When asked by Refinery29 in November 2018 what she finds difficult about meeting people in the age of social media and dating apps, Mendes said, "I think everyone today is grappling with this new kind of dating. It's not like we can take advice from our parents. There's this whole new method of communication. Even though millennials are so used to this form of communication, there is a surprising difficulty in dating someone you meet through an app. It's more complicated than it's ever been, especially when you can see all of your options on your phone, and swipe through. That's what romance has come down to."

Mendes previously dated her Riverdale co-star Charles Melton for at least a year, but typically, Mendes avoids relationships with other actors. As she told NYLON in July 2018, "It's just dating people in the industry is tough. I did for a little bit. I've just dated actors. It's hard when that's your world. You only meet people through work and that can be really tough, because you're not necessarily meeting people that you're similar to. It's just people that you're with because you're working on the same project. I've learned to not do that. Thank god nothing bad has ever happened from those experiences."

Later, she added, "I realize that I don't think I like actors. Actors are really emotionally complicated. You would think they would be more in tune with their emotions, but sometimes they're just not. I just really need to get out of this industry with someone who is in a stable environment."

During a March 2019 interview with L.A. Confidential, Mendes revealed why she's reluctant to discuss her relationships in interviews. "In my day-to-day life, I am an open book," she said. "But I've also developed this sixth sense. I understand how my spoken words can translate into written words and how things can appear out of context. It's like, yeah, even though I feel comfortable talking about some things, do I really want to see it written over and over again? Sometimes, it's not really worth it."

Mendes may like to keep her dating life on the down-low, but she understands why fans are so curious about it. "I'm not a private person," she told Teen Vogue during a May 2019 interview. "I don't like hiding. But the more I get used to this lifestyle the more I reevaluate what I want to share and what I don't."

Later on in the interview, she said she wouldn't try to hide a breakup with her then-boyfriend Melton, if they were to split. "That's a part of life," she said of breakups. "I wouldn't be embarrassed about it. It happens. I know I'm happy, and I know where I am in my life, so I'm going to let [people on Twitter] say whatever they want. Why should I care?"

During a candid January 2018 interview with Cosmopolitan, Mendes explained why she sees a difference between having sex and becoming intimate with someone. "I've never liked this idea of 'don't give him everything.' Like you've given someone all of yourself by having sex with them," Mendes said. "What's valuable to me is giving you my love and my intimacy." Later, she added, "I want to tell [guys], 'Don't have sex at me — have sex with me. I want them to understand that it's so much better when we're connected."

Whether you meet someone through an IRL meet-cute or through a dating app, Mendes thinks it shouldn't matter. "Everyone has their own way of meeting people and finding love, and there shouldn’t be any shame associated with how you meet people or how you fall in love — or if you decide you want to be a sugar baby," she told Refinery29 in November 2018, alluding to her forthcoming movie, The New Romantic. "There shouldn't be any shame in that. How we choose to live our lives is totally up to us, especially with something as subjective and personal as romance. What gives someone the right to judge how someone else wants to approach their own dating life?"

After finally going public with her then-BF Melton, Mendes explained the reason for her decision to Fox News during a December 2018 interview. "I did it because people were speculating," she said. "I want to be able to live a normal life. Like, 'Yeah, I'm dating this person — so what?' But I am the kind of person who'll keep talking and then all of a sudden, I've said too much. Still, I want to be able to kiss him and not think about it."

Though she did end up dating one of her Riverdale co-stars, Mendes finds Riverdale shippers pretty amusing. "I think it's funny that these people, who don't know me, [care about my love life.] [Sometimes] the people who ship Veronica and Archie ship me and K.J., too," she explained to Refinery29 during her November 2018 interview. "It's funny the amount of people who got upset when it was announced that I wasn't dating K.J. You don't know K.J. personally! If we were supposed to, we would be in love right now. If we were supposed to date, we would be dating. But we're not, for a reason. We're actors, on a show. Yeah, we have chemistry — we're friends, we get along! — but that doesn't mean we should date."

When a fan took to Twitter to claim Mendes looked happier with her ex, Victor Houston, than with Melton, and Mendes clapped back. "I feel silly responding to this but I also feel the impulse to tell you that you're wrong," she tweeted. "I'm happier than I've ever been in my life. It's absurd to me that you call yourself a fan yet, your entire page is dedicated to disrespecting my relationship and my boyfriend, both of which you clearly know nothing about."

Thank you for always keeping it real, Camila.