‘American Idol’ Winner Maddie Poppe Reveals New Relationship
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American Idol Season 16 winner Maddie Poppe took to Instagram over the weekend to share that she’s in a new relationship. This further confirms what many fans already suspected — that she and Season 16 runner-up Caleb Lee Hutchinson have broken up.
Maddie Poppe Reveals New Relationship on Instagram
On Sunday, Poppe took to Instagram to share a photo of herself and what appears to be her new boyfriend. The sweet shot shows the pair embracing and smiling toward the camera. Poppe wrote in the post’s caption, “Happy♥️.”
The singer tagged the photo with the profile for Gabe Burdulis, a fellow musician. According to Burdulis’ website, he’s “a singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer based out of Nashville.” He’s recently toured as a guitarist and musical director for country singer Brittney Spencer.
Burdulis commented on Poppe’s post with a red heart. American Idol Season 20 finalist Leah Marlene, who performed with Poppe last year, wrote, “CUTE CUTE CUTE.” Meanwhile, some fans were confused by the announcement, as they didn’t realize Poppe had broken up with Caleb Lee Hutchinson.
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Fan Speculated About Poppe’s Breakup
Poppe and Hutchinson met while competing on American Idol in 2018 and were together for over four years. They even performed together on the show last year as part of the 20th anniversary reunion special.
However, some fans began to suspect that the singers had broken up late last year. Poppe hinted at the split when answering questions on Instagram, writing, “About 90% of these have been the same question over and over, but I’m not ready to talk about it yet tbh.”
The singer also seemed to confirm the breakup when promoting her song “Screw You a Little Bit” earlier this year. In an interview with Iowa radio station KWAY, Poppe shared that while the track is a breakup song, it’s “not about who everyone thinks it’s about.”
“That relationship I still have a place in my heart and I have nothing but love and respect on that side of things,” Poppe said, presumably about Hutchinson. She added that she doesn’t “have negative things to say” about him.
