It’s the relationship nobody saw coming. Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and pop superstar Katy Perry appeared to confirm months of swirling speculation this weekend when photographers captured them holding hands as they left a cabaret show in Paris. The images, showing the couple exiting Crazy Horse Paris after celebrating Perry’s 41st birthday, have sent social media into overdrive.
But this whirlwind romance didn’t start overnight. The story begins with endings. In August 2023, Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire announced they were separating after 18 years of marriage. The announcement, posted to Instagram, revealed the decision followed “many meaningful and difficult conversations.” The couple, who share three children, had been one of Canada’s most high-profile political partnerships. Trudeau became only the second sitting prime minister to separate from a spouse while in office—his father Pierre had done the same in 1977.
Nearly two years later, in July 2025, Perry and her longtime partner Orlando Bloom confirmed their own split. The actor and singer had been together for nine years, with their relationship marked by an on-again, off-again dynamic before Bloom proposed on Valentine’s Day 2019. They share one daughter together.
The first hint that something was brewing came on July 28, 2025. TMZ captured Trudeau and Perry having dinner at Le Violin, an intimate Montreal restaurant. The timing was notable—Perry was in the middle of her “Lifetimes Tour,” which included seven stops across Canadian cities that summer. But dinner wasn’t all. Earlier that day, the pair had been spotted walking together near Montreal’s Mount Royal Park, and they capped off the evening with drinks at Taverne Atlantic. For two people trying to keep a low profile, they weren’t doing a particularly good job of it.
Two days later, any doubt about Trudeau’s interest was erased when concertgoers filmed him at Perry’s show. There he was, a former prime minister, singing along to “Firework” and “Teenage Dream” like any other fan in the crowd.
After those Montreal sightings, the rumor mill went quiet for nearly two months. Then, on October 11, everything changed. A tourist passing by Perry’s yacht off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, snapped photos that would go viral within hours. The images, published by the Daily Mail, showed Trudeau and Perry kissing aboard her 24-meter vessel. Sources told the publication the two were “making out,” leaving little room for interpretation.
The photos hit social media like a bombshell. Two days later, Sophie Grégoire posted what many interpreted as a cryptic message on Instagram. In a video, she reflected on love and letting go. “To hold on feels safer than to let go,” she said. “Love was never about possession, it was about presence.”
Which brings us to last weekend in Paris. Trudeau and Perry were photographed leaving Crazy Horse Paris after the cabaret show, holding hands as Perry clutched a red rose given to her by a fan. Onlookers sang “Happy Birthday” as the couple headed to their vehicle, photographers capturing every moment.
Neither Trudeau nor Perry has publicly commented on or confirmed the relationship in their own words. But as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words—and this weekend, they provided plenty of them. For now, social media continues to buzz with reactions ranging from surprise to delight to complete disbelief. One thing’s certain: this is one celebrity pairing that nobody had on their 2025 bingo card.
