Meghan Trainor and I are comparing pimples. She leans into the camera, attempting to show me a cluster near her mouth through the Zoom call, while I reciprocate with my own show and tell.

I’d like to say that this is the last conversation I expected to be having during my interview with the Grammy Award-winning pop star, who has six studio albums, eight multi-platinum singles, a hit podcast and 36 million combined followers on TikTok and Instagram. But if you’ve been following Trainor, you’ll know she isn’t afraid to go off-script.

Dress, Loewe. Shoes, Nensi Dojaka. Earrings, necklace, bracelet and ring, Tacori. Gloves, Fancì Club.

“I’ve always been an open book where it’s almost too much,” she laughs, sitting in her home office, cozied up in a light-grey Lululemon sweater and silver-hued Anthropologie earrings, her signature blond extensions in loose, heatless curls. She’s wearing barely any makeup except for eyebrow pencil and a lip tint, courtesy of a brand she can’t remember the name of but found on TikTok. Like many successful pop stars in the digital age, she thrives on the never-ending scroll of the short-form video app. She posts there regularly and feels a direct connection to her fans on the platform. “I just love knowing that I’m not alone,” she says. “And if I can give that to anyone else, what a treat. What a dream.”

Staying true to herself is a work-in-progress. Like all of us, Trainor is a flawed human. Unlike all of us, her life is on full display. Whether it’s losing a reported 60 pounds with the help of a GLP-1 medication (while also eating well and strength training three times a week), playfully once changing the lyrics in “All About That Bass” to celebrate her breast augmentation (“Yeah, it’s pretty clear I got some new boobs”) or even openly discussing her IBS and love of MiraLax, Trainor doesn’t hide who she is. And because she’s a woman in the public eye, someone will always have something to say.

Dress, Loewe. Shoes, Saint Laurent at Clothed. Earrings, necklace, bracelet and
rings, Tacori.

Her new single, “I Still Don’t Care,” which was released on November 12 and is from her upcoming seventh studio album, Toy With Me, is her attempt to reconcile with her feelings around this judgment. It’s catchy and upbeat—the type of song you find yourself humming hours after hearing it. She sings that she’s been called “too big” and then “too thin” and about being scrutinized throughout her career. Of course, the song is peppered with her signature cheeky attitude: “You can tear me apart, but I sleep well at night. Say I’m doing too much. And you’re probably right.”

The lyrics stem from an exercise in therapy in which Trainor attempts to manifest the feelings she wants to have and who she wants to be. “I wanted to write this big, powerful song—here are all the things you could say and think about me, but I’m in my Mel Robbins era and I’m going to let them,” she says, referencing the bestselling self-help author.

That theme runs throughout Toy With Me, which is set for release in April 2026. The album title has a double meaning. It’s inspired by her own toy collection and a nod to the innocence of childhood. “I wish people could hold my album and feel like a kid again: We’re young; nothing’s wrong,” she explains. The other, very-grown-up interpretation? “People can say whatever they want about me and try to hurt me and mess with me. I’m like: ‘Toy with me. Bring it. I’m stronger than ever now.’”

Over a decade in the music industry will toughen you up. Trainor, now 31, was just 20 when she shot to stardom with the 2014 hit single “All About That Bass.” The Nantucket, Mass., native had been writing songs for years (including one for Sabrina Carpenter) when she recorded the demo. Suddenly, she was everywhere. In 2016, she won Best New Artist at the Grammys. With success came a slew of press, both good and bad. She was beloved for being body positive but accused of not being feminist enough. She was hailed as a great songwriter but undermined as an “unlikely” pop star.

Coat, Sportmax. Earrings and ring, Tacori.

At 23, Trainor was diagnosed with panic disorder. “I ate too many edibles one day, and my brain felt like it was exploding,” she says. “All the anxiety I had been holding on to since becoming a pop star came to a head.” She went to the ER, convinced she was dying. “And then I was on medication for a long time. That saved me.” She’s still in therapy, and she does reiki. Her practitioner told her to “zip up [her] energy like a sleeping bag to keep [her] safe” (advice I now have saved in my Notes app). These days, she’s learning to take the good with the bad. She knows that internet trolls and isolation are downsides of the job, but criticism still gets to her—and why wouldn’t it?

