The Relationships
Taylor Swift’s music is deeply autobiographical, showing that fame doesn’t shield anyone from real emotions. That’s why her songs feel so relatable.
Swift has always said she almost never confirms who inspires her lyrics. Are most of these observations unconfirmed by those that know? Absolutely. Are there songs missing here for the different relationships? Probably. Are these songs definitely about these men? Maybe. Are some songs potentially about mixed experiences with different relationships? Likely. Don’t try and come for my hobby.
Still, understanding the relationship timelines can add another layer to her work.
Let’s dive in.
Joe Jonas
July - October 2008
Young Love
From July to October 2008, Taylor Swift (18) and Joe Jonas (19) had a brief, intense young romance that fueled several early autobiographical songs. Swift later told Ellen that the breakup came via a 30-second voicemail—classic teen drama, but real feelings.
In the years since, they’ve remained friendly. They’ve attended each other’s shows, and Swift reportedly sent a gift to Jonas and Sophie Turner when their first child was born in 2020, a moment echoed in folklore’s “invisible string.”
Fearless (2009)
Fearless
Forever & Always
Last Kiss
Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (2021)
You All Over Me
Mr. Perfectly Fine
__________
Much Better - The Jonas Brothers (2009)
While the original lyrics reference “Now I'm done with superstars / And all the tears on her guitar” he’s later changed it to “Now I’m cool with superstars”
Taylor Lautner
July - December 2009
Better off Friends
They met on the 2009 set of the movie, “Valentine’s Day” and had a quiet relationship for a few months. While the relationship was not long-lived, the friendship carries on.
In 2023 when Swift released Speak Now Taylor’s Version, the music video for the vault track “I Can See You” featured Lautner. Lautner also attended the ERAs concert where the video was premiered. Both Swift and Lautner talk about their friendship that continues long after they dated.
John Mayer
July - December 2009
The Boy They Warned You About
In November 2009, John Mayer released his album Battle Studies in which he and Swift worked together on the song “Half of My Heart”. At the time, he was 32 and Swift was 19. While they were only dating a few months, less than a year later in October of 2010 when Speak Now was released, it seemed clear Mayer had a lasting impact on Swift.
Some worthwhile observations that may unlock the lyrics further. John Mayer has brown eyes, is a self-confessed womanizer, loves chess, has a gap in his teeth (now corrected), and tattoos. At the time of them dating, Mayer also lived in a renovated church.
Speak Now (2010)
Sparks Fly
"Sparks Fly" is about falling for someone who you maybe shouldn't fall for, but you can't stop yourself because there's such a connection and chemistry- Taylor Swift
The Story Of Us
"The Story of Us" is a song that I wrote about an awkward situation where, well…This is about one of those situations where the strange place that I ran into him was an awards show.” - Taylor Swift
The line “The battle’s in your hands now/but I would lay my armor down” seems like a call back to Mayer’s album Battle Studies where they met
Dear John
The guitar in Dear John is commonly recognized to be very similar to riffs Mayer has used in his own songs. There are many lyrical call back and forth between this song and other John Mayer songs as well, such as his “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room”
M: So you leave me feeling dirty 'cause you can't understand / S: And you'll add my name to your long list of traitors who don't understand
M: It's not a silly little moment, it's not the storm before the calm / S: you paint me a blue sky and go back and turn it to rain
M: Don't you think we oughta know by now? / S: I should've known and you should have known
M: We're slow dancing in a burning room, go cry about it, why don't you? / S: But I took your matches before fire could catch me
The lyric You should’ve known better will come back later as a haunting.
Midnights (2022) - Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve
Swift was 32 when she wrote this song, the same age Mayer had been when they were dating. Note that lyrics contain “would’ve” and “could’ve” but they do not contain “should’ve” -a call back to “Dear John”. The line “Years of tearing down our banners…” could once again be a call back to Mayer’s album, Battle Studies. The track is also 19th on the album, perhaps a wink at the age Swift was when the relationship occurred.
_______
Paper Doll - John Mayer (2013)
The song's lyric "you're like 22 girls in one," have been seen as a reference to both Taylor Swift's song "22" and potentially a criticism of her changing image. The “Dear John” lyric: “you paint me a blue sky then go back and turn it to rain” is often linked with Mayer’s lyric, “and if those angel wings don’t fly, someone’s going to paint you another sky.” Mayer has since denied its about Swift.
