Days after hard-launching his relationship, the tide is turning against Barry Keoghan.

A year ago, many of us did not know the name Barry Keoghan. 

Despite being one of Hollywood's rising stars for the past seven years, it was Keoghan's delightful portrayal of the deranged Oliver Quick in Saltburn that elevated him to an in-demand leading man. 

The fires of Keoghan's cultural relevancy were then further stoked by his blossoming romance with the extremely-everywhere-right-now singer, Sabrina Carpenter. 

There's nothing that can give a man more credibility than being romantically linked with a cool musician girlfriend (with a sizeable fanbase) — just ask Travis Kelce. 

With Sabrina by his side, Barry was no longer just a movie star, but a fully-fledged cultural icon with countless thirst TikToks dedicated to him (and his Jacob Elordi bromance) and a Burberry campaign behind him. 

Rumours were circulating for months that Barry and Sabrina were dating before they were photographed at this year's Met Gala together. Then Carpenter went and broke the internet with her music video for 'Please Please Please', a meta song about dating an actor with a reputation for breaking hearts... and the law. 

And who starred as Carpenter's love interest in it? Barry, naturally. 

Barry and Sabrina hard-launch their relationship in 'Please Please Please'. Image: YouTube. 

The music video is so damn hot, as Barry plays a criminal who Sabrina is attempting to tame, which could be a callback to the time Keoghan was arrested in Dublin in 2022 for public intoxication. 

Between his personal life and his professional one, Barry has never been more booked and busy. However, there's one small issue that's been lingering under the surface since he started dating Carpenter, a former Disney child star six years his junior: Barry only split with his ex-partner, Alyson Sandro, relatively recently and they share a young son together.

Barry and Alyson started dating in 2021 and welcomed a child together, Brando, back in August 2022. Their son was born while Saltburn was filming and Barry reportedly only took one day off to be with his newborn baby.

Listen to The Spill hosts discuss the comment Barry Keoghan and Sabrina Carpenter don't want you to see. 

The couple broke up in July 2023 and by December, rumours began to circulate that Barry and Sabrina were dating on the down low. In January 2024, Barry told GQ that Alyson had "done a great job and she’s an incredible mother" but didn't wish to comment further.

When Keoghan isn't promoting upcoming films and TV projects like Masters of the Air, he has seemingly been following the 'Expresso' singer around to be her hype man, as she performed at Swift's Eras tour and Coachella.

Meanwhile, Alyson has been raising their son in London. Some recent internet activity from the Scottish dentist has signalled that she's not too thrilled with the arrangement. 

Alyson Sandro and Barry Keoghan in March 2023. Image: Getty. 

After the 'Please Please Please' video sent the internet into a spin, Alyson liked a particularly pointed comment on a recent picture of herself and her son Brando. "More appreciation for mothers raising their kids practically by themselves. My mom was my hero!!! You're already his hero too," the comment said. 

This isn't the first time she has supported this sort of sentiments, as Alyson has previously been seen liking comments that claim she is "doing it all herself."

The 'deadbeat dad' narrative is upon us. And it's a story that we've been hearing a lot about lately in celebrity culture.

There was Jeremy Allen White, who became a hot commodity as a sexy-albeit-very-stressed chef in The Bear. White met his future wife Addison Timlin when he was still a teenager, they got married in 2019 and welcomed two children together during their relationship. 

Then in May 2023, a month before Jeremy would be riding high over critical acclaim over The Bear's second season, Addison filed for divorce. 

Jeremy Allen White and Addison Timlin in June 2022. Image: Getty.

By August, Jeremy was seen packing on the PDA with model, Ashley Moore, and in October he was spotted on a possible date with singer, Rosalía.

Another new father who moved on quickly from a split is Ethan Slater, who famously started dating his Wicked co-star Ariana Grande while still technically married to Lilly Jay, who gave birth to their child in August 2022. 

It's worth remembering that whether it's Barry, Jeremy or Ethan — we don't know the circumstances of the splits or the state of their relationship, but there is a double standard at play around what new fathers can get away with compared to mothers. 

For Barry's new girlfriend Sabrina, she's well-versed in being positioned as the woman who got in the way of a couple's happy ending. Many of us were introduced to her as the 'blonde girl' who drew the ire of Olivia Rodrigo: Carpenter was assumed to be the woman Rodrigo's ex Joshua Bassett started dating two weeks after their split, as chronicled across her debut album Sour. 

It's unclear what the custody setup is for Barry and his ex-girlfriend, but Alyson's internet activity will do little to dissuade some people from assuming the Golden Globe nominee isn't pulling his weight as a father. 

For his part, Keoghan boasted about the relationship with his son to GQ and how it's changed how often he commits to shooting movies on location. "I feel a responsibility. I feel an enormous amount of pressure, which is good," he said.

"I can’t get the little boy off my mind. It’s beautiful. Y’know, it’s crazy, but when he looks at you, you feel like the most important person in the world. That’s the effect he has on me."

Feature image: YouTube/Getty.