Abel Makkonen Tesfaye – better known as The Weeknd – was born on February 16, 1990, in Toronto. If you’ve turned on the radio at any point in the last ten years, you’ve probably heard his voice: unmistakably cool, emotionally intense, and genre-hopping between R&B, pop, and something darker. Hits like “Blinding Lights” and “Can’t Feel My Face” play everywhere, but what draws so many people in is how raw his music feels. There’s this sense you’re glimpsing his real struggles with loneliness, love, and the messiness of connection – even if you’re only getting part of the story.
The Weeknd’s journey to fame is anything but typical. He got his start in 2010, uploading songs to YouTube under a cloud of secrecy – no name, no interviews, just music. That air of mystery quickly became a signature. Even as he went from internet secret to arena headliner, he kept his distance. He rarely does in-depth interviews, and his social media presence is deliberate, not oversharing. Somehow, he’s managed to become one of the biggest pop stars in the world without feeling overexposed, leaving fans to wonder who he really is behind the glossy videos and late-night lyrics.
The same tight-lipped attitude applies to his personal life, especially when it comes to relationships. There’s no parade of Instagram stories or oversharing interviews – at least, not from him. Tabloids have plenty to say about his love life, but for the most part, The Weeknd lets his music do the talking. When he briefly opened up in a 2015 Rolling Stone interview, he put it simply: “I don’t want to open up too much because it gives away a lot of the mystique.” That sums up his approach perfectly – reveal enough to keep people interested, but hold the real stuff close to the chest.
Of course, The Weeknd’s lyrics – full of heartbreak, regret, and late nights – offer hints of what’s going on beneath the surface. But he’s careful to separate those emotional snapshots from actual play-by-plays of his romantic life. Fans might analyze every song for clues, but he’s not about to confirm or deny what’s real and what’s just music.
His relationships with Bella Hadid and Selena Gomez are probably the best-known chapters, if only because they were impossible to fully keep out of the public eye. He dated Hadid on and off from 2015 to 2019. Their chemistry seemed obvious, and their breakups and makeups even sparked a flurry of fan theories about which songs were about whom. With Selena Gomez, things went public quick when they got together in late 2016. They went to red carpet events, posted on social media, and seemed genuinely close – until their split in October 2017, which both mostly kept private despite intense media interest.
After those very public romances, speculation spiked any time The Weeknd was seen out with someone new. He was spotted with Angelina Jolie in 2021, triggering a wildfire of rumors, but nothing was ever confirmed. The same goes for his rumored connection with Simi Khadra around that time, and for brief tabloid mentions of model Yovanna Ventura back in 2017.
Past Relationships
Simi Khadra
Angelina Jolie
Yovanna Ventura
Selena Gomez
Bella Hadid
Julia Fox
Chantel Jeffries
Throughout it all, The Weeknd’s approach hasn’t changed – he doesn’t join in the gossip, doesn’t “accidentally” leak anything, doesn’t drop hints in interviews. Instead, he works on his music and lets everyone draw their own conclusions from the lyrics. Maybe he’s single right now, maybe not; unless he wants you to know, he’s not going to reveal it. His mystique is very much intact, just the way he likes it.