It Shouldn’t Matter but it Does - John Mayer (2021)
It includes the lyric “I shouldn't leave you messages in every little song.” and has three titles of Swift songs included (Mean, Clean, and Both of Us). The lyrics point out over and over it “shouldn’t matter”, and Swift’s WCS’s opening includes, “..did it matter?” Swift and Mayer’s paths may have crossed around this time period, possibly triggering Mayer to reminisce.
Jake Gyllenhaal
October 2011 - January 2012
It was rare, you were there
It seemed to start like a whirlwind — the older, confident guy giving her attention that felt bigger than life (Swift was 20 when they met, Gyllenhaal 29). Maybe she read that intensity as love, or maybe she just wanted to believe in what it could become. Over time, at least in the way many fans interpret the story, his distance and unpredictability may have made her question her own instincts, trying to shrink herself to keep the connection steady.
What felt, in her songs, like something deep and consuming might have only been admiration dressed up in charm. And whatever he felt — if anything — never quite matched the depth she seemed to pour into it.
Many listeners hear echoes of this dynamic in the Red era: a relationship remembered in fragments, colored by longing, confusion, nostalgia, and the ache of something that didn’t live up to the version she hoped for. But of course, no one can truly know — not what she felt, not what he meant, not what really happened between them.
What we’re left with is what the music suggests: a once-bright spark that flickered out too soon, leaving her to make meaning from the pieces.
Other Observations: Gyllenhaal also has blue eyes and is a Sagittarius (a fire sign). Gyllenhaal has also talked about how he likes for his mom to meet who he’s dating. At the time, he often wore plaid and Swift (who is known to tailor her wardrobe for periods of her life) also started wearing a lot of plaid.
The Scarf: The scarf becomes a recurring symbol of lost innocence and the lingering presence of a relationship that didn’t resolve cleanly. Whether or not the scarf actually exists is part of the myth — Maggie Gyllenhaal has famously said she has no idea what people are talking about when asked. What is known is that over Thanksgiving 2011, Taylor and Jake were photographed in Brooklyn with his family, and in those photos Swift is wearing a scarf Jake had worn just two weeks earlier. Was it red? No. Was it meaningful? Possibly. Will the symbolism ever fade? Absolutely not
RED (2012)
State of Grace
The telling lyrics: "Just twin fire signs, four blue eyes" "This is the golden age" "You're my Achilles heel"
Both of them are Sagittarius with blue eyes - twins. The "Golden Age" most commonly refers to a period in Hollywood that was known for its glamour but also covering up a lot of abuse of young stars. And while it was seemed that while their relationship was kept “like a secret”, the pair were often on and off again, implying he was her weakness.
All Too Well
The telling lyrics: "You used to be a little kid with glasses in a twin-sized bed / And your mother's telling stories 'bout you on the tee-ball team"; "And I left my scarf there at your sister's house"; "After plaid shirt days and nights when you made me your own" "Sippin' coffee like you're on a late-night show"; "And he said, 'It's supposed to be fun turning 21'"; "I'll get older, but your lovers stay my age / From when your Brooklyn broke my skin and bones"
The lyric regarding a little kid with glasses is believed to reference a now-deleted Instagram post by Gyllenhaal of himself as a young child with glasses. He also discussed on "The Ellen Degeneres Show" that he likes to bring new dates to meet his mom and the pair were in Brooklyn with Jake’s family that November. Notably, Swift turned 21 that December. After the pair split, Gyllenhaal went on to date several other young women.
The phrase “Brooklyn broke” describes a person from a wealthy background who "cosplays" or pretends to be poor, often associated with a pretentious "hipster" or "indie" aesthetic.
In the short film, Dylan O’Brien and Sadie Sink were cast not only for their performances but also for the age gap between them, a deliberate choice meant to underscore the discomfort and imbalance at the heart of the story. Ironically, while the film’s casting sparked plenty of debate, similar dynamics in real life often pass with far less scrutiny.
The Moment I Knew
The telling lyrics: "And they're all standing around me, singing 'Happy birthday to you'"; "How you said you'd be here"; "Christmas lights glisten"
A December birthday deserves Christmas lights and Gyllenhaal famously stood her up on her 21st birthday.
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
Swift seemingly references Gyllenhaal's known love for indie music and has spoken about how the relationship led her to feel like her music wasn't good enough. More presumed references to Gyllenhaal can be found in the iconic music video. There's a stuffed rabbit, which could symbolize his famous role in "Donnie Darko." Swift puts a scarf away, which might reference the iconic scarf lyric in "All Too Well." Fans also spotted a jar of apples on the TV, which might symbolize a famous apple-picking date that the pair went on in upstate New York.
