It’s (seemingly) official! Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau were spotted kissing on the singer’s yacht off the coast of Santa Barbara in photos from last month that surfaced over the weekend on Sunday, October 12. The photos seemingly confirm months of rumors that Perry, 40, and Trudeau, 53, having become something of an item.
“She pulled up her boat next to a small public whale-watching boat, then they started making out,” an eyewitness told The Daily Mail. “I didn’t realize who she was with until I saw the tattoo on the guy’s arm and I immediately realized it was Justin Trudeau.”
So how did one of the most inexplicable celebrity pairings in recent memory begin? We’ll break down everything we know so far.
August 2023: Justin Trudeau becomes a single man
On August 2, 2023, the former Canadian Prime Minister and his wife of 18 years, Sophie Grégoire, announced that they had separated.
“Hi everyone, Sophie and I would like to share the fact that after many meaningful and difficult conversations, we have made the decision to separate,” Trudeau wrote in a statement posted to Instagram. “As always, we remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build.”
He added a request that people respect their privacy out of the well-being of the couple’s three children, Xavier, 17, Ella-Grace 16, and Hadrien, 11.
June 2025: Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom split
On June 26, 2025, People confirmed that Perry and Orlando Bloom, her partner of nine years, had ended their engagement, just days after TMZ reported that Bloom was attending the wedding of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez solo.
The couple first began dating in 2016 after meeting at a Golden Globes afterparty. They split in 2017 and then got back together in 2018, and later got engaged on Valentine’s Day in 2019. Though the couple never officially tied the knot, they share a daughter together, Daisy Dove Bloom, who was born in August 2020.
July, 2025: Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau first spotted together
Perry and Trudeau were first spotted dining together at the swanky Le Violon restaurant in Montreal during a Canadian stop of the singer’s Lifetimes Tour in late July, in photos obtained by TMZ.
However, it soon was revealed that it was more than just a shared meal. Just hours later, the outlet followed up with photos of the couple walking Perry’s dog in Montreal’s Mount Royal Park about an hour and a half before dinner, and then dropping the pooch off at the Ritz-Carlton, where Perry was staying.
Then, just two days later, Trudeau was spotted in the audience during the Bell Centre stop of Perry’s tour in Montreal, singing along to her 2010 banger, “Firework”
At the time, a source told People that the pair had sparked an “instant connection.”
“They are interested in each other, but it will take a while to see where this goes,” a Canadian source said at the time. “She is traveling around the world, and he is figuring out his life today that he is no longer prime minister of Canada, but there is an attraction. They have a lot in common.”
“Their own personal responsibilities could make this relationship move slower than it would, but there are ways to see the other and still fulfill their parenting responsibilities,” the source added. “For one thing, they each have an ex. So, duties are split in half. And long-distance relationships, while still hard, are possible for these two.”
August 2025: But are they dating?
Despite their apparent connection, in late August it was reported that Perry and Trudeau actually had no plans to date, and that the outing had been casual.
“They had a casual first get-to-know-you date,” a source told People. “And although they have shared interests and plenty to talk about, dating just isn’t on her radar. She’s stayed in touch with Justin, but there are no current plans for another meet-up.”
Given that the yacht photos were taken last month, it’s unclear what the current status is with Perry and Trudeau. But it seems possible that things are today full speed with the unlikely couple.
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