It seemed as though every twenty-something girl (myself included) in the world has mourned the loss of two prospective boyfriends in the past few weeks: Tom Holland and Shawn Mendes. Throughout the last two weeks, photos have been leaked on Instagram of Shawn Mendes supposedly going on dates with Camila Cabello and Tom Holland rumors with Zendaya. They appear to have gone out together several times (especially in Shawn and Camila's case), so these relationships seem at least somewhat serious.
When the news got out about these blossoming romances, girls everywhere were, quite understandably, heartbroken. So many dream relationships were torn apart before they even began, and slowly, fan Instagram accounts started to post videos and memes talking about how upsetting it was that these two boys, both of whom would most likely have been the perfect boyfriend, were suddenly off the market. And I can totally understand that! Every girl has fantasies about meeting their celebrity crush, falling in love, and marrying them. I think it's a lot of fun to indulge in that every once in a while. It's a really nice break from reality!
But fantasy is very different from reality.
Even if you've met Tom Holland at Comic-Con or Shawn Mendes on one of his tours, there's a very strong chance you haven't interacted with them enough times as a friend. You were just meeting them as a fan, which is a great thing to do! I'd love to meet them both someday. However, that doesn't mean they would remember you, become friends with you, and fall in love with you. We see a side of celebrities like Tom Holland and Shawn Mendes who are just meeting their fans and being nice in that setting.
We need to remember that celebrities have private lives as well, and are entitled to them just like the rest of us.
Even though we live in an age where celebrities constantly post about their lives and promote things they're a part of on social media, I guarantee you there are things we don't know about them, and that's for a very good reason. When a person is as popular as Shawn Mendes or Tom Holland, they want to at least a little bit of privacy so the fame doesn't drive them crazy.
The same absolutely goes for relationships. If a celebrity meets someone (famous or otherwise) and wants to start a relationship, they have every right to do so! Celebrities need a little bit of reprieve from record labels and film companies dictating what they can and can't do. And while it is normal to be a little disappointed, it's incredibly important to remember that celebrities are the only people who get to choose the people they date. You would want people to respect the privacy of your own relationship, so it's only fair to do that to celebrities.
Shawn Mendes and Tom Holland may be the perfect boyfriends, and they are hopefully in happy relationships. That's always the most important thing to remember in instances like this.
