WENN

Camila Cabello isn't willing to sacrifice her privacy when it comes to her relationship with Shawn Mendes.

The pair first collaborated on the track I Know What You Did Last Summer in 2015, and sent fans wild with speculation that the two were an item when they released their sexy hit Senorita in June.

And while they've been spotted kissing and holding hands in public on multiple occasions since, neither has divulged details of their union – and the former Fifth Harmony star insisted things are staying that way.

"People can say whatever they want to say," she told Elle U.S.'s October issue. "They can speculate, but at the same time, we are going to live our own lives, enjoy it, and fall for each other like nobody is watching. That is how I want to live.

"I never want to open the door for people to feel like they are involved," the 22-year-old continued. "Like I said, I want it to be mine and (his). That's why I'm so tight-lipped about it: because I want to protect it."

The Crying in the Club star went on to call her relationship with Shawn, 21, "the most sacred, precious thing to me," adding: "I want to always feel like my love is between me and that person, and never belonging to anyone else.

"As much as I love my fans, and as much as I love people, I like to live my life as normally as possible," the star mused. "In a relationship, it makes me feel uncomfortable to invite everyone in on that."