Couple Updates
Are ‘American Idol’ Season 16 Couple Maddie Poppe & Caleb Lee Hutchinson Still Together?
Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner‘s relationship was highlighted throughout Season 16 of American Idol, but behind the scenes, another couple was brewing. However, Maddie Poppe and Caleb Lee Hutchinson didn’t reveal they were dating until the finale in May 2018.
Poppe and Hutchinson were the final two artists in the competition and took the stage to sing a duet. Before they began their performance, host Ryan Seacrest asked Hutchinson, “Is there a special significance to this song when you sing it with Maddie?”
His response floored the audience and judges alike. “Maddie’s like my best pal, and I’ve known her since the beginning of Hollywood Week, and she actually happens to be my girlfriend,” the singer confirmed for the first time. Luke Bryan jumped out of his chair, and Katy Perry spun herself around in an excited shock.
It was a beautiful moment on live television, which was later followed by Poppe winning the season and Hutchinson being named runner-up. But where do these two stand now? Swooon has the answers!
Are Maddie Poppe and Caleb Lee Hutchinson still together?
No, the former couple has called it quits. After meeting on American Idol in 2018, they seemingly dated for more than four years until fans noticed they stopped appearing in each other’s social media posts in the fall of 2022.
Poppe did a Q&A with fans in December 2022 and reacted to fan buzz about her lack of social media activity with Hutchinson. “About 90% of these have been the same question over and over, but I’m not ready to talk about it yet, tbh. I’m not upset with you for asking, I get it. I probably owe you it,” she responded.
In April 2023, Poppe hinted that the relationship was over while promoting her song “Screw You a Little Bit.” She told Iowa radio station KWAY that it was, indeed, a breakup song, but made it clear that Hutchinson wasn’t the subject.
“This one is not about who everyone thinks it’s about!” she insisted. “That relationship, I still have a place in my heart, and I have nothing but love and respect on that side of things. So this is not about that person. Because I don’t have negative things to say about that particular person. If you are out there and if you are wondering. There you go.”
When she was directly asked if she was still with Hutchinson, she gave a bit of a roundabout answer, but all signs pointed to a breakup. “This is not about that relationship. Again,” she continued. “I will always have a place in my heart … about that relationship. I will only look back fondly on that relationship. There is no bad blood there.”
That July, the split was officially confirmed when Poppe debuted a new boyfriend on Instagram.
Who is Maddie Poppe dating now?
Poppe has been dating Gabe Burdulis, a musician, since 2023. She posted her first photo with him and captioned it, “Happy,” on July 23, 2023. As of 2025, they are still together, as Poppe shared a video of Burdulis on her Instagram Story on April 15.
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In March 2024, she posted a birthday tribute to Burdulis where she gushed, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweet sweet. You are more than I could ever ask for and I adore every bit of you more and more each day! I am the luckiest ever. I love you to pieces.”
Is Caleb Lee Hutchinson dating anyone now?
Hutchinson does not appear to be in a relationship, based on his recent social media activity.
