Irish actor Barry Keoghan, pictured here in January 2023.Getty Images

Irish actor Barry Keoghan and US popstar Sabrina Carpenter have apparently stepping back from their roughly one-year-old romantic relationship.

Keoghan, the Dublin native "Banshees of Inisherin" Oscar nominee, and Carpenter, who is enjoying a breakout year thanks largely in part to her hit song "Espresso," are believed to have begun dating about a year ago.

"They are both young and career-focused, so they've decided to take a break," an insider told People Magazine on Tuesday, December 3.

While the source told People Magazine that the break is due to Keoghan and Carpenter's booming careers, others are speculating that Keoghan may have been cheating on Carpenter.

Ahead of the report in People Magazine, celebrity gossip site DeuxMoi shared a "blind item" that seemed to fit Keoghan and Carpenter.

The blind item, which DeuxMoi noted is "unconfirmed," said: "It appears that this A-list singer who's having her breakout year and her foreign actor boyfriend are done for good.

"On the closing night of her biggest tour to date in LA, he was busy getting very cozy at San Vicente Bungalows with a blonde, semi-famous, LA based influencer (who's particularly big on TikTok).

"I snooped around a bit out of curiosity and apparently he and his popstar girlfriend called it quits very suddenly less than a week before her final shows in LA after she found out he had been chatting with said influencer behind her back for months in a not-innocent-at-all way; she had even gone to find him while he was filming in the UK, eager to keep him company while his girlfriend was touring in the US.

"He had messed up before and she had forgiven him but nothing as serious and infidelity is where she draws the line.

"The popstar wants to keep the situation under wraps at least until January because her next single is a steamy song inspired by their relationship and she's already filmed a music video with very obvious references to him, but the influencer is running her mouth a lot and he isn't doing much to stop her so I'll be surprised if they manage to do that."

Rumors are circulating that the "LA-based influencer" is Breckie Hill, who is adding fuel to the speculation by resharing TikToks about Keoghan and Carpenter's reported split on her feed to her more than 4 million followers.

Meanwhile, neither Keoghan nor Carpenter have commented on the reports of their split. Keoghan still follows Carpenter - and only Carpenter - on Instagram, while Carpenter also still follows the Irish actor.

Read more

Barry Keoghan and Sabrina Carpenter's relationship timeline

Rumors about Keoghan and Carpenter's coupling kicked off in December last year when they were spotted leaving a 'romantic' dinner in Los Angeles.

The following month, Keoghan all but confirmed during an interview with GQ that he had split with girlfriend Alyson Sandro, with whom he shares a son, Brando. (Keoghan previously dated Co Kerry native Shona Guerin for a number of years.)

Later that month, Keoghan and Carpenter were reportedly spotted together at an amusement park in Los Angeles, further fueling relationship rumors.

In February, it was hotly rumored that the two would walk the red carpet together at the Golden Globes, where Keoghan was nominated, but that 'relationship reveal' didn't materialize.

The duo was, however, spotted canoodling at a Grammys after-party that same month.

In March, Keoghan was in Singapore to cheer on Carpenter when she was the opening act for Taylor Swift on the smash-hit Eras World Tour.

That same month, they were spotted together at the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party, where Keoghan was reportedly wearing a bracelet that had 'Sabrina' spelled out on it.

Keoghan was back on boyfriend duty in April, spotted in the crowd supporting Carpenter as she performed at Coachella in California. 

The duo also caught up with power couple Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce at Coachella.

@dannyinthemorning TAYLOR SWIFT OMFG SHE LOOKED AT US #COACHELLA ♬ original sound - dannyinthemorning

In May, the two finally hit the red carpet together at the Met Gala in New York City.

Keoghan was again cheering on Carpenter when she performed at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Luton that same month.

Then, the music video for "Please Please Please" - which stars Keoghan - dropped in June. It's since racked up a staggering 157 million views on YouTube.

In October, Carpenter revealed why, despite wanting to keep her personal life personal, she cast her Irish beau in the music video.

"I am genuinely - not even a biased opinion - I was like, who's the greatest actor that I can find for this music video?" she told CBS.

"And he [Keoghan] was next to me in a chair. And he was so excited about it, and he likes the song, which is great, he's a fan of the song.

"He does like my music a lot, yeah."