End of an era or the start of a new one? The internet is wondering why Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn broke up. The news came as a shock to a lot of Swifties and non-Swifties alike while she’s on her Eras tour, so let’s dig deeper into their six-long relationship.
Entertainment Tonight broke the news on Saturday, April 8, 2023. The two were very private about their relationship, but Joe frequently contributed to Taylor’s albums by being the muse or co-writing her songs with her from Reputation all the way to her recent album Midnights.
So why did Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn break up? Read more below to find out.
Why did Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn break up?
Image: Christopher Polk/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
Why did Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn break up? According to ET, the relationship “had run its course.” A source told the site that the breakup “was not dramatic.” and “it’s why [Joe] hasn’t been spotted at any shows.”
A source told gossip Instagram Deux Moi on the Tuesday before the news broke, “They broke up a few weeks ago, that’s why he hasn’t been at shows and you won’t see him at any. They weren’t married either so you won’t see him at any. They weren’t married either so you won’t see a divorce. It wasn’t dramatic it just ran its course and she’s clearly in a good place with it.” Eagle-eyed Swifties who love their Easter eggs also noticed that Taylor swapped out a song on her setlist “Invisible String” with “The 1” which points to further proof of the breakup. “You think you can just scroll the setlist? You think you can just come prepared?” Taylor said after her first performance of the song in Texas. “Let it be said about the Eras Tour … there’s high jinks.” The two have yet to comment on the breakup.
Other sources told People that the two simply outgrew each other. “They’ve had rough patches before and always worked things out, so friends thought they would take some time apart but eventually come back together,” one source said noting that they “weren’t the right fit for one another.”
“They had plenty in common and fell in love in a safe bubble while she was retreating from the world during Reputation,” the source added. “Then the pandemic hit, and they were locked down together and able to continue growing their relationship in this insulated way. But he didn’t really ‘know’ her yet outside of that bubble.” The source continued, “Joe has struggled with Taylor’s level of fame and the attention from the public. The differences in their personalities have also become harder to ignore after years together. They’ve grown apart.”
The source also said that the singer and actor were “talking about marriage as recently as a few months ago.” “Taylor didn’t see them working out in the long run,” says the insider, who adds that the split happened “recently” and was “not dramatic.” Page Six confirmed that the two never married despite speculation. They also confirm that Taylor is “100% single.”
Another source echoed the same sentiment to UsWeekly. “Fame factored into their split. Joe is very shy and never liked all of the attention that came with dating one of the most popular singers in the world,” the insider said and also added that Taylor isn’t “at fault.” They also added, “He just didn’t like having to be on all of the time” The two are also not on bad terms. “They are friendly. She doesn’t have anything bad to say about Joe,” adds the People insider. “They just grew apart. Taylor is staying very focused on her tour right now.”
Though a source told The Daily Mail that Joe was pretty devastated when he found out that Taylor was seeing Matty Healy from the British rock band The 1975. “Joe feels slighted and is distraught after seeing her budding relationship with Matt, but is doing his best to keep busy and focus on himself,” said the source. “Joe was aware that Taylor and Matt were making music together and collaborating. She told him that they had become friends and he trusted her.” Taylor’s romance with Matty was short-lived as it was reported that they broke up only after a month of seeing each other.
In her 11th studio album The Tortured Poets Department, released on April 19, 2024, Taylor hinted at the reason herself. Fans dissected the “Fortnight Lyrics” and what they could mean. First off, the word “fortnight” is a word commonly used in British English—it means two weeks. The use of British English is interesting because, as we all know, her most serious relationship was with English actor Joe Alwyn; they dated for 6 years and broke up in 2023.
Some fans have speculated that this song is in reference to the two-week period where Taylor and Joe’s relationship began to disintegrate. Or perhaps it’s about Taylor imagining what their life would be like if they’d stayed together and how mundane their existence would be because he wanted a life out of the spotlight.
When did Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn meet?
The two sparked dating rumors in October 2016 when they both attended a Kings of Leon concert. A month later, the Lover singer was seen attending the premiere of Alwyn’s movie, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. News broke of their relationship in May 2017. In an interview with Esquire in 2018, Joe revealed if he sought advice about dating a celebrity. “I didn’t seek out advice on that,” he said. “Because I know what I feel about it. I think there’s a very clear line as to what somebody should share, or feel like they have to share, and what they don’t want to and shouldn’t have to.”
The two were avoidant of answering questions about their relationships. When talking about their own privacy, Joe said in an interview with WSJ Magazine, “We live in a culture that people expect so much to be given. So that if you’re not posting all the time about what you’re doing, how you’re spending a day or how you made a breakfast, does that make you a recluse?” He also denied engagement rumors, “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,” The Favourite star said. “I mean, the truth is, if the answer was yes, I wouldn’t say, and if the answer was no, I wouldn’t say.”
