Strange Things About Katy Perry And Justin Trudeau's Budding Romance

Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears to be hard-launching his relationship with American pop star (and astronaut) Katy Perry. The two appeared, hand in hand, at a cabaret in Paris to celebrate Perry's birthday. After clandestine paparazzi shots placed the two together on a few occasions, this public appearance confirmed that the unlikely pair is an official couple.

"This is just so weird!" wrote one Reddit commenter. "It's like if Obama became single and started dating Beyonce, although that would be a way more interesting timeline." Of course, both Trudeau and Perry have been through the wringer lately. She drew social media criticism for her cringey celebrity spaceflight, and he resigned as prime minister after rising public criticism, which might be giving them some common ground. "I feel like this pairing is starting to make more sense to me," served another Reddit commenter. "They both recently experienced having the general public hating and mocking them pretty mercilessly. That's a significant thing to have in common." But while being publicly mocked might make for a powerful bond, only time will tell if it's enough of a foundation to overcome this relationship's many quirks.

Given how recently Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry both left serious relationships, it's hard to believe this couple is based on anything more than a mutual need to recover from their breakups. Perry ended her six-year engagement to actor Orlando Bloom in July 2025, and Justin Trudeau announced his separation from his wife of 18 years in 2023. That's a blazing red flag that says "rebound."

If we go by the old adage that getting over someone takes half the length of the relationship, then it looks like both Perry and Trudeau have a ways to go on their healing journeys before they're prepared to dive into something new. Even if that old rule doesn't hold, there's no denying that Perry is operating on a fairly accelerated timeline. Since rumors first linked the singer to Trudeau in July, the same month she announced her split, the timeline has been moving quickly. There might have been plenty of signs that Perry and Bloom's relationship was headed for a breakup, but we're still surprised by how quickly she's moved on. That said, we're all in favor of a fun fling after an intense breakup, because there are plenty of benefits.

Justin Trudeau recently retired from politics to focus on being a dad, which puts him in a vastly different phase of life than Katy Perry. Perry might also be a parent, but she's still living her A-list pop star life and, at the time of writing, is on a world tour. While they might be able to find some commonalities, particularly around what it means to be a public figure weathering some serious public animosity, it seems like this pair might not be on the same page when it comes to lifestyle.

Such practical differences can be a barrier, no matter how good the chemistry is. "Their own personal responsibilities could make this relationship move slower than it would," an anonymous source told People. That seems to be a polite way of acknowledging that both Perry and Trudeau are parents who are navigating raising children with their ex-partners, and may not have much bandwidth available to grow this relationship.

Though Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau first had dinner in July, it's taken them three months to publicly confirm their relationship. While it's not uncommon for celebrities to keep their budding relationships low-key, that isn't quite what this couple has been doing. True, they did not officially announce that they were dating, but they've been photographed engaging in some serious PDA.

In October, the couple was snapped making out on a yacht in Santa Barbara, which doesn't exactly say low-profile. If the goal was to stay out of the spotlight, then these unofficial public appearances only fanned the flames of public interest and speculation. This was even more true when Perry seemed to winkingly acknowledge the relationship during a performance in London, saying, "You heard I was single? That's interesting. You really should have asked me about 48 hours ago." Either way, the strange media rollout for this couple suggests they might have mixed feelings about how to proceed.

Part of why this new couple seems so bizarre is that Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau have wildly different professional backgrounds. While he's famous for leading Canada's liberal party, Perry shot to fame for provocative pop songs like "I Kissed A Girl" and "California Gurls." It's hard to imagine what this couple might talk about during their downtime.

"This feels like the crossover nobody asked for, like a G7 summit sponsored by TikTok thirst traps," wrote one Reddit commenter. After all, the woman once photographed wearing a bra made from cupcakes hardly seems like politician material, which conjures images of conservative coat dresses and demure necklines. Considering how many Perry outfits have completely missed the mark, we're not exactly sure she's ready for the serious world of international politics. But considering that Trudeau is retired from the political arena, that might now matter. It could be the beginning of a major rebrand for the former politician. As one Reddit commenter noted, "If this doesn't end with Trudeau singing as a feature on the next Katy Perry album then what are we doing here?"