What All Of Katy Perry's Exes Have Said About Her

Katy Perry has dated a few famous faces in her time, which can sometimes mean some not so nice things being said in the tabloids. The girl with the glitchy eye has mainly taken the high road when it comes to her former lovers though, but has made it clear she's not always the biggest fans of her exes being mentioned in her presence.

Case and point? In April 2022 when Perry's former boyfriend John Mayer was brought up on "American Idol." It all went down when she and her co-judges, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie, were tasked with picking a song for the contestants, who then had to guess who gave it to them. Bryan chose Mayer's "Heartbreak Warfare" for Noah Thompson, who guessed Perry had picked it. Awkward. Perry joked that the oblivious contestant probably should have done a little more research on her, before quipping, "I'm triggered!" She then jokingly climbed under the desk to avoid the awkwardness, asking, "Who is going to pay for my extra hour of therapy!?"

But it sounds like her exes aren't quite so triggered when it comes to her. Though there are some former lovers from Perry's past who have stayed quiet publicly about what really went on between them (we're looking at you, Justin York, Robert Ackroyd, and James Valentine!) others have been pretty open when it comes to how they feel about the pop superstar post-romance.

Katy Perry is thought to have dated Relient K frontman Matt Thiessen from 2003 to 2005, with Thiessen confirming their romance during a 2012 interview with Song Facts. "I used to date her back in the day for a couple of years. But we're still really good friends," he said, adding, "We're not too close, but yeah, she's a great person." But while Thiessen appears to be a fan of Perry as a person post-split, the same can't really be said about her music.

Two years earlier, Thiessen admitted he didn't understand America's love for pop music, even specifically name checking his ex and her discography. "I don't really get any of that. Maybe that means that I am old. That stuff seems like it isn't that 'authentic,'" he told Mousertime in 2010, admitting he doesn't ever listen to her music. But the musician did still have a little praise for his ex's talents, adding, "Katy has a cool writing style though, and her lyrics can be poignant and mean stuff from time to time. I really appreciate that about her." 

The two even went as far as to write some music together around the time of their romance, teaming up to pen tracks for Perry like "Long Shot," which went on to be recorded by none other than Kelly Clarkson.

Katy Perry and Gym Class Heroes' Travis "Travie" McCoy were pretty serious at one point in time. According to Life & Style, they started dating in 2006 and ended things a few years later. Following their split, McCoy appeared to do what musicians do best and put his feelings into song, with People reporting he shared poignant lyrics from a song thought to be about their split on his blog. Titled "Looking at the Front Door," it featured some seemingly illuminating lyrics: "We fight every night, now that's not kosher/I reminisce with bliss of when we was closer/And wake up to be greeted by an argument again/You act like you're 10." Ouch.

McCoy went on to speak about his ex in a couple of interviews, admitting the same year as they split that he said he didn't like how much attention the world pays to who she's dating. "It's the social climate we're living in that people are more concerned with gossip and these tabloid rumours than they are with social issues and it's sad," he told Independent.ie in 2009. But that wasn't McCoy's last word. His ex's name was on his lips once again in 2012 when he clarified there was no bad blood amid her divorce from Russell Brand. Speaking to Mirror, he confessed, "There will always be a connection between us. I'll always be there for her. When you've been in a relationship like ours, you will always make time for that person."

Katy Perry and Josh Groban? Who knew! Well, even Groban didn't really, apparently. Perry revealed to James Corden during a 2017 game of "Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts" that she penned her hit "The One That Got Away" about the classical singer — even though he previously played pretty coy on whether or not they dated. Speaking to Details in 2013, he said, "We're very good friends. We met before her first album was even released, and we hit it off because we're both goofballs." He added, "We might have skated on the line of dating."

However, "The One That Got Away" tells the story of a brief romance between two young people that fizzled when adult life got in the way. Speaking about being the inspiration for the song on "Watch What Happens Live" in 2018, Groban told Andy Cohen, "Well, you know, we did [date]... we were both very private so we realized we were better as friends, and we've been very, very good friends to this day. She's the best." He also admitted the song was probably only loosely inspired by him, as she alludes to driving around with her love in a Mustang, though he never had one, nor do they have matching tattoos. "Are you sure that song's about me?" he mused. "I was very flattered by it, but I was very surprised by it too."

If there's one romance of Katy Perry's that really stands out, it has to be her marriage to British comedian and actor Russell Brand. The two tied the knot in 2010 but split in late 2011 — and Brand hasn't exactly shied away from sharing his thoughts on his former wife since then. When he made the decision to file for divorce from the "Dark Horse" hitmaker, he told People, "Sadly, Katy and I are ending our marriage. I'll always adore her and I know we'll remain friends."

In 2012, their divorce was finalized. That same year, Brand got pretty candid on "The Howard Stern Show" when he confessed distance and busy schedules got in the way of their romance (via MTV News). "I was really, really in love with her, but it was difficult to see each other. It was a lovely relationship ... It mostly didn't work for practical reasons," he said, admitting he was being very careful not to say anything that would hurt his ex. "She's a good person, I've got nothing but love for her. I was very proud of everything she did."