I Almost Do
The telling lyrics: "Looking out at the city, and I bet"; "That I can't say hello to you and risk another goodbye"
Both lived in New York at the time, and if Gyllenhaal was her Achille’s heel and they were known to be off/on again, it makes sense she’d be tempted to pick up a phone.
I Bet You Think About Me
The telling lyrics: "You grew up in a silver-spoon gated community. Glamorous, shiny, bright Beverly Hills"; "Well, I tried to fit in with your upper-crust circles"; "At your cool indie music concerts every week"; "With your organic shoes and your million-dollar couch"
Gyllenhaal grew up in Los Angeles, coming from a wealthy family deeply connected to the movie industry (his godmother is Jamie Lee Curtis). He was nine years older than Swift, so it's unsurprising that she may have felt out of place in his friend groups, especially given that she was a young pop star. Gyllenhaal has publicly cited his love for indie music,
Harry Styles
November 2012 - January 2013
Fast, Bright, Gone
Taylor Swift and Harry Styles met at the Kids’ Choice Awards in March 2012 and crossed paths throughout the year. They went public that November and split by January 2013.
When 1989 arrived in late 2014, many tracks reflected the excitement, tension, and imbalance of a relationship where one person was far more committed than the other—widely linked to their brief romance.
Further observations include the pair exchanged paper airplane necklaces and were also involved in a snow mobile accident that left Styles requiring 20 stitches.
1989 (2014)
Style
Swift described it as being about a relationship that "never really done" and involves people who float in and out of each other's lives. The title of the song and describing Styles' "long hair, slicked back, white t-shirt" is clear.
Out of the Woods
This track details the anxiety Swift felt in their high-profile relationship.
I Know Places
The lyrics express anxiety, a desire for privacy, and the struggle of a love under constant pressure, where the couple must run and hide together to protect their relationship.
Clean
“‘Clean’ I wrote as I was walking out of Liberty in London. Someone I used to date — it hit me that I’d been in the same city as him for two weeks and I hadn’t thought about it,” Swift shared. “When it did hit me, it was like, ‘Oh, I hope he’s doing well.’ And nothing else.”
Wonderland
The song includes references to green eyes and a "Cheshire cat," a nod to Styles' hometown of Holmes Chapel in Cheshire, England.
Midnights (2022) - Question?
This song samples "Out of the Woods" and starts with the lyric, “I remember..” echoing “Out of the Woods”. It also references a New Year's Eve kiss, alluding to Dick Clark’s Rocking New Year’s Eve 2013. Both Styles and Swift attended the 2021 Grammy’s, perhaps inspiring all the questions Swift asks in the song.
1989 (Taylor’s Version) (2023)
Now That We Don’t Talk
You went to a party / Did you get anxious though Styles has opened up about his anxieties in the past.
You grew your hair long, You got new icons / It looks like you're tryin' lives on - after the split with Swift, Styles grew his hair out and also changed up his styles (although he is known to do this, just like Swift).
Remind myself the more I gave, you'd want me less / I cannot be your friend - based on other observations, if the relationship was unrequited it seems like Styles was okay with staying in the friendzone, whereas Swift needed to walk away fully.
Styles album Fine Line, is heavily influenced by psychedelic rock, which may just have been too long a word to fit into the cadence. Or mean nothing. As far as a mega-yacht, when they reportedly split the pair was visiting Richard Branson’s private island, a yacht may be a possible lyrical swap as well. Styles stayed and Swift left alone.
Suburban Legends
A play on Urban Legend, the lyrics We were born to be suburban legends and We were born to be national treasures is a nod to their pop-star status.
our mismatched star signs - Styles is an Aquarius, whereas Swift is a Sagittarius
You had people who called you on unmarked numbers In my peripheral vision / I didn't come here to make friends / You'd be more than a chapter in my old diaries / you told me we'd get back together / I broke my own heart 'cause you were too polite to do it - these lyrics echo those in other songs, that the relationship was not balanced, Perhaps that Styles continued to flirt and send mix signals to Swift, leaving her having to end the relationship. This also is a call back to the line in “Now That We Don’t Talk” I cannot be your friend.
Is It Over Now?
The lyrics “Whеn you lost control / Red blood, white snow” references the snow mobile accident the two had. "Blue dress on a boat," a nod to a Jan. 2013 photo of her leaving a vacation with Harry after their rumored breakup.
_______
Two Ghosts - Harry Styles (2017)
It’s widely speculated to be about Taylor Swift, due to shared lyrical references like "same lips red, same eyes blue" and "same white shirt" like in Swift’s “Style”. While Styles has never directly confirmed the song is about Swift, his awkward response when asked about it and the coincidental lyrical connections have fueled this fan theory.
