Shawn Mendes considers Camila Cabello "one of [his] closest best friends".

The 'Stitches' hitmaker dated the former Fifth Harmony singer for two years until November 2021 and he gets frustrated at speculation they are "against each other in a weird way" because she remains someone he can confide in.

Describing her as "one of my closest best friends", he told the New York Times newspaper: “I have nerves just even speaking about it, just what people would say.

"But honestly, if something was to happen in my family and if something was to happen to me, she’d probably be the first person I call, to this day.

“Our relationship is teaching me what love means, in a big way."

In 2022, Shawn abruptly cancelled a two-year international tour of over 80 dates amid mental health struggles as he was "severely depressed" and no longer felt like himself.

He reflected: “The shows I could get through and find beauty in them.

“But when I would step offstage, I just didn’t recognise myself.

“I was a shell — like talking to a wall.”

The 26-year-old star found himself craving cigarettes and alcohol before shows, despite always swearing off them to protect his voice, and a post-show drink was a result of "needing an escape", prompting him to pull the plug before he went down the wrong path.

He said: “I was like, I’m not going to rewrite the same story that’s been written a thousand times by musicians and artists, where they can’t cope and they’d start taking more drugs, more alcohol, until it’s too much. I’m not doing that. I’m just going hard left.”

After cancelling the tour, Shawn found himself at a loss as to what to do.

He said: “I remember just driving a lot and just being like, ‘What the f*** am I doing?’ ”

The 'Senorita' hitmaker took things one step at a time.

He said: “I never could get stuck if all I had to think about was like, OK, it’s morning. My next 10 feet is to, you know, meditate and get a coffee. My next 10 feet after that is to work out; my next 10 feet is to call my mom.”

As he began to feel better, Shawn went travelling to places such as Costa Rica, Kenya and Rwanda, where he gained perspective.

He said: “The world is beautiful and horrific, and that does a lot for your sense of self-anxiety."