In 2014, he opened up again about Perry on "Watch What Happens Live," stating when asked to name the best and worst things about being with his ex, "The best thing is she's really exciting, and brilliant, and good fun, and the worst thing I suppose is things like that don't last forever."

The vampire and the candy goddess, Robert Pattinson and Katy Perry were rumored to have been dating around 2013, with a source claiming to The Sun that their friendship had supposedly blossomed into something more. "Their friends say they have now fallen for each other," the insider claimed. Wonderwall also reported that two had been spotted looking very cozy during a group outing, with an onlooker stating, "They were making out [and] totally a couple."

Then came that notorious viral video, which showed Perry and Pattinson singing karaoke together, belting out lyrics to none other than the super steamy "I'll Make Love To You" by Boyz II Men. Turn down the heat, because it's getting hot in this rumor mill. 

Neither ever appeared to explicitly confirm they dated, though Pattinson only ever had good things to say about his rumored love and karaoke partner. Speaking about their singing sessions to MTV News, he revealed they'd gotten Hugh Jackman in on the action too and shared that Perry knows how to bring out his competitive side. He also dished on Perry during an interview with The Times in 2019, noting they'd known one another for years. "She's exactly the same [as she was before fame]," he said of Perry. "That's difficult to do."

John Mayer and Katy Perry famously dated on and off from 2012 until 2015, and he spoke about their romance a few times after their split. One of his biggest confessions came in 2017, when he told The New York Times she inspired his song "Still Feel Like Your Man," which details how he couldn't move on after their breakup. The candid song features telling lyrics, per Genius, including, "Still like the letters in your name and how they feel, babe/Still think I'm never gonna find another you."

Later that year, he said on "Watch What Happens Live" that he still kept up with what his ex was doing, confessing he watched her "Big Brother"-esque "Witness World Wide" livestream. "I checked in with it. Like, it's definitely odd to watch your ex-girlfriend asleep," he told host Andy Cohen. He also revealed he harbored no bad feelings towards the star, and even wished her a happy birthday over text that year.

But that certainly wasn't the last time he spoke publicly about his lost love. In February 2022, he spoke about her again to Cohen, sharing on "Backstage with Andy Cohen" he was still a fan of their 2013 duet, "Who You Love." "I think it ages pretty well. I think it's a very sweet song... I think that song is great and I think Katy sounds great on it," he said, adding he'd be open to collaborating with one of his exes again.

Bear with us for a minute on this one, as Katy Perry's apparent romance with rapper Riff Raff is a bit of a confusing one. This one appeared to start around March 2014 when he shared a photo to Instagram with Perry, which she then re-shared and claimed showed them on a date. "TBT to when I went on a date with Riff Raff aka @jodyhighroller also, regram!" she wrote. Riff Raff was then asked about the date by TMZ, and he responded, "We went on a date. It was fun. We went bowling and then had a few drinks or whatever."

Then came the photos seen around the world when the (maybe) couple attended the 2014 VMA Awards together wearing all-denim ensembles reminiscent of the ones Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake wore to the 2001 American Music Awards. When TMZ caught up with them leaving the awards arm in arm, he told awaiting paparazzi, "We got a couple kids on the way." The two even collaborated musically, with Riff Raff appearing on her track, "This Is How We Do," which inspired plenty of speculation all the dating speculation may have been to promote the song.

In 2016, Riff Raff opened up about his dalliance with the popstar, reminiscing about their time together to HOT 97. Though he didn't give too much away, he only had nice things to say about her, replying when asked what she smelled like, "Mermaids and clouds."

Diplo appeared to throw some shade at Katy Perry in 2017 after she didn't exactly have a lot of praise for his skills in the bedroom. While playing the aforementioned (and notorious) game of "Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts" during the "Witness World Wide" livestream event, James Corden asked Perry to rank three ex-boyfriends by how good they were in bed. She put Diplo in third, Orlando Bloom (her future husband!) in second, and John Mayer in the top spot. Diplo and Perry are thought to have dated briefly around 2014 after they were spotted out at dinner.

Diplo, understandably, wasn't too thrilled by his bronze medal and seemingly hit back via the old tweet and delete method. According to E! News, he appeared to reference Perry's NSFW placement by writing on Twitter, "I don't even remember having sex." Ouch. He then seemingly responded once again via social media, this time three years later. For his second reference to the moment, he posted (and this time didn't delete) a photo on Instagram of himself with his arm around Corden as they both held up three fingers. He then jokingly captioned the image, "At least I tried."

As we already know, Katy Perry found long-lasting love with Orlando Bloom, but before getting engaged and welcoming their daughter Daisy Dove into the world, they actually split up. That went down around March 2017, though Bloom confirmed they were still on good terms as he had nothing but sweet things to say about the singer. "We're friends. It's good. We're all grown-up. She happens to be someone who is very visible, but I don't think anybody cares about what I'm up to. Nor should they," he told Elle U.K. when asked about the high-profile breakup. "It's between us. It's better to set an example for kids and show that [breakups] don't have to be about hate," the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star then added.

And it seemed like his decision to take the high road when it came to his then ex-girlfriend certainly worked for him, as it wasn't too long before they reconciled. E! News shared photos of them together again that August, and Bloom popped the question on Valentine's Day the following year. Oh, how we love a happy ending.