Joe has co-wrote a few songs on Swift’s 2020 album Folklore, is believed to have inspired several of Swift’s tracks, including “Gorgeous,” “Call It What You Want” and “Cardigan.” As one of EW’s 2020 Entertainers of the Year, Taylor opened up to the publication about the making of the album which fans now know included her boyfriend as a collaborator on the song, “Betty.” Speaking about her experience of making the album in quarantine, Taylor explained, “It was weird because I had never made an album and not played it for my girlfriends or told my friends. The only people who knew were the people that I was making it with, my boyfriend, my family, and then my management team.” She added, “So that’s the smallest number of people I’ve ever had know about something. I’m usually playing it for everyone that I’m friends with. So I had a lot of friends texting me things like, ‘Why didn’t you say on our everyday Facetimes you were making a record?’”
In her latest release Midnights, she explicitly said that the track “Lavender Haze” was inspired by their relationship. In an Instagram video explaining the track, Taylor said, “I happened upon the phrase ‘Lavender Haze’ when I was watching Mad Men and I looked it up because it sounded cool and it turns out it was a phrase in the 50s where they would just describe being in love. If you were in the lavender haze, then that meant that you were in that all-encompassing love glow.” She continued, “I thought that was really beautiful. I guess theoretically when you’re in the lavender haze, you’ll do anything to stay there and not let people bring you down off of that cloud. I think a lot of people have to deal with this now, not just like ‘public figures,’ because we live in the era of social media and if the world finds out that you’re in love with somebody, they’re going to weigh in on it. My relationship for six years, we’ve had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff, and we just ignore it. So this song is sort of about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff.”
How did fans react to Taylor Swift & Joe Alwyn’s breakup?
Swifties online had quite the reaction to their breakup. “there is no way taylor swift would break up with mr. dress, delicate, call It what you want, king of my heart, gorgeous, london boy, lover, paper rings, peace, willow, invisible string, gold rush, lavender haze 🥹🫶🏼 not when a whole LOVER album literally exist???” one fan tweeted.
Other fans will still hold on to hope to their relationship. A fan tweeted, “and when taylor swift posts a picture with joe alwyn and the caption being ‘Ain’t it funny? Rumors fly… oh and by the way, 1989 (taylor’s version) is out now!’”
Meanwhile, Taylor was also spotted filming another music video in Joe’s home country of England with actress Joey King. “Taylor loves the history of the landmarks and was excited to film somewhere completely different and unexpected,” a source told The Sun. “She had a break in her touring schedule so decided to use the time to get another video in the bag. She’s feeling more creative and inspired than ever.”
Is Taylor Swift’s new album about Joe Alwyn?
Taylor Swift announced her new album The Tortured Poets Department on February 4, 2023, during the 66th Grammy Awards when she won best Pop Vocal Album. Fans immediately noticed the connection with Joe Alwyn as he revealed in a Variety interview that he has a WhatsApp group chat with Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal called “The Tortured Man Club.”
The tracklist came out the day after and included songs like “So Long, London” which fans immediately connected the dots to Joe, who hails from London. Other songs include “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys,” “But Daddy I Love Him,” “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can),” “loml,” “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart”—and “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.”
Fans quickly took to social media to react to the tracklist, “if joe alwyn has 100 fans, im not one of them, if joe alwyn has 10 projects, im not watching them, if joe alwyn has 0 haters, i deactivated,” one fan posted.
“joe alwyn and paul mescal in their gc rn,” one fan tweeted, paired with a video of Alexa Demie’s character Euphoria‘s , asking, “Is this f–king play about us?”
As for how Joe feels, he is reportedly not feeling too good. “Joe has not said one word about Taylor or their breakup and has been completely respectful of her,’ an source close to Joe said to the Daily Mail. “It’s undeniable that the name of her upcoming album is in reference to Joe’s WhatsApp group chat. Taylor knocked him for the name of this when they were together. She didn’t want people to think that it had anything to do with her, so when he spoke out about it, she was, of course, bothered.’
The insider continued, “Joe has no reason to believe yet that she is going to diss him or their relationship. She writes about her past using code and points of reference. It may just be that she is reflecting on their time together and he is hoping it is nothing more. If it is a diss album, that is shady. He helped her with song writing on her past album so it will really come as a shock to him if she talks about their breakup, as it is something he has not spoken of at all.”
As for Taylor’s new boyfriend Travis Kelce, he thinks the album is a masterpiece. “I have heard some of it, yes. And it is unbelievable,” Kelce told reporters during a Super Bowl press conference. “I can’t wait for her to shake up the world when it finally drops.”