Calvin Harris
March 2015- June 2016
Tom Hiddleston
June - August 2016
The Betrayal and Mess Inbetween
Love can knock you around, and in 2015 Taylor Swift began a 15-month relationship with Calvin Harris. To date, it was her second longest relationship. It was steady and mostly private, but by mid-2016 things had started to shift.
The Met Gala in May 2016 became a major turning point. Swift, serving as co-chair, spent the night mingling, dancing, and famously having a dance-off with Tom Hiddleston. Joe Alwyn was also there, though it’s unclear if they interacted. Within weeks, Swift and Harris announced their breakup.
On June 15, Swift began dating Hiddleston. Both she and Harris quickly scrubbed their social media of each other. By June 21, Swift and Hiddleston had gone public.
There were signs of strain earlier. In April, Harris was asked about collaborating with Swift and brushed it off—despite the fact that they had collaborated on “This Is What You Came For,” written under Swift’s pseudonym Nils Sjöberg. Harris later emphasized his role in producing the track, while Swift had originally written the melody, lyrics, and an iPhone demo she sent him. The mismatch between public comments and private work may have already created tension.
By the Met Gala, the relationship may have been on thin ice.
Swift and Hiddleston’s summer romance lasted only about three months before fading out.
People Magazine - Calvin Harris
Reputation (2017)
I Did Something Bad
I never trust a narcissist - Harris has been known to flaunt his assets on social media.
Cause for every lie I tell them, they tell me three may refer to how Harris continually denied their professional collaborations,
Now all he thinks about is me - in the weeks after the Met Gala and the split, in a series of now-deleted tweets, Harris had a lot to say.
I never trust a playboy Harris was one of the hottest DJs at the time and had a playboy reputation.
He says, Don’t throw away a good thing at the time of their relationship and professional fame - they were the highest paid couple in the music industry.
If he drops my name I owe him nothing may also refer to Harris’ public statements at the time.
And if he spends my change, he had it coming seems to be a pretty direct hit at the fact that Harris cashed in on “This Is What You Came For”, even with at first denying Swift’s contribution.
Getaway Car
The ties were black / The lies were white / In the shades of gray candlelight / I wanted to leave him, I needed a reason - seems to reference the Met Gala and perhaps the building tension in her relationship with Harris
With three of us it’s a side show may refer to the circus of public scrutiny of short time-frame between relationships.
Lover (2019) - I Forgot That You Existed
I forgot that you got out some popcorn as soon as my rep started going down, down/Laughed on the school yard when I tripped on the ground, ground The summer of 2016 was also when Kim Kardashian inspired the snake backlash and social media cancellation of Swift and Harris was seen hanging out with Kardashian - perhaps watching Swift’s backlash like entertainment with popcorn.
And I would have stuck around oh yeah, would have fought the whole town, oh yeah/Would have been right there, front row, even if nobody came to your show Even with Swift’s busy scheduled, she attended many of Harris’ concerts over their relationship and the couple were known for supporting each other’s work.
Midnights (2022) - High Infidelity
That you can kill the one you love / The slowest way is never loving them enough - Harris’ friends reported that Harris was bored with the relationship.
April 29th is the around the date when “This Is What You Came For” was released.
Swift came under a lot of scrutiny for infidelity and if that was the reason for the split from Harris, although those are based on publicly known dates of the relationships and only speculation.
Joe Alwyn
Fall 2016-May 2023
Forever. For a while.
In late 2016, after the whiplash of a long breakup and a brief rebound, Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn quietly began showing up at events together. Their relationship wasn’t publicly confirmed until late 2017, when Ed Sheeran accidentally let it slip. Throughout their six and a half years together, both Swift and Alwyn stayed intentionally private, protecting what they had from the spotlight.
After the chaos of summer 2016, the Kanye West fallout, the end of her 15-month relationship with Calvin Harris, and her short-lived fling with Tom Hiddleston - a quiet, steady, non-public partnership was exactly what Swift seemed to need.
During their time together, Alwyn co-wrote several songs with Swift under the pseudonym William Bowery, including “Exile” and “Betty” on folklore (2020), “champagne problems,” “coney island,” and “evermore” on evermore (2020), and “Sweet Nothing” on Midnights (2022).
In the end, it seems they simply grew in different directions—Swift, an extroverted, experience-driven creator, and Alwyn, more reserved and private. What they shared was loving and long-lasting, but not fully compatible. Their split became public in April 2023, shortly after the start of the Eras Tour, though privately the relationship had ended weeks earlier.
