Tate McRae has spoken candidly about the intense public scrutiny surrounding her breakup with The Kid LAROI in a new Rolling Stone cover story published December 11, 2025. The 22-year-old Canadian pop star described the attention on her personal life following the split, which she confirmed happened in June after dating rumors began in January 2024, as “really scary and overwhelming,” explaining that being in the spotlight for the first time brought pressures she hadn’t anticipated. McRae said she was unsettled by how quickly people formed narratives about her private life and emphasized that outsiders rarely know the full story behind any relationship.

McRae addressed fan speculation linking her hit single “Tit for Tat,” released on the deluxe edition of her So Close to What??? album, to The Kid LAROI’s post-breakup track “A Cold Play,” noting that both artists use songwriting as a form of expression and that once music is released, it takes on a life of its own. She also reflected on the ways the year’s attention has changed her, saying the experience has made her feel significantly different from who she was before.

In the interview, McRae spoke about the unexpected encouragement she received from Taylor Swift, who praised “Tit for Tat” during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, calling listening to it “at full volume, over and over again.” McRae described Swift’s acknowledgment as a meaningful moment, sharing that she has long admired Swift as both a songwriter and a woman in the music industry.