Joshua Bassett Was Hospitalized Days After Olivia Rodrigo's "Drivers License" Dropped

Let's be real: Getting dumped is a nightmare — especially when you’re young and it was your first serious relationship. When Olivia Rodrigo first got her heart broken, it was no walk in the park. Fortunately, though, she was able to turn her pain into something beautiful. She skyrocketed to pop music superstardom with the release of her song "Drivers License."

While Olivia didn’t specifically name the guy in her song who hurt her, she provided enough rich details for fans to connect the pieces. "Drivers License" is about Olivia’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series co-star Joshua Bassett, who allegedly left her for another Disney star: Sabrina Carpenter.

Has this ever been confirmed by Olivia, Joshua, or Sabrina? No, but the evidence is all there. Let’s take a look at Olivia and Joshua’s former romance.

Olivia and Joshua first met in 2019 while filming the Disney Plus series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. In the series, which premiered in November of that year, they play on-screen couple Ricky and Nini.

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series continued to get rave reviews into 2020. The LA Times published a piece spotlighting Olivia and Joshua. In the article, Joshua hinted that sparks already seemed to be flying between the two teens while filming.

He told the outlet that he and Olivia had such a natural connection — so natural that he was able to improvise a scene in which his character, Ricky, tells Nini that he loves her.

"It is the most powerful feeling in the world when you don’t even have to think, and it just comes through you," he said, adding, "It was really a magical moment."

Olivia said the following about Joshua: "He’s my best friend, so that really made the acting authentic and really truthful. It was like I wasn’t acting."

In the matter of a few months, Joshua seemed to have lost interest in Olivia. Per Us Weekly, he was seen with actress Sabrina Carpenter at a Black Lives Matter protest in Los Angeles in June 2020.

In August 2020, Olivia posted a video to TikTok that showed her playing the tune "All I Want" from the HSMTMTS soundtrack. The song details her troubles with a past flame and her desire to meet a "good guy" to share a "love that lasts."

She captioned the TikTok, "And that’s on failed relationships," hinting that she had been hurt by a guy.

Olivia broke the Internet with the release of her first single "Driver's License" in January 2021. In the track, which stayed at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks straight, Olivia mentions a "blonde girl," believed to be Sabrina, whom her ex left her for.

After the release of "Driver License," Joshua received a lot of hate online from Olivia stans — which included death threats, as he revealed to People in March 2022.

Six days after "Drivers License" dropped, Joshua released his song "Lie Lie Lie." Many fans believed it was in response to "Driver's License," however, he noted it had been scheduled for release on that day way before he knew anything about Olivia's single.

Unfortunately, he was unable to bask in the excitement of his new single, as he was admitted to the hospital in the middle of it all. "I felt my heart literally failing," he told the outlet, adding, "I was like, 'This isn't just anxiety. This is bad.'"

Joshua was hospitalized for heart failure. He was also diagnosed with septic shock. Before he was admitted, he knew something was wrong. "I was sleeping 16 to 20 hours a day," he revealed. "I couldn't even stand up for longer than 30 seconds."

Joshua was released from the hospital after nine days.

In April, Olivia released "Deja Vu," which is believed to be a follow-up to "Drivers License." It was still unclear at this point if Joshua and Sabrina were an item.

In May 2021, Joshua made a statement addressing his sexuality on social media. “My entire life people have told me my sexuality,” he wrote, adding that he’s been shamed by others for who he was. "Toxicity, hatred, and negativity say less about the subject, but say far more about those who spew it. It’s 2021. We are the generation of love and growth. It’s time we start acting like it," he wrote.

That same month, Olivia released her first studio album "Sour," which includes "Drivers License," "Deja Vu" and other tracks that are allegedly about Joshua.

In June 2021, E! News reported that Olivia was seeing producer Adam Faze. She reportedly took him as her plus-one to the Space Jam 2 premiere and introduced him as her boyfriend.

Joshua laid low for a few months to avoid fueling any more rumors. Then in December 2021, he released "Crisis," "Secret," and "Set Me Free"— which are all believed to be about his relationship with Olivia. "That week was worse than the year combined," he told People. "I got what I had to say off of my chest, but it brought all that stuff back up, and the healing isn't very linear."

So, where do Olivia and Joshua stand in 2022? The former flames have never reconciled. However, they both appear to be single. In February 2022, People reported that Olivia and Adam had called it quits after dating for seven months.

In March 2022, Olivia Rodrigo: Driving Home 2 U dropped on Disney Plus, a documentary that gives fans a peek into the making of her album "Sour."