Gracie Abrams says being in a healthier romantic relationship has changed the way she thinks about writing music.
The Grammy-nominated singer appeared on the cover of Vogue on Tuesday and spoke about her next album, Daughter from Hell. Abrams has become known for emotionally heavy songs about love and heartbreak, including “That’s So True” and “I Love You, I’m Sorry.”
In the interview, Abrams discussed her relationship with actor Paul Mescal and said the stability of it initially made her nervous as a songwriter. Because she was communicating more openly and feeling secure, she wondered whether that comfort might weaken the emotional tension that often fuels her music.
Abrams admitted that feeling safe in a relationship scared her creatively, because she worried it might take away some of her motivation to write.
Her longtime collaborator and producer Aaron Dessner helped her rethink that fear. According to Abrams, Dessner encouraged her to keep digging deeper into her instincts rather than chasing something that only appears new or more polished on the surface.
Abrams also reflected on spending time in London with Mescal while he was filming Hamnet. She described being around someone working on a project of that scale as deeply inspiring, comparing their conversations to reading an extraordinary book every day. She also praised Mescal’s collaborators Chloé Zhao and Jessie Buckley, calling the experience of watching him work with them “magical.”
Abrams and Mescal have been linked since June 2024, when they were first seen together in London. More recently, the couple attended a screening connected to Paul McCartney’s new documentary project. Mescal is also set to play McCartney in Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles film series, The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event, currently in production in the U.K.
