Katy Perry has turned Josh Groban’s engagement into a joke she could tell in one take. In a new TikTok this week, Perry reacted to the singer’s engagement to Natalie McQueen with a screenshot of a People story, a sped-up version of “The One that Got Away,” and a caption that simply read, “Congrats.”
She appeared in a bathrobe, poured herself a glass of what looked like beer and played up the moment as a bit rather than a breakup. The post lands with extra punch because Perry called Groban “the one that got away” in a 2017 livestream and said then that he inspired her song “The One that Got Away.”
That old exchange had already been part of pop-culture lore. In 2018, Groban told Andy Cohen that he and Perry had dated and later “realized we were better as friends.” He also said, “I was not expecting that.... It’s very sweet of her to say that,” after hearing her comments, adding that he was “very flattered” by the claim but “very surprised, too.”
The TikTok makes sense as a wink because the history between them has always sounded more teasing than tragic. Groban joked then, “I’ve never owned a Mustang. I don’t have a tattoo. Are you sure that’s about me?” while Perry’s new post echoed the same tone by treating his engagement as something to toast, not mourn.
That is the part that matters today. Perry is dating former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau since last year, so the video reads less like heartbreak and more like a pop star revisiting a well-worn joke with the timing of someone who knows exactly how it will play. For a celebrity who has already sparked fresh attention this year, including in stories about her Met Gala return and other resurfaced clips, the Groban post fits the pattern: part memory, part self-aware performance, all in public.
The simple answer is that Perry is not sending a serious message about Groban’s engagement. She is using their shared history for a playful callback, and the caption says as much. “Congrats,” in her hands, is not a plea for a second chance. It is a punchline.