Other observations: Alwyn is known for his startling blue eyes and he has a home in Hampstead Heath (the Heath). Other British references throughout her songs include Kings and Queens, Range Rovers and Jaguars (both cars that Harris and Hiddleston drove). The pseudonym William Bowery is based on Joe’s Great Grandfather, William Alwyn, and the Bowery Hotel, where Joe and Taylor visited after a Kings of Leon concert in their first documented hangout in October.
There are many obvious songs on Reputation and Lover that can be attributed to Alwyn, but there are some important stand-outs.
Reputation (2017)
…Ready for It?
Regardless of the beat, this song is a love song. You can hear Swift at the start clear her throat, announcing her new relationship.
Delicate
Telling Lyrics: Dive Bar on the East Side, Dark jeans and your Nikes, look at you / Oh, damn, never seen that color blue , Do the girls back home touch you like I do
While Swift and Alwyn may have crossed paths at the Met Gala, we know they spent time on the East Side at The Bowery Hotel. Alywn often wears Nikes and blue jeans and the “back home” seems to refer to London, where Alwyn is based.
So It Goes…
Wear you like a necklace - at the time Swift was wearing a necklace with an engraved “J”.
Gorgeous
And I got a boyfriend, he's older than us / He's in the club doing, I don't know what at the time of the Met Gala when both were in attendance, Swift was dating DJ Calvin Harris (she was 27, he was 32).
Ocean Blue Eyes - Alwyn is known for his blue eyes.
Dress
Flashback when you met me / Your buzz cut and my hair bleached refers to her 2016 Met Gala look
Lover (2019)
Cruel Summer
Was Taylor actually pinning for Alwyn through the summer of 2016 through the whole Harris fall-out and Hiddleston adventure?
Lover
I’ve loved you three summers now, honey, but I want ’em all. At the time of the writing, they had celebrated their third anniversary.
Side Step: an interesting look at Lover, six years later.
folklore (2020)
invisible string
A string that pulled me / Out of all the wrong arms right into that dive bar likely a call back to the same dive bar in “Delicate”.
Alwyn has also said he worked at a frozen yogurt shop when he was a teenager.
The lyrics Bold was the waitress on our three-year trip / Getting lunch down by the Lakes / She said I looked like an American singer calls out to the 3 year anniversary trip they took to the The Lakes District
the lakes
Not only did the pair spend their anniversary at The Lakes District in the UK, Windemere is the location where Alwyn was filming a project for Hulu.
peace
"I, oftentimes, in my anxieties, can control how I am as a person and how normal I act and rationalize things, but I cannot control if there are 20 photographers outside in the bushes and what they do and if they follow our car and if they interrupt our lives. I can’t control if there’s going to be a fake weird headline about us in the news tomorrow." - Swift Given that Alwyn is a very private person, it makes sense that Swift would wonder if they could still find peace.
Evermore (2020)
There are less direct ties to be made to this song to really equate it to her relationship with Alwyn, at the Los Angeles ERAs Tour stop, she does speak of singing this would be cathartic, implying true feeling was behind the lyrics.
Long Story Short
Pushed from the precipice / Clung to the nearest lips / Long story short, it was the wrong guy / Now I’m all about you. This reads like a statement of her entire summer of 2016 and the ending of her long relationship with Harris, her rebound with Hiddleston and finally finding Joe that fall.
Midnights (2022)
Lavender Haze
A lavender haze is a state of ignoring the outside world to focus on a love right in front of you. The couple were under constant scrutiny and speculation, it makes sense Swift would linger on the thought of a love haze.
Karma
Karma is the guy on the screen / Coming straight home to me speaks to Alwyn’s job as an actor. (although Swift will later change this lyric to “the guy on the Chiefs” for her current relationship with Travis Kelce. The lyrics then specifically call out Karma is my boyfriend which at the time was Alwyn.
You’re Losing Me
The song starts with a sigh of resignation - a bookmark to the announcement at the start of …Ready For It?
The vault track was released in May of 2023, after their split was announced, although producer Jack Antonoff says it was written much earlier; this ties into the throughline of songs of anxiety and insecurity (possible proposals?) in a relationship: “Champagne Problems”, Tolerate It, The Great War” (often associated as a prequel to “You’re Losing Me”), although Swift has said these are not autobiographcial in nature.
Tortured Poets Department (2024)
So Long, London
You sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days / And I'm just getting color back into my face - Alwyn has been noted to be melancholy. And getting color back is a straight call back to the lyric in “You’re Losing Me” My face was gray, but you wouldn't admit that we were sick.
