Lorde is clearing the air about her former relationship with Justin Warren.
Fans had been speculating that the “Solar Power” singer and music industry insider went their separate ways since she seemed to hint at a split in a September 2023 newsletter to fans where she revealed that she was “living with heartbreak again.”
“It鈥檚 different but the same,” she wrote at the time. “I ache all the time, I forget why and then remember. I鈥檓 not trying to hide from the pain, I understand now that pain isn鈥檛 something to hide from, that there鈥檚 actually great beauty in moving with it. But sometimes I鈥檓 sick of being with myself.鈥
It wasn’t until a May 2025 interview with Rolling Stone, though, that she confirmed she and Warren had broken up during that time.
The former couple first sparked romance rumors in 2015. However, they kept the details of their relationship extremely private while they were dating and were only photographed by paparazzi on a few rare occasions.
Here’s everything to know about Lorde’s ex-boyfriend, Justin Warren.
He works in the music industry
At one point, Warren was an American promotions director for Universal Music in New Zealand.
In addition to Lorde, he has worked with other big-name stars, including Eminem, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry.
Warren and Lorde met in 2009
According to The New Zealand Herald, Lorde and Warren first met when she was signed to Universal Music in 2009.
However, the pair weren’t linked romantically until nearly six years later.
At first, he denied dating Lorde
Warren accompanied Lorde on the red carpet at the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards in November 2015. In February 2016, Warren and Lorde were spotted together again in New Zealand, prompting dating rumors, but he shot them down.
“Ella and I have worked together for years and we’re good friends. Any rumors of us being ‘a pair’ are ridiculous,” he told The Herald. “Ella has a really busy year ahead of her and we’ll be spending more time together as plans for the next Lorde record unfold.”
Then, in February 2016, Lorde and Warren were photographed together enjoying a beach day in New Zealand.
He’s roughly 17 years older than Lorde
Warren is in his early 40s and roughly 17 years Lorde’s senior. Lorde’s boyfriend prior to Warren, photographer James Lowe, was seven years older than the singer.
Lorde’s mother, Sonja Yelich, told Rolling Stone in early 2014 that dating older was her daughter’s thing, whether her parents necessarily liked it or not.
“I didn’t say, ‘Yeah, sure, go date a 24-year-old.’ But her dad and I met James and we liked him,” she recalled. “When Ella was much younger, her first boyfriend was older 鈥 four years or something.”
They never publicly confirmed their relationship
Lorde got rid of all of her social media as a means to protect her own mental health, so she never shared updates on her relationship while she was still in it.
“Part of what made me peace out on social media, apart from feeling like I was losing my free will, was the massive amounts of stress I was feeling about our planet, about systemic racism, and about police brutality in this country,” Lorde previously told Interview magazine. Since then, Lorde has only posted rarely, either to promote her music or to call her fans to vote in important elections.
In 2017, Lorde admitted to running a secret Instagram account dedicated to reviewing onion rings. The page garnered 24 followers before it was taken down, with Warren being one of the lucky few who followed @onionringsworldwide.
Warren and Lorde previously sparked engagement rumors
In March 2019, Lorde sparked engagement rumors for the first time when she and Warren were photographed together in New Zealand. At the time, she was wearing a silver ring on her left hand.
The singer never commented on the rumors, but fans began speculating about Lorde and Warren’s possible engagement again in April 2021 when she was photographed sporting a different rock on her ring finger. While attending the Variety Power of Women event, photos showed Lorde rocking a gold ring with what appeared to be a large diamond.
True to her private nature, she never commented on the jewelry. It’s worth noting that she was later photographed at the Glastonbury Festival in late June 2022 wearing a different ring on the same finger.
Lorde confirmed their breakup in May 2025
Nearly two years after Lorde and Warren went their separate ways, the singer confirmed that they had broken up around the time she sent the newsletter that sparked speculation back in September 2023.
鈥淚 went through a breakup,鈥 she confirmed to Rolling Stone in May 2025. 鈥淚t was so painful, as they are, but there was real dignity to it and grace and a lot of respect. It continues to be a relationship that I cherish.鈥
At the time, she left New Zealand and moved to London, where she realized she had “never been alone” without a romantic partner.
鈥淚t was a pattern I found myself repeating,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 think because of leaving home so young and not quite being ready to be on my own. But I had this very acute sense that I needed to be alone to really meet myself.鈥