Olivia Rodrigo has had Us reeling over the possibility that “So American” is about her boyfriend, Louis Partridge, but he’s not giving anything away.
“Not my song, not my place,” Partridge, 21, coyly told Elle in a profile published on Friday, October 11. “So, I wouldn’t know.”
Rodrigo, also 21, dropped “So American” in March off her sophomore album, GUTS. The lyrics seemingly allude to the Grammy winner’s relationship with a man from another country. (Partridge, for what it’s worth, hails from England.)
“And he laughs at all my jokes / And he says I’m so American / Oh God, it’s just not fair of him / To make me feel this much,” Rodrigo sings. “I’d go anywhere he goes / And he says I’m so American /Oh God, I’m gonna marry him / If he keeps this s— up.”
soon / But if the conversation ever were to come up, I don’t wanna assume this stuff / But ain’t it wrong? / I think I’m in love.”
Rodrigo famously has never confirmed the lyrical inspiration of any of her songs from “So American,” “Drivers’ License” or “Vampire.”
“I never want to say who any of my songs are about,” Rodrigo told The Guardian in September 2023. “I’ve never done that before in my career and probably won’t. I think it’s better to not pigeonhole a song to being about this one thing.”
Rodrigo and Partridge have been linked since fall 2023, before the British actor was spotted at several stops on her Guts World Tour. The pair often downplay their connection publicly.
“Dating probably shouldn’t be done in the public eye,” Partridge said in a March British Vogue profile. “There’s enough going on between two people. You don’t need the voices of thousands of others in your head. I think she’s got it a lot worse than I have. I can be a bit of a normal person. She’s got tons and tons of eyes on her case.”
He added at the time, “If there’s a load of people nattering in a room about you, you can choose to put your ear to the door to hear what they say or not. I think you’re probably better off not letting curiosity get the better of you.”
Five months later, Partridge and Rodrigo were ready to confirm their romance and made their red carpet debut at August’s Venice International Film Festival. The outing also served as their official Instagram debut, as Partridge shared footage onto his Instagram Story.
While speaking with Elle earlier this month, the Disclaimer star offered further insight into their relationship.
“My girlfriend has been trying to get me into more pop recently — Chappell Roan has been on repeat,” Partridge said. “Other than that, it would have to be Nina Simone. I think the first song of hers I properly heard — I must have been drunk in an Uber on the way home from a night out, and I had my good headphones on and was listening to ‘Mr. Bojangles.’ There was so much life in her voice and richness and clearly some scars. And I just thought, ‘Wow, so, so romantic.’”