Is Dakota Johnson Role Model’s Real-Life ‘Sally’?

If you immediately recognized the reference in this headline, then you’re either 25 or you spend too much time on TikTok—I’m guilty…of both ;).

But if you need a breakdown: In the spring, the singer Role Model went viral for his song, “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out,” largely because of its earworm bridge during which he screams to the crowd, “Where’s my Sally tonight?!” and brings a fan onstage to dance around with him. As the song blew up over the summer, Sally became less a fan moment and more a celebrity guest appearance moment, with Natalie Portman, Hilary Duff, Bowen Yang, Olivia Rodrigo, Lewis Capaldi, Charli xcx, and Kate Hudson, among others, all getting a moment to be “Sally.”

Which brings us to Tuesday, when TMZ published photos of Role Model—whose real name is Tucker Pillsbury—sitting close together at dinner with…Dakota Johnson! She’s yet to be “Sally” at one of Role Model’s shows, but it seems like maybe she’s the Sally of the show currently playing inside his heart.

The song tells the story of meeting a “born-again wild card” at a dive bar and hoping that the connection isn’t just a drunken one-night stand. In its viral bridge, the narrator falls “headfirst” for Sally—who “can be a diva” and is “cold like Minnesota, hotter than a fever—and spirals accordingly. It’s very fun and very catchy, and “born again wild card” kind of low-key feels very Johnson-coded.

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“Sources” apparently told TMZ that the two were “all cuddled up at the cozy dinner” and Johnson was “lying on” Role Model. It definitely looks like a small booth at a crowded restaurant, which is presumably loud, so they could very well appear to be close to one another simply because they’re leaning in to hear their friends talk. But also, maybe not!

Johnson and Chris Martin ended their engagement over the summer after eight years together. Even though they’d previously broken up and gotten back together, a source told People in June that the split “feels final this time.” Pillsbury most recently dated Emma Chamberlain for three years, but they broke up in 2023.

While we’re here, Johnson did a weird thing in December. She traveled to Saudi Arabia for the Red Sea International Festival and told a crowd that “it feels really grim” in the U.S. (true!) but that Saudi Arabia has given her “a renewed faith in cinema” (hm!). Not really the line (or the film festival) I’d go with, but I digress.

In November, People reported that Johnson was “slowly” starting to date again. “Her relationship with Chris was often hot and cold, and while she always hoped they’d work out, she seems lighter and more at peace now that it’s final,” the source told the outlet.

Leaving a hot-and-cold relationship to become the hot-and-cold 2025 version of a manic pixie dream girl feels like a very Sally thing to do.

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