On Wednesday, May 17th a source from inside the Billie Eilish team confirmed the breakup. “We can confirm Billie and Jesse did split amicably and remain good friends,” they told Page Six. The former couple have more than a decade between them in age, and have not had the easiest time in the media and among fans because of this difference in age.
The last time Eilish and Rutherford were seen together was in April at Coachella music festival in Indio, California. When the Met Gala rolled around this year, the Grammy award winning singer Eilish attended solo without Rutherford.
The rumor mill about Eilish and Rutherford being a possible couple first started back in October of 2022, when the two were spotted locking lips outside of a restaurant in Los Angeles. This sighting came just a few days after they were seen together holding hands at Halloween Horror Nights in Universal Studios. Quickly after the gossip started churning, many fans took to social media to express their concern over their large age gap, as Eilish is 21 years old and Rutherford is 31 years old.
All of the criticism only seemed to spark humor in the couple as they had a little fun with the backlash for Halloween. For their Halloween costumes, Eilish dressed up in a baby costume and Rutherford dressed up like an old man.
Then in November, the duo made their official debut as an item on the red carpet when they appeared together for the LACMA Art + Film Gala in Los Angeles. They wore matching Gucci pajamas and posed for camera opps together under a large, quilted Gucci blanket. Later that same month, Eilish got real about her relationship in an interview with Vanity Fair, giving insight that is rare for the singer in terms of sharing about her personal life and love life.
“I managed to get my way to a point in my life where I not only was known by a person that I thought was the hottest f***ing f***er alive, but pulled his ass. Jesse Rutherford, everyone!” she said. Eilish then asked the crew to give her a round of congratulatory applause.
She went on to say that she was really excited and happy to be dating a fellow musician. She told Vanity Fair that their mutual love language was physical touch. “I just need to be touching skin all the time – touching and cuddling and hugging and anything skin-related is really a big thing for me,” she said.
Continuing on to explain why she felt so strongly about Eilish, the singer said that Rutherford gave her, “space… love and attention, and equal admiration.”
“I’m just really inspired by this person, and, you know, he’s inspired by me, which is really cool.”
While much of the rest of the world criticized Eilish and Rutherford for their 11-year age gap, there were some who were still in her corner. One of those people was her brother and co collaborator Finneas O’Connell. O’Connell, 25 years old, actually defended his sister in her dating choice with Rutherford.
This came about when a social media user openly criticized Eilish’s older brother, commenting, “Your sister’s dating a 31-year-old man and your music is s***ty.” O’Connell was quick to come to his sister’s defense.
“I want my sister to be happy and safe,” he said. “She is a 21-year-old adult perfectly entitled to make her own life decisions.”
