Joe Alwyn (2017-2023)
Actor Joe Alwyn was Taylor Swift’s longest relationship to date, with the couple keeping their romance well out of the public eye. They were first photographed together in 2017, enjoying coffee on a balcony in Nashville, and dated for six years before reports emerged in April 2023 they had broken up a few weeks earlier.
One song ‘…Ready for It?’ has fans divided over whether it’s about Joe or her former love interest Harry Styles. But, according to BuzzFeed, Taylor reportedly liked a Tumblr post breaking down the lyrics, with all signs pointing to them being about Joe. Taylor’s song ‘Gorgeous’ is definitely about Joe, with lyrics: “You make me so happy, it turns back to sad.”
Fans also picked up on a song from Reputation, named Dress which appeared to reference the first time she met Alwyn with lyrics referring to two lovers meeting while one’s hair was bleached. At the 2016 Met Gala, Swift had bleached blonde hair, and it’s been rumoured the pair crossed paths that night.
The pair even collaborated on Taylor’s lockdown albums, Folklore and Evermore, with Alwyn credited as “William Bowery”. During her Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions film, Taylor explained: “I was like, ‘Hey, this could be really weird and we could hate this [but] because we’re in quarantine and there’s nothing else going on, could we just try to write this song together?’”
In 2019, the pair sparked engagement (and even wedding) rumours when her album Lover alluded to marriage, but neither party confirmed nor denied the rumour. In early 2022, Alwyn actually spoke about the rumours by providing an answer to the Wall Street Journal that told us precisely nothing: “If I had a pound for every time I think I’ve been told I’ve been engaged, then I’d have a lot of pound coins. I mean, the truth is, if the answer was yes, I wouldn’t say, and if the answer was no, I wouldn’t say,” he told the publication.
Sadly, in April 2023, news emerged the couple had amicably called it quits. A source told ET that “it was not dramatic” and that “the relationship had just run its course. It’s why [Alwyn] hasn’t been spotted at any shows.”
The end of an era, as Ms Swift herself would say.
Since then, Taylor has released break up song ‘You’re Losing Me’, detailing the break up in her own words. It suggests that the relationship ran its course, with the man in the song (presumed to be Alwyn) not wanting to marry her. “And I wouldn’t marry me either, a pathological people pleaser, who only wanted you to see her,” she sings.
