Lauren Jauregui’s “Trust Issues” is so severe that it makes her believe she’ll eventually leave anyone, even though it’s only because she’s afraid of being left behind. The topline instrument you hear throughout the slow song is a piano, and with Lauregui’s rich voice helping to complement the song’s message, you really relate to the introspective nature of the song.
“When I was young my mama told me, ‘Loving can be lonely / Not everyone’s like you, ain’t got the heart that you do,’” she begins the song with the recollection of a memory, sort of like how Lukas Graham began his epic song “7 Years.” Continuing on, she sings that even though she was warned beforehand, she “had to learn the hard way, lessons can be costly / And I spent more than I had, all of that didn’t last.”
The pre-chorus tells us not to take her as a standoffish person, as she’s only guarded and she never means to be cruel. By the time the chorus comes around, Jauregui had learned her lesson sufficiently that she’s turned out to be the one leaving people, even if they don’t deserve to be left behind. “I’ve got trust issues and I know we all do / But I think I’m too wounded to dive in, and that ain’t fair to you / Tired of bein’ used and maybe that ain’t you / But I can’t take a chance when I’m damaged,” she sings in the chorus.
The rest of the song sees her grappling with her “trust issues” and trying to overcome them, but at the same time, warning the people around her that she could eventually end up leaving. In the end, she advises, “Yeah, you should just leave before I do.”
The music video accompanying “Trust Issues” is kind of a behind-the-scenes of the song’s writing and production stages. The video shows us Lauregui in the studio, recording or writing the song, and even posing for a photoshoot.
The song’s existence was announced for as far back as May 2019, when it was registered on BMI. The three composers originally listed are Christopher Gilbert Jason, James Peter Harding, and Lauren Michelle Jauregui. The song is produced by Malay and James Peter.
“Trust Issues” leads the way for Jauregui’s next musical chapter, which she says “is really about growth and honesty.”
“‘Trust Issues’ is an ode to potential lovers,” she says. “I wrote it at a point in my life where I wasn’t healed enough to be getting into a new relationship seriously, so ‘Trust Issue’ is a warning.”