Rock star John Mayer finally laid to rest fan speculations about the woman in his chart-topping song "Your Body Is a Wonderland."
The song, which Mayer wrote when he was 21, was the second single from his 2001 debut studio album Room for Squares that launched his career.
"Your Body Is a Wonderland" reached number 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and it earned Mayer a Grammy in 2003 for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
The popularity of the song led many fans to believe the woman he was crooning his adoration for was a celebrity–namely, his ex-girlfriend actor Jennifer Love Hewitt.
Alas, he confirmed that was not true.
He spilled the tea with co-host Alex Cooper of the Call Her Daddy podcast on Wednesday and clarified:
“That was about my first girlfriend."
The 45-year-old singer/songwriter did not specifically name the object of his affection at the time.
He continued:
“I was 21 when I wrote that song, and I was nostalgic for being 16.”
When Cooper pressed that she thought he was singing about an unnamed celebrity, Mayer replied:
“No, that’s one of those things where people just sort of formed that idea."
“It gets reinforced over the years. No, no, no—I had never met a celebrity when I wrote that song.”
Those who felt let down by the revelation offered their own jarring takes.
Throughout his career, the term "womanizer" was used to describe his revolving-door dating life, to which he said:
“That is what that is."
Previously he had been romantically linked to high-profile celebrities like Katy Perry, Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Aniston.
He was notorious for breaking hearts–including that of a young Taylor Swift who was reportedly 19 when she gave away her heart to the rocker who was then 32.
Mayer talked about how the controversial 2010 interviews with Rolling Stone and Playboy–in which he demeaned and objectified women–made him reevaluate his reckless behavior.
He offered a mea culpa in a New York Times article titled:
“John Mayer Knows He Messed Up. He Wants Another Chance."
The now contentedly single musician suggested his reformed behavior was related to his teetotalism–or alcohol abstinence.
He explained to Cooper:
“Dating is no longer a codified activity for me."
He elaborated on how sobriety has affected his dating situation.
“I don’t really date, I don’t think that I have to, to be quite honest.”
“I quit drinking like six years ago, so I don’t have the liquid courage, I just have dry courage.”
“You have to be honest. You have to express yourself. You have to be glaringly honest."
"You have to express your anxieties, you can’t just walk over them by drinking.”
During his Sob Rock tour, Mayer told the audience at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas he was perfectly fine these days sleeping:
"...next to a row of pillows."
He asked fans to stop pressing him about when he was planning to settle down and start a family.
“’When are you gonna find someone? You don’t want to have kids, do you?’"
"What the f'k have I done in my life to communicate that I don’t want to have kids? … What are you talking about?”
He quipped:
"That stack of pillows doesn’t resent or hate me or bring me down.”
Mayer assured the crowd he hasn't given up on love, but he was taking it at his own pace.
“I’m having a good time. I will meet somebody."
"And when I do, it will be additive and awesome and great, but until then, I’m going to be just fine.”
You can listen to the full interview with John Mayer on the Call Her Daddy podcast on Spotify.
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