Tate McRae is opening up about her decision to keep her relationships out of the public eye.
“I try to keep my relationships as sacred and private as possible,” McRae, 23, told Variety in a profile published on Monday, August 3.
The interview was conducted one day before celebrity gossip account DeuxMoi speculated about the status of McRae’s romance with New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes, whom she had been linked to earlier this year. The outlet noted that McRae took a moment to “collect her thoughts” before sharing more.
“I love the people in my life. They love me. You just try to keep that circle as positive and supportive as possible,” she explained. “And the outside noise, I can’t do anything about that. Focusing my energy on something that I can’t control, it just puts me in a bad mood.”
Elsewhere in the interview, McRae reflected on duetting on the track “What I Want” with Morgan Wallen — which led the internet to think she is a MAGA supporter through association. McRae’s ties to Hughes, 25, further fueled the speculation when his team laughed at a joke made by President Donald Trump after winning the Olympics.
As the outlet asked McRae why she does not “tread into that sort of conversation,” she replied, “I like to say my piece through organizations I support and the environment that I have on tour.” (McRae posted a TikTok last year with a “Little Miss Possessive” hoodie, where a portion of proceeds went to nonprofit The Trevor Project and Global Fund for Women.)
“I think it’s pretty obvious what kind of person I am and the things I support,” she continued. “And I hope that my fans can see that through the things that I’m putting my energy towards.”
At the time of the interview, McRae was gearing up for headlining Montreal’s Osheaga Festival and Chicago’s Lollapalooza and focusing on how she wants to be remembered. (The events both occurred this past weekend.)
“There’s always thought about how you want your legacy to go down,” she said. “For me, the way to do that is try to beat your last performance, try to beat your last song, try to grow, evolve, pick it apart, rip it apart, figure out what didn’t work, what I didn’t like about that performance, what I could have done better, why I was nervous, figure out how to not be nervous. I think the more you can master yourself and your performances, the better you get.”