The sounds of church bells echoes back to the church choirs in “Don’t Blame Me” a song about a consuming love. Perhaps a nod to Form Whom the Bell Tolls, a story that has a theme of duty vs. self-preservation.
Another call back to “You’re Losing Me” theme of heart beats stopping is I stopped CPR, after all it's no use
I gave you all that youth for free - “Me locking myself away in my house for a lot of years—I’ll never get that time back,” she admitted.
I left all I knew, you left me at the house by the Heath may refer to the house she purchased in Belsize Park area near Hampstead Heath shortly before they split.
The 1940s movie “Odd Man Out” has a unique link, Not only does Swift include the lyric I didn't opt in to be your odd man out, the ending of the film contains a shoot out that results in the main characters’ deaths, by two guns and they share one grave. The movie’s soundtrack was composed by Alwyn’s Great Grandfather.
I Can Do It With a Broken Heart
Their six year relationship ended right at the start of The ERAs tour - yet she still hit all of her marks.
How Did It End?
Like their entire relationship, little is known about the whys behind it’s end. The expression “hothouse flower,” refers to a flower that is vulnerable and requires fragile handling - Swift often sings about how her fame is very hard for her partners to deal with. After the covid pandemic, it became more apparent the two had very different personalities, this seems like a direct reference to that dynamic.
This song also carries through a medical metaphor that weaves through songs about Alwyn - “my face was gray” “my heart won’t start” “I stopped CPR” - this song now speaks of a postmortem
Matty Healy
An ember since 2014?
May - June 2023
A Long, Slow Smolder
A backdraft is an explosion that happens when a starved fire suddenly gets oxygen again. That’s seems to be the best way to describe Taylor Swift’s dynamic with Matty Healy of The 1975.
Swift and Healy first crossed paths in 2014, attending each other’s shows and wearing each other’s t-shirts. Healy brushed off questions about them, calling it a mutual flirtation at most, and that while it would be great to date Swift, it would also be intimidating and emasculating. He often complained that interviewers kept asking about Swift despite his insistence that they’d never dated.
Rumors swirled again in 2022 about a collaboration The 1975 were in production with Jack Antonoff, a mutual producer and friend of both. Healy denied it, then later admitted he had worked on Midnights—on tracks that didn’t make the final album. In January 2023, Swift made a surprise appearance at a 1975 show in London, performing “Anti-Hero.”
When Swift and Joe Alwyn split in April 2023, she said she wasn’t looking to date and wanted to focus on her work. So it shocked everyone when, in early May, Healy mouthed “This one is about you… I love you” onstage in the Philippines, and two days later Swift echoed the same words during the Nashville Eras show—with Healy in the crowd.
The relationship burned fast and bright. Swift seemed openly euphoric during the May Eras dates, saying, “I’ve never been this happy; my life finally feels like it makes sense.” But the backlash was immediate; Healy has a history of careless, offensive comments, and many fans felt he wasn’t right for her. He seemed to struggle under the scrutiny, and by June the relationship had ended.
Ten months later, in April 2024, Swift released The Tortured Poets Department. Many songs point to a relationship that flared intensely and burned out just as quickly. With that new lens, fans began reevaluating earlier tracks and timelines, realizing Healy may have been lingering in Swift’s “what-ifs” far longer than anyone knew.
There are a few unmistakable Healy themes (smoke, years of casual interactions and internal longing, love-bombing highs, forever-promises, abrupt ghosting), but the history between Swift, Healy, and The 1975 is almost certainly more intricate than her usual lyrical clues reveal. What you see here is just some of the apparent ties; this rabbit hole gets deep.
Tortured Poets Department (2024)
Fortnight
Fortnight is a British term that refers to a two week period, which seems to be as fast and furious as the start of their attraction, back in 2014.
The bassline for both “Fortnight” and The 1975’s “Robbers” are the same. There are further ties in Swift’s music to “Robbers” as well (see below)
All my mornings are Mondays, suck in an endless February, I took the miracle move-on drug, the effects were temporary. While Swift and Alywn went public with their split later, rumor has it it was actually over in February, and moving on with Matty (with addiction/pills) didn’t last.
The final lyrics 'Nother fortnight lost in America / move to Florida, may be a call to the fact that Tampa, FL was Swift’s first stop on the ERAs tour when she and Matty really made their relationship public (he even flew 17 hours from the Philippine's stop of The 1975’s tour to be there).
