s such a lie, you can tell,” the Grammy nominee said, laughing at her lack of a poker face before confirming: “I am looking for love.”
ROSÉ then got emotional while discussing why she’s always felt uncomfortable answering questions about her relationships, none of which she’s ever made public. “When you ask something like that, it’s like, all the articles, all the comments … that’s all I think about,” she told Cooper. “So I would love to just be like, ‘Yes or no,’ [instead of] being like, ‘Is this going to define who I am?’ How sad. How sad of a reality is that?”
“Just because I was from a K-pop group doesn’t mean I am a different type of human being,” ROSÉ continued, wiping away tears.
Though the New Zealand native said she has hope that one day, she won’t feel the need to hide her love life, she’s keeping the curtain firmly shut for now. One way she’s kept past loves private, she told Cooper, was by dressing up in an old-lady disguise, complete with a wig and separate wardrobe.
“I would go to his house [dressed as a granny], because we can’t go anywhere,” she said, cracking up. “For a while in my house — we got rid of it now — but I had a whole section of just grandma clothes, because I went wild … I think at one point, I even imitated how they would walk.”
She also reflected on a “toxic” ex, seemingly the same one whose house she’d visit in her granny gear. “I was young,” she told Cooper, laughing. “It was just not a good match — but we liked each other, so we just kept it going for a bit.”
“I was just very like, ‘I’m, like, in love’ and whatever,” she continued. “But then anytime he’d be like, ‘Oh, I’m just gonna go hang out with my friends, and I don’t want to have you there.’ He’d make it seem like he’s trying to limit, like, talk or whatever. But I’m like, ‘Why did you need that?’ … At that time, I thought he was really serious about his job. And I was like, ‘That’s hot.’”
The podcast appearance comes ahead of Deadline, BLACKPINK’s upcoming mini-album dropping Feb. 27. It also arrives just a few days ahead of the 2026 Grammys, where ROSÉ is nominated for record of the year, song of the year and best pop/duo performance for her “APT.” duet with Bruno Mars, making her the first K-pop soloist to ever earn nods in the major categories.
Watch ROSÉ’s full interview on Call Her Daddy above.
