It’s been more than quite some time now since Camila Cabello abruptly exited from Fifth Harmony, and the speculation surrounding it all is still kicking. While it seemed like she left on good terms when she told her side of the story, the rest of the girls had different thoughts. Unfortunately, fans will probably never know the real truth about how Camila told or didn’t tell the girls she was calling it quits. Although Camila and the remaining Fifth Harmony gals are usually dodging questions about the split, the songstress has chosen to always speak very highly of 5H in a way she hasn’t done since it all went down.

“Looking back, my time with Fifth Harmony was amazing – and I felt like Fifth Harmony represented this confidence and this girl power. I wouldn’t be the person or the artist that I feel like I’ve discovered. So I’m definitely super thankful for that experience, ” she said.

Previously, she spoke up about when she knew in her mind the group wasn’t right for her anymore. For some Harmonizers, the truth might be upsetting. But, it’s clear that Camila had wanted her career to go in another direction for quite some time before leaving. The songstress chatted with Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 Radio show and was asked when she officially realized it was time to make some changes. Camila answered, “I think that happened to me as I was discovering my voice as an artist.”

She continued, “Especially as a songwriter. I felt like I needed to express that. And it was just time to sing my story and sing words that were coming from my heart as opposed to words that people were writing for us.”

She later told The New York Times it was her first solo project, a collab with her longtime bud Shawn Mendes that sparked the tension with her bandmates and after expressing her desire to do more solo projects and write songs for the group, she was shot down which led her to saying goodbye to her life in 5H.

“I was just curious and I wanted to learn and I saw all these people around me making music, writing songs and being so free. I just wanted to do that and it did not work,” Camila said. “It became clear that it was not possible to do solo stuff and be in the group at the same time.”

Okay, as tough as her departure was for the Fifth Harmony fandom, we totally can’t blame her on this one. This is a super valid reason to go off and do your own thing and she wasn’t hiding it. She had made her decision and wanted to explore more of herself, her style and what her music could be.

The Fifth Harmony supporters weren’t the only ones to go through this kind of heartbreak. Directioners felt the same type of pain when Zayn Malik called it quits on One Direction. Coincidentally, Camila was asked if Zayn’s decision had kind of helped her in this whole process. She said, “I don’t think that influenced my decision, but I was definitely like, hey, you go Zayn! Pillowtalk was so good and I liked that it was so different to everything One Direction had done.” She also has made it clear that she doesn’t ever really want to say anything bad about her days in 5H, since she’s very aware of their mutual fans.

“A lot of my fans were, or are, fans of the group. I don’t like to ruin the dream. They believed in something that’s beautiful. I’m sure with One Direction, too, nobody really saw behind the scenes. You just see the dream,” Camila said to Rolling Stone.

Between her hit singles like “Havana” and “Never Be the Same” and her debut solo album topping the charts, it is safe to say she’s thriving on her own and knows she made the right decision. She also said while appearing on The Zach Sang Show that before being in the group, she didn’t think everyone got to know her as just Camila.

“When you do your solo thing, you’re really starting from scratch as a new artist. Even if you have a group of fans who are sticking by you, if you don’t deliver good music, people will forget about you in a few months time. I also don’t think people knew me that much. Like everyone knew Beyoncé in Destiny’s Child. She was already kind of a [thing],” Camila said about her departure in the solo music world.

However, in her interview with Elle, she did have us thinking she might be shading the 5H girls after she talks about how to spot a fake friend. While she didn’t name names, it’s hard not to think about Fifth Harmony when hearing her words. She said one way of figuring it out is with time.

“I think the only way to know is time. I feel like there are instances and circumstances in your life that always change,” she said. “You can think someone’s your friend, and it could be out of convenience, or there was something in it for them, or whatever. And a year later, something happens and you really need help, or all of a sudden they have to stand up for you, and it could be inconvenient for them or not benefit them. And they don’t have your back. And you’re like, ‘Ok, that friendship was circumstantial. You were only my friend when it was easy.’ What’s hard is you can’t tell from the beginning.”

Yikes…it’s hard to really pinpoint anyone because obviously, she didn’t even reveal if she’s pulling this wisdom from personal experience or not. And while her album was filled with emotional songs about love, heartbreak, and healing, we may never know if any of these tunes were inspired by her time being with the group and her decision to leave since she feels it’s better to keep the inspirations behind her lyrically emotional hits to herself.

“I’ve always been, since I was little, a very private person, when it comes to that. And also I just feel like it’s very important to have things that only you know about. I think that having secrets while being a public figure is important,” Camila said to USA Today about her thoughts when it comes to revealing who her songs are about. “And it just makes me feel like there’s things in my life that only I know about, and I feel like it’s always going to be like that for the rest of my career. That’s why, whenever people ask me, I always give the most vague answers.”

So no, we prob won’t ever know if she’s going to give us a song about her time in Fifth Harmony. But now, any drama she may have had with her initial choice to leave seems to be over. When Camila spoke to Access Online ahead of the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards, she explained that she’s now in a good spot with the girls and while others may try to pit her against them, that is just not what they’re about.

“I don’t like any beefs. I feel like we’re in a really good place now, me and the girls. I saw Normani recently at the Billboard Awards and we caught up and I told her I’m super excited for her,” Camila said. “I don’t remember the last time I saw the other girls, but I told her to say the same thing to them. I feel like there’s just been enough time and distance away from the situation that we’re all genuinely in a good place right now. And honestly, there’s just no time in life for that stuff. Like, what’s the point?”

So there we have it.

Watch: All the Things Camila Cabello Has Said About Leaving 5H

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