“I just need to be more confident; I really struggle with that, but I’m also asking for help,” she says, crediting her family with being her North Star. (She’s married to actor Daryl Sabara, and they have two children, Riley, 4, and Barry, 2. Her two brothers and parents live just five minutes away.) For support, she also relies on her tightly-knit team. Indeed, during our conversation, four reps surround her protectively, but they never interrupt except to chime in if she forgets a detail.

Jacket and skirt, Fendi. Shoes, Sophia Webster at Clothed. Earrings, bracelets and rings, Tacori.

Throughout the 10+ years, one thing that has never wav­ered is her sound. While she and her music have matured, it’s still bubble-gum pop with depth—music that makes people feel happy when they hear it. “I’m just trying to be a light in this dark, spooky, crazy world,” she says. It’s winning her a new generation of fans; on her tour last year, she headlined at Madison Square Garden, achieving a long-standing dream.

In case you missed the headlines, Trainor is on a new health kick: no dairy, gluten or alcohol. Not even coffee. “I feel incredible,” she laughs. “Who am I? A mother of two, off coffee?” She’s also “lifting heavy,” working closely with her trainer, Bella Maher, whom she lovingly describes as a “psycho.” “I feel so strong. I have muscles that I didn’t know existed.”

Coat, Stella McCartney. Shoes, Saint Laurent at Clothed. Earrings, necklace and rings, Tacori. Tights, Wolford.

Today, Trainor’s wardrobe is a showcase of irreverence, experimentation and joy. She credits Danyul Brown, her stylist, with much of this. “I’m studying and learning, and Danyul has been my bestie throughout the whole process,” she says. “Every time we put on an outfit, we literally scream at the top of our lungs—it feels like I’m a kid again. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had. Usually, with fittings, I’m like, ‘Oh, this is a nightmare; I hope it fits.’”

Trainor is also playing with vintage and designer in ways she never has before. (Valentino, Vivienne Westwood, Loewe and Sarah Burton’s Givenchy top her list.) “I used to cover myself from my neck to my toes,” she reflects. “I look back at my 20s and think I looked way older than I do now. It’s not about wearing less; it’s just about finally being comfortable in clothes and enjoying clothes and not being afraid of them.”

As our meandering conversation winds down (“It’s my fault. I’m a blabber!” she says), I ask her about what she’s most looking forward to. So much of the press surrounding Trainor in recent years has focused on the 10-year anniversary of “All About That Bass.” But I want to know what she hopes the coming years will bring. In the short term, it’s her Christmas single, out on November 21. Called “Buying Gifts for Me,” it’s a wink to her husband. “My sweet husband wasn’t the best at buying gifts for me last year, and I was like: ‘Screw it. This year, I’m gonna get me a gift.’”

Dress, Dolce & Gabbana. Earrings, bracelets and rings, Tacori.

Beyond that, she’s excited about her 2026 tour. She also hopes to get into acting. “I think it’d be easy for me because sometimes I feel like my whole job is acting,” she says. “And my husband’s an actor, so I love watching him.” On the family front, she wants more babies—hopefully a girl. “I have two lovely, loud, chaotic boys, and we need a girl to start the colouring parties.” Last but not least, she wants some rest. “My therapist keeps asking me ‘Where’s your serotonin?’ And I’m like, ‘It’s with my kids, on the floor,’” she laughs. “I need to learn that rest is safe, rest is OK.”

Where does Meghan Trainor see herself in 10 years? “Deep in mom mode,” she says, emphasizing that being kind to herself is a key part of the journey. “I’ve figured out how to meditate; I’m at peace. I’m comparing myself to others less, loving myself more. I’m fully in love with me.”

Dress, Loewe. Shoes, Saint Laurent at Clothed. Earrings, necklace and bracelets, Tacori.

FASHION’s Winter 2026 issue will be available on Apple News+ November 17 and newsstands November 24.

Photography, Wade Hudson. Styling, Danyul Brown. Creative direction, George Antonopoulos. Hair, Iggy Rosales for Forward Artists. Makeup, Eros Gomez. Producer, Mike Moretti for Go Atticus. Lighting technician, Wacunza Clark for DinBaeDin. Photo assistant, Jaida Votolato. Styling assistant, Alexandria Smith. Hair assistant, Kennedy Meyers. Location, Dust Studios LA.