Lisa has admitted that she hid her romantic relationships during her time in Blackpink, saying that she feared the fallout of going public would damage the group’s standing with fans.
“In K-pop culture, we can’t date,” the star, born Lalisa Manobal, explains in her upcoming documentary Always Lalisa (per the Toronto Star). “If you’re seeing someone and you get caught by paparazzi, your popularity drops. When I was younger, I had a few relationships, but we had to hide when we’re dating. I didn’t want my dating to be the thing that hurts Blackpink’s popularity.”
The film, directed by Sue Kim and produced by Sony Music Vision with RCA Records and Tremolo Productions, makes its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11 before opening in IMAX and cinemas worldwide October 12.
In the documentary, Lisa also reveals that her track “Dream,” taken from her 2025 Alter Ego album, was written about one of those secret romances, and that she went back to the subject for approval before putting it out. The person agreed on one condition: that fans could not identify them. “They thought they figured it out, but I don’t think so,” Lisa says in the doc.
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Earlier this year, Blackpink’s Rosé got teary-eyed on the Call Her Daddy podcast when host Alex Cooper raised the subject of her love life.
Rosé told Cooper she is “human just like everyone else” and wants to date normally, adding that for a K-pop star, and particularly a K-pop woman, it just simply is not possible.
As explained by BBC News, South Korean entertainment companies generally impose dating bans for their trainees and newly-debuted acts in order to portray their artists as “romantically obtainable,” as dating publicly can be seen as a scandal or betrayal to fans.
Always Lalisa hits IMAX and cinemas October 12, with tickets on sale September 9. The film will arrive on YouTube Premium later in 2026.
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