Tate McRae is opening up about how hard it was to deal with public reactions after her breakup with The Kid LAROI.

The pop star shared her feelings in a new Rolling Stone cover story released on Thursday (Dec. 11), saying the attention around their split became overwhelming.

The 22-year-old singer explained that being in a high-profile relationship for the first time brought more pressure than she expected.

"It was really scary and overwhelming," McRae said, adding that she wouldn't talk about other people's private lives the way some fans talked about hers, Yahoo reported.

She noted that no one online ever knows the full story and that she dislikes when people make a situation seem worse than it is.

McRae confirmed that she and LAROI ended their relationship in June, after dating rumors first started in January 2024.

Talk of a breakup grew louder when LAROI released the song "A Cold Play," and fans later tried to link her hit "Tit for Tat" to him.

But McRae said she has learned to accept that both artists will write about their feelings. "That's our art, that's our job," she said. "And once it's out there, it's not mine anymore."

Tate McRae Opens Up About Pressure and Praise

McRae also shared that the past year has changed her a lot. She told the magazine she barely recognizes the person she was before all the attention, saying she feels like she has "aged 10 years in the past year."

Even with all the noise surrounding her personal life, McRae has still received big moments of support.

According to Billboard, one of the most memorable came from Taylor Swift, who praised "Tit for Tat" during an interview.

McRae, who has long admired Swift, said she was thrilled. "It was one of the coolest moments ever," she said, explaining how special it felt to be recognized by someone she looks up to as both a writer and a woman in the industry.

Fans have also compared McRae to Britney Spears, something she admits feels "flattering and scary." She said she loves Spears but believes no one should be directly compared to an icon.

McRae added that female artists often don't get enough credit for their own ideas, pointing out that many famous women before her have faced the same challenge.

Originally published on Music Times