Role Model, the American singer-songwriter whose real name is Tucker Pillsbury, has officially confirmed his relationship with Dakota Johnson by featuring her on his new song Love I You, months after speculation about the pair began.
The track appears on his third album, Chuck Timely & The Hourglass, which follows the worldwide success of his hit song Sally. The pair were first spotted together last December, and while they had already confirmed their relationship, her appearance on the new record marks the first time she has featured in his music.
Pillsbury previously dated influencer Emma Chamberlain for over three years, and his last album, Kansas Anymore, focused largely on their breakup. Fans have suggested he still isn't over discussing Chamberlain, pointing to his new song Stain as seemingly aimed at her following her split from musician Peter McPoland.
Why Dakota almost didn't feature
Pillsbury said he was initially reluctant to include Johnson on the track when searching for a female voice for the bridge of Love I You, worried about the conversation it would spark. He told Rolling Stone that producer Mason Stoops kept suggesting Johnson for the part, but he wanted to keep those things separate.
"And then one day he convinced her and I was just like, 'Yeah, let's try it', and it was amazing," Pillsbury said. "Like, her voice was perfect on it. Obviously, yeah, you know that that's going to lead to discussions online, but also, it made the song really special to me, and what a cool cameo to have, too."
The bridge features a flirty exchange between the two. Pillsbury sings, "Hey, I think you're perfect," to which Johnson replies, "You say that to everyone." He follows with, "Kay, well, is it working?" and she answers, "Yeah, but don't tell anyone."
How the relationship developed
Role Model and Johnson first sparked romance rumors in December, following the actress's split from Chris Martin in June 2025, after they were pictured together at dinner with friends. She was reportedly seen kissing Pillsbury at her New Year's Eve party, where the pair were "inseparable" all evening, according to Entertainment Tonight.
"They were kissing, dancing and holding onto each other. They looked incredibly happy, cute, and sweet together," a source told the outlet at the time.
On March 28, the pair attended Paul McCartney's concert at the Fonda Theatre, with Johnson in a long black silk dress and Pillsbury in a black T-shirt and jeans, E! News reported. A month later they were spotted kissing in a Los Feliz car park after a date night, and Johnson's mother, Melanie Griffith, told a photographer she thought Pillsbury was "fabulous" when asked for her thoughts on him.
In July, rumors began that the pair had filmed a music video together, and weeks later Pillsbury debuted Love I You at a Chicago show, with fans noting the bridge sounded like Johnson. The relationship marks Pillsbury's first since his split from Chamberlain.
The Emma Chamberlain years
Pillsbury first soft-launched a relationship in the music video for Neverletyougo, which showed Chamberlain's back but never her face. The two went public at the Vanity Fair Oscars party in March 2022 and shot a GQ cover together the following February.
In October 2023, it was reported the couple had split after growing apart. Pillsbury said he was homesick in Los Angeles and traveled back to his home state of Maine often, which created space between them. Asked about the breakup on The Zach Sang Show, he said he knew there were things that were problematic while he was doing them, adding he was always communicative about it.
His second album, Kansas Anymore, focused on the breakup, with songs Superglue, Oh Gemini and Some Protector referencing the split, along with a track titled Frances after Chamberlain's middle name. On Deeply Still In Love, he sings about hearing she found somebody new, saying he still can't swallow it but thinks he's proud of her, which appeared to reference her relationship with musician Peter McPoland.
Taking time before moving on
Speaking to Rolling Stone ahead of the new record, Pillsbury agreed the album documents someone in a depressive state and said it was best for him to fix himself before entering another relationship.
"Yeah. I think that's true. I mean, two years is a long time... I just didn't know what was best for me," he said. "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."
Fans react to Stain
Despite the new relationship, fans believe Pillsbury is still writing about Chamberlain, pointing to the track Stain, which describes an unexpected call from an ex reaching back out. Its release lines up with Chamberlain's split from McPoland in November.
He sings about being sorry it didn't work out with her man but says there's nothing fun in feeling like a backup plan, adding that writing a few songs worked for him. Later in the track he calls it "a stain that I'll never get out," describing it as the kind people warn you about and saying it's vain to be calling the house.
On TikTok, one fan wrote that being called a stain by an ex would be their last straw. Another said that if an ex had written Frances, Oh Gemini and Some Protector about them and then released Stain on the next album, they would never hear from that person again.