Florida also comes up, and like in the song “Florida!!!”, is a reference to escapism. In December of 2022, Healy performed at the Audacy Beach Festival in Fort Lauderdale - considering the timing that her split from Joe was seemingly underway (You’re Losing me was recorded in December 2021), could it be that Swift and Healy met in Florida which further rekindled the flame inside her?
The video holds many more hints about Matty Healy - the headpiece (Healy wears one similar in their “Part of the Band” visuals), the lab coats (they wore them for their “At Their Very Best” tour), the video’s black and white aesthetic (shades of gray also appear as a theme elsewhere in songs believed to be about Matty), are reminiscent of The 1975s styles. Even the box she’s strapped to seems to be a call to The 1975’s logo. See a deeper dive here.
The Tortured Poets Department
"Who uses typewriters anyway?" Matty does.
Swift dropped a QR code campaign for The Tortured Poets Department at a London brewery called "Truman Black," a name famously used by Healy on Instagram.
The seemingly random Charlie Puth reference. Turns out, Matty gave Charlie a shout-out back in 2018,
“Chocolate” is the name of a The 1975 song. Matty also have several tattoos. He has also been open about his past addiction issues, which are also mentioned in the songs “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” and “Chlore or Sam or Sophia or Marcus”
The “Lucy” and “Jack” referenced in the song Swift has confirmed are Lucy Dacus of the band BoyGenius and producer Jack Antonoff - then friends and colleagues of Matty Healy and The 1975 as well.
Down Bad
Swift has said, “The metaphor in ‘Down Bad’ is that I was comparing the idea of being love bombed, where someone rocks your world and dazzles you and then just kind of abandons you as an alien abduction where you were abducted by aliens…” This also echoes statements in other songs such as “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” and “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” about the intense and fast relationship and the sudden ghosting and demise of it.
I’ll build you a fort on some planet - Matty Healy has spoken about the significance of forts in his childhood, discussing how they provided a sense of safety and understanding.
Bud Daddy I Love Him
The lyrics appear to directly address the public backlash she faced for dating Healy when some fans wrote an open letter to Swift advising her to drop the relationship.
Fresh Out The Slammer
Now we’re at the starting line / I did my time - The Starting Line is a band that The 1975 has covered.
Swift sings about being trapped for years, and Another summer, taking cover may reflect the summer of 2022 and early signs that her and Alwyn’s relationship was strained. Considering “You’re Losing Me” was written in December of that year, it seems likely Swift had been feeling trapped for a while.
She also sings about being referred to as “the girl of his American dreams.” .The 1975 in 2016 released the song “She’s American,” widely believed to be inspired by either Swift or Healy’s ex Halsey.
Guilty as Sin?
Healy has said The Blue Nile is one of his favorite bands. The Blue Nile released the song “The Downtown Lights” in 1989, perhaps a wink to Swift’s album that was in production around the time Healy and Swift were first associated.
They’re gonna crucify me anyway - is likely a call out to Healy’s controversies, echoing the same feelings “But Daddy I Love Him” and “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)”
The song is about longing for someone else when you’re with someone. Healy has said that The 1975 and Swift collaborated on a Midnights track that didn’t make the final cut - could this earlier time together fired up the spark again between the two while Swift was still with Alwyn?
I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)
The first verse hints at Healy’s history of disturbing behavior, which her fans loudly disapproved of: “The jokes that he told across the bar / Were revolting and far too loud.”
The lyric the dopamine races through his brain may again be a reference to Healy’s struggles with addiction.
Texas has a tie in with the song “Florida!!!” which ties to “Fortnight” - a thread between songs?
loml
Swift sings about rekindling an old flame, only to see the relationship disintegrate as quickly as it began.
The song’s lyrics tell the story of someone “waltzing back” into her life after first meeting as “kids,” and how he told her she “reformed” him and was the love of his life. This sounds a lot like a reflection of the when they first met to the decade later rekindling, as well as a strong Peter Pan theme which is echoed in “Peter” and “Cardigan”.
Fans speculate I keep these longing locked in lowercase inside a vault probably means that there are songs from previous albums that were too personal to include on the albums (read more below).
I said 'I don't mind. It takes time'" is possibly a reference to "She told me 'Some things just take time' How can you be sure if you won't try?" in The 1975's Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy)
I Can Do it With a Broken Heart
Wait, what? We thought it was about her broken heart over Joe Alwyn. I guess it doesn’t matter - she sold us lies, even as we demanded more.
The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
The song makes references to a man in a “Jehovah’s Witness suit” who “tried to buy some pills from a friend of friends of mine”; while on tour with The 1975, Healy wears a suit onstage, and he’s also been open about his past struggles with substance abuse.
