Sabrina Carpenter And Barry Keoghan Have A Bigger Age Gap Than We Thought

As Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan's budding romance started heating up, fans couldn't ignore their age gap any longer. The future couple reportedly met in September 2023 at the Givenchy Paris Fashion Week event. Then, in December, the Daily Mail caught the "Espresso" hitmaker leaving a restaurant with the Irish actor. After a few more low-key date nights, it seemed like the celebrity couple was ready to be more public with their relationship. So, in March 2024, the "Saltburn" star flew out to Singapore to support Carpenter as she opened for her close friend Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. A fan video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, showed the lovebirds hugging backstage following her performance. About a week later, they made things official by taking a few cute snaps at the Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty red carpet. To make matters even more adorable, the Oscar nominee wore a friendship bracelet with his new lady's name throughout the night. 

It's safe to say that Keoghan and Carpenter are completely smitten with each other. While some fans are overjoyed, others can't help but wonder if the BAFTA winner is right for the "Nonsense" songstress because of their considerable age difference. The unlikely couple are nearly seven years apart, with Keoghan being born in October 1992 and Carpenter in May 1999. In addition to realizing their age gap was bigger than expected, netizens also learned that Keoghan may be in a different stage of his life than the former Disney star. 

Before Barry Keoghan became a part of Sabrina Carpenter's star-studded dating history, he was in a serious relationship with Alyson Sandro. The former couple reportedly met in 2021 and welcomed their first and only son, Brando, in August 2022. Sandro and the "Banshees of Inisherin" star split in 2023 but seemingly continued to co-parent their son without issue. However, as Carpenter and Keoghan's relationship appeared to be getting serious in June 2024, social media users accused him of being an absent father. Commentators on X pointed out that Keoghan was seen all over the world supporting his partner but was rarely ever spotted with his child. To add more fuel to the fire, critics shared screenshots of Sandro supposedly liking Instagram comments about her thriving as a single mom. 

In January 2024, however, Sandro's mom clarified to the Daily Mail that the co-parents remained completely amicable, confirming. "They're on talking terms and need to be for wee Brando." She continued, "Barry had the decency to give Alyson the heads up about his new girlfriend and we can't fault him for that. Alyson is now focusing on herself and her son." It's also worth noting that the actor has gushed about his child on several occasions. While speaking to GQ in January 2024, for instance, Keoghan divulged that welcoming Brando while filming "Saltburn" was one of the highlights of his life. He also shared some sweet words for Sandro: "She's done a great job and she's an incredible mother."

Evidently, Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan believe their romance is secure enough to withstand the tidal waves of negative opinions online. In June 2024, they fearlessly hard-launched in style by having the actor star alongside Carpenter in the music video for her track "Please, Please, Please." The song apparently described the start of their relationship and found her pleading with him not to break her heart. The singer-songwriter made her muse clear with the clever line, "I heard that you're an actor, so act like a stand-up guy." While the couple have remained tight-lipped about their collaboration, the music video's director, Bardia Zeinali, was happy to tell GQ how everything played out behind the scenes. 

The "Skin" singer actually suggested her beau for the lead role. And Zeinali couldn't be happier about Carpenter's decision because it led to him directing an immensely talented performer. He also shared how the "Dunkirk" star behaved on set, revealing, "I think because it's his girlfriend, and it's her video he was very conscious of that and wanted to make sure that he wasn't taking energy or attention away from her." Zeinali added, "It was really sweet — he wanted to nail it, give it all and do his best, but also totally always trying to stay out of the way." Additionally, the director noted that Keoghan put a lot of thought into his role, arriving on set with a well-defined idea of his character's idiosyncrasies.