Role Model was cautious about putting girlfriend Dakota Johnson on his new record because he likes to keep his private life out of the spotlight.
The 29‑year‑old musician — whose real name is Tucker Pillsbury — has been dating the Fifty Shades star, 36, for a little while, and when they were searching for a female voice for Love I You, he wasn’t sure about putting his partner on the track because of the chatter it might spark, but she ended up being the “perfect” fit.
He said on Rolling Stone Studio: “We had a list of ideas for people, and [producer] Mason [Stoops] kept bringing up, you know, ‘Why doesn’t Dakota do it?’
“And I was always like, ‘Well, I don’t … I think keeping those things separate is probably good,’ and blah, blah, blah. And then one day he convinced her and I was just like, ‘Yeah, let’s try it,’ and it was amazing. Like, her voice was perfect on it. Obviously, yeah, you know that that’s gonna, like, lead to discussions online, but also, it made the song really special to me, and what a cool cameo to have, too.”
Tucker has just released Chuck Timely and The Hourglass, a record he says felt like therapy after his 2023 split from influencer Emma Chamberlain, 25, and two years of being single.
He agreed that the album documents someone in a depressive state and admitted it was best for him to “fix myself” before jumping straight into another relationship.
Tucker said: “Yeah. I think that’s true.
“I mean, two years is a long time… I just didn’t know what was best for me. Like, I didn’t know, like, do I go straight into another relationship and not figure out all this whatever else is going on? Or do I really hold off and fix myself first and then go do that? And there were all these questions and no therapist at the time to help me figure that out, so it came out in songs and questions in all these songs.”
Elsewhere, the Sally, When The Wine Runs Out singer also spoke about potentially changing his stage name to his real moniker.
He said: “I would love to.
“I really have a gut feeling that it’s too late. But I think what bothers me the most is, like, no matter what, whenever my name comes up on anything on Twitter, every comment is like, ‘What parents name their kid Role Model?’ Like, how stupid do you have to be? Like, does Post Malone go through that? Or anyone else with a name, like Lil Wayne— like, ‘Who names their kid Lil?’ Like, you just use your brain. Think for a second, you know what I mean? Yes, I’ll probably change my name.”