Lauren Jauregui and Lucy Vives met at 7th grade, during religion class. In 2011, Lauren talked about her friendship with Lucy on Tumblr, “We met in 7th grade when I came to Carrollton and we became friends in a really awkward way and even though we’re not those kinda best friends that do everything together. I don’t know why we just don’t... we are still there for each other at any time. We have the deepest conversations and we relate to each other in ways that I don’t relate to other people. I trust her entirely and I love her with all my heart.”
They were best friends for years before they began a relationship in 2015. Their relationship was confirmed in November 2016, after pictures of them kissing were leaked. Lauren come out as bisexual a week later.
In March 2017, it was confirmed that they were dating on-off for years and that has recently broken up. They planned to come out to fans and even their families through a sensual photoshoot (pictures were taken in 2016 and later posted by the photographer on the internet in March 2017), however, the picture of them kissing was leaked only days after they did the photoshoot, forcing them to came out before they planned. Photographer Nicole Cartolano spoke about Lauren and Lucy’s relationship while they did the photoshoot together:
Nicole said that the fact that Lauren is Cuban-American and Lucy is Puerto Rican-Colombian had a lot to do with why they chose to come out through a photoshoot like this one, since the pair was worried about how the Latino community would react to them.
“Both girls trusted me to photograph them together as sort of a coming-out, but they were nervous how their families would respond and the publicity they’d attract, especially from the Latin American community,” the photographer said.
“‘Bare With Me’ is a compromise which allowed us to describe what Lauren called 'love in the 21st century.’ We felt like the way that these photographs are presented are very disarming, sensual, and empowering all at once. And they’re not provocative or with ill intent... it was important to use their voices to show the world that this is OK, this is acceptable, in the gentlest way possible.”
“You could tell that they’ve been best friends for a very long time. They’ve known each other since high school. And they dated on and off for a few years. So they’re good friends over everything else,” she said. According to the photographer, they were “very loving” with one another during the shoot and said that they are still happy with the photos being released even if they are not a couple at the moment.
“They agreed, and Lauren said this: that it’s a reminder of a really good moment in time. Because at the time, they did really like each other. And it was a very good memory.”
There is a photo the stylist shared on Instagram where both of the girls are sitting on a dock and you can’t see either of their faces but the connection between them jumps out at you. “I really like that shot because for me it was even more than a love story. It’s both sisterly and maternal. It’s comforting in a sensual way — there’s a difference [between] sexual and sensual.“
"I did not stage that, I did not tell them to do that. A lot of the moments were very real. Very candid.”