Why fans think Dua Lipa's new song is about ex Romain Gavras

The theory has legs

Dua Lipa and Romain Gavras attend the "Omar La Fraise (The King of Algiers)" red carpet during the 76th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals on May 19, 2023 in Cannes, France.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Dua Lipa's new song is a bop.

"French Exit," off the popstar's album Radical Optimism, was released over the past few days, and already fans have a theory as to who it might be about.

The song is ostensibly about Dua breaking up with someone by doing a "French exit," also known as ghosting.

The chorus goes: "It's not a broken heart if I don't break it / 'Goodbye' doesn't hurt if I don't say it / And I really hope you'll understand it / Only way to go is a French exit"

And one of the verses appears to explain the reason behind the breakup: "Maybe time away will make it make sеnse / I'm better at a clеan break than leaving doors open / I know you're gonna say I shoulda stayed till the end / But right now, I can't give you what you want"

Immediately after Dua announced the tracklist for her album, fans singled out "French Exit" as being about her ex Romain Gavras (who is French), and now that the song is out, fans are not changing their minds.

Obviously, Dua herself hasn't — and is unlikely to — directly confirmed or denied whether the song is about Romain.

Instead, she has said about the track that it's "definitely different from anything anyone has heard" in her previous music.

Meanwhile, Dua and Romain — a director of films and music videos — had a short relationship last year, and if one source is to be believed concerning the romance, one that definitely tracks with the lyrics of "French Exit."

"Dua and Romain have gone their separate ways after a summer of love," an insider told The Sun in December.

"She has blinkers on when it comes to her career and the pair ended the relationship before things turned sour." AKA a French exit? Who's to say.

Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.