Lucy Dacus confirms her relationship with Julien Baker, ahead of her new album, Forever Is A Feeling
Lucy Dacus is no stranger to turning her personal life into heart-wrenching indie rock anthems, but when it comes to her relationship with Julien Baker, she’s keeping some cards close to her chest.
In a new profile for The New Yorker, Dacus finally puts a longstanding rumour to rest – she and her boygenius bandmate Baker are officially dating.
The news comes just as Dacus gears up to release her latest solo effort, Forever Is A Feeling, a record soaked in the euphoria (and occasional existential dread) of falling in love.
Despite the online detective work that’s surrounded their friendship – heightened by boygenius’ indefinite hiatus and their recent post-Grammys downtime – Dacus says most fans have been respectful.
Still, the fringes of internet speculation have weighed on her. “It only takes a handful to make your life feel like a really easily threatened thing,” she told The New Yorker. “I’ve been practicing not reinforcing that narrative to myself.”
She admits she never set out to conceal the relationship but was still navigating how much of her private world she wanted to share publicly. “It’s been interesting, because I want to protect what is precious in my life, but also to be honest, and make art that’s true,” she explained. “I think maybe a part of it is just trusting that it’s not at risk.”
Dacus and Baker currently share a home in Los Angeles, the stomping ground of their fellow boygenius member Phoebe Bridgers. It’s also where one of the New Yorker interviews took place—at The Huntington, an art museum and botanical garden in San Marino, immortalized in Bridgers’ Punisher cut, “Garden Song.” “We have memberships because Phoebe gave them to us for my birthday,” Dacus quipped. Love, it seems, is blooming in all directions.
As for Forever Is A Feeling, the record is already being hailed as a “gorgeous and tender album about falling in love,” with Dacus acknowledging that her songs aren’t necessarily tied to one person—but sometimes, the writing is on the wall.
“These songs are about different people,” she says, before conceding with a laugh, “Most Wanted Man In West Tennessee’—what are you gonna do?”
With boygenius on pause and a new era of solo work on the horizon, Dacus is carving out space for both vulnerability and boundaries.
Whether fans will respect that remains to be seen, but if one thing’s for sure, Forever Is A Feeling is about to make waves.
