Who are Olivia Rodrigo's Expectations lyrics about? The brutal meaning explained
13 June 2026, 11:11 | Updated: 13 June 2026, 11:32
Olivia Rodrigo pokes fun at her exes and her love life in her 'expectations' lyrics.
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Olivia Rodrigo just dropped a new banger but the actual meaning behind her 'expectations' lyrics might surprise you.
Over the course of her career so far, Olivia Rodrigo has released multiple complex songs about love and her love/hate relationship with it. 'Drop dead' is a beautiful ode to the first moments of infatuation when you start dating someone, 'the cure' is about the limits of what love can achieve and 'love is embarrassing' is exactly what the title says it is.
As for 'expectations', it delves even further into Olivia's relationships and her dating life but who is the song about?
- Read more: Olivia Rodrigo explains "miserable" meaning behind her Stupid Song lyrics
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What are Olivia Rodrigo's 'expectations' lyrics about?
On first glance, Olivia's 'expectations' lyrics appear to be calling out an ex. She begins the song by singing: I met him at a party, I think he was on drugs / He wasn't smart or funny, I convinced myself he was / He had a great apartment, and a car his parents bought / I thought that he was perfect, and now his number's blocked.
As for the chorus, Olivia sings about how her bad experiences have changed her standards: I won't settle for a guy with a fake job / He seems so desperate for lovin', but, baby, I'm not / Gave my heart with zero stipulations / Now, I take careful considеration.
She adds: These days, I've got expectations.
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Who are Olivia Rodrigo's 'expectations' lyrics about?
While some exes and past dates catch strays on 'expectations', the lyrics actually seem to be Olivia poking fun at her own behaviour. In the first pre-chorus, Olivia's tongue is firmly in cheek when she sings: Took a couple months / But now I am secure / I am so evolved / Now I ask for more, and more, and more, and more, and more.
She then switches it up in the second verse to show that she is just as "desperate for lovin'" as the ex she is singing about: But in a couple months / A man will be the cure / He will be evolved / And I will be adored, adored, adored, adored, adored.
In other words, Olivia is mocking herself for claiming that she has high expectations and then dating men who fall short of them. Pretty legendary if you ask me.
Olivia Rodrigo - 'expectations' lyrics
VERSE 1
I met him at a party, I think he was on drugs
He wasn't smart or funny, I convinced myself he was
He had a great apartment, and a car his parents bought
I thought that he was perfect, and now his number's blocked
PRE-CHORUS
Took a couple months (Took a couple months)
But now I am secure (Now I am secure)
I am so evolved (I am so evolved)
Now I ask for more, and more, and more, and more, and more
CHORUS
I won't settle for a guy with a fake job
He seems so desperate for lovin', but, baby, I'm not
Gave my heart with zero stipulations
Now, I take careful considеration
I'm not kissin' any boy that is passive
Your indecision is painfully unattractive
Past mistakеs are just new information
These days, I've got expectations
VERSE 2
So I hit the new year like a single girl at a Vegas bar
Rockin' my mini dress with a vodka cran' and an open heart
Yeah, I've got hope, yeah, I've got drive, I will not lose my faith
Don't think my future husband's at this bar in Silver Lake
PRE-CHORUS
But in a couple months (In a couple months)
A man will be the cure (This man will be the cure)
He will be evolved (He will be evolved)
And I will be adored, adored, adored, adored, adored
CHORUS
I won't settle for a guy with a fake job
He seems so desperate for lovin', but, baby, I'm not
Gave my heart with zero stipulations
Now, I take careful consideration
I'm not kissin' any boy that is passive
Your indecision is painfully unattractive
Past mistakes are just new information
These days, I've got expectations
BRIDGE
I've got big expectations
I've got real big expectations
I've got big expectations
I've got real big expectations
She's got big expectations
She's got real big expectations
She's got big expectations
She's got real big expectations
CHORUS
I won't settle for a guy with a fake job
He seems so desperate for lovin', but, baby, I'm not
Gave my heart with zero stipulations (Baby, ah)
Now, I take careful consideration (I take, I take)
I'm not kissing any boy that is passive
Your indecision is painfully unattractive
Past mistakes are just new information
These days, I've got expectations
Read more Olivia Rodrigo news here:
- How to get tickets to Olivia Rodrigo's The Unraveled Tour
- Olivia Rodrigo explains true meaning behind her The Cure lyrics
- Olivia Rodrigo explains real meaning behind her 'Drop Dead' lyrics
- Olivia Rodrigo calls out her ex in heartbreaking Cigarette Smoke lyrics
- What are Olivia Rodrigo's U + Me = <3 lyrics about? The romantic meaning explained
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