I just want to know / If rusting my sparkling summer was the goal - Swift had just getting into the groove for the summer leg of The ERAs tour.
Matty has a history of ghosting people. About the time he and Taylor appear to be rekindling their relationship, he was in a relationship with Meredith Mickelson, who says she was blindsided by Healy’s new relationship.
Kicked out the stage lights" could be a 1975 reference because at their ATVB/SATVB tour the band turns the lights on and off themselves
"Once your queen had come" at a 2023 concert, Healy skipped part of the regular routine with the phrase “I'm not gonna kiss anyone tonight. Not in front of Taylor Swift. Not when the queen is here.”
"I'll forget you but I'll never forgive." This is probably a direct response The 1975’s song “About You" - Do you think I have forgotten about you?
The Black Dog
Healy covered 2000s band The Starting Line during a 1975 concert on May 3, 2023—tellingly, the same concert Healy mouthed onstage, “This one is about you.
When someone plays 'The Starting Line' and you jump up
But she's too young to know this song - Healy’s subsequent partners have near 10 year ago gaps with Healy.
The Black Dog also makes a camero in the Fortnight video. There is a black dog in The 1975s “Part of the Band” video as well.
imgonnagetyouback
The cadence and even use of lowercase seems to mirror The 1975 style used in their song “Fallingforyou”.
In “Fallingforyou” lyrics “all we need’s my bike and your enormous house” Swift seems to answer: “whether I’m gonna be your wife or gonna smash up your bike”
Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus
On “Chloe or Sam or Sophie or Marcus,” Swift sings about how the decade would play us for fools which could be a reference to the nearly 10 years in between when she and Healy first met and when they eventually got together.
crashed into you" (tidal wave/wave metaphor used in the precursor poem)
Will that make your memory fade from this scarlet maroon?" once echoes Maroon on Midnigths (see below)
Peter
Healy has referred to himself as a Peter Pan type multiple times, telling ShortList in 2020 he was “slightly Peter Pan-ish,” and describing himself in a 2016 interview as “a sort of emo Peter Pan self-lacerating Pied Piper kind of character.”
“turned out the light“ in Peter is the conclusion to “standing in the front porch light” in Cardigan.
Swift also sings about the object of her affections being 25 years old at the time they were first together, and Healy was 25 in 2014, when they first met.
After The Tortured Poets Department, older songs suddenly feel reframed. Was Taylor writing about the a hidden flame flickering there all along? Below is just a sampling of how the songs may interweave with each other - although we must remember it’s all speculation. The patterns and coincidences combined with her admitted diaristic style make it hard to not feel there is a personal story in there.
Previous albums
Folklore (2020):
The lyric "you meet some woman on the internet and take her home" could be a reference to The 1975's album A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships. Up until 2019, Healy was also dating Gabriella Brooks, a fashion model, television personality, actress, and social media influencer. The internet starlet is later mentioned again in “loml”: And you have some kids with an internet starlet
On Swift’s typewriter in the “Fortnight” video, the number one key is missing, a call out to the song “the 1”
The intential choice to use actual number 1 in the title could be reflecting "the 1” in The 1975 as Healy is the lead.
The original set list for The ERAs Tour contained “invisible string” (assumed to be about Alwyn), then when her split from Alwyn was announced and Healy was starting to emerge as her focus, the set list changed to “the 1”
Another tie to the ERAs tour is the folklore house set itself, from the roof of which she sings “the 1”. On The 1975 tour, their set also contained a house frame, on the roof of which Healy perched to sing a song.
The lyrics “Peter losing Wendy” referencing Peter Pan comes full circle to the song “Peter” on The Tortured Poets Department.
Sensual politics could be a call to the public scrutiny around Swift’s love life and association with bad boy Healy.
I know you’d come back to me seems a lot like the ongoing theme of how in 2014 the timing wasn’t right, but they both orbited in and out of each other’s lives with promises of the future. You’ll see this “ you promised me forever” and thoughts about marriage and children echoed further on future albums.
Rose flowing may be a call out to his band and will reappear in the later song, Maroon on Midnights.
If you never bleed you're never gonna grow may be a reference to The 1975's (iconic) song Robbers which has the line And if you never eat you'll never grow .
it was during this song on the ERAs tour that she mouthed the same words Healy had mouthed at his concert just days before.
Rewatching The ERAs tour in 2025, with hindsight of what appears to be Swift and Healy’s long standing entanglement, the order of her folklore set starting with Betty from James POV, then August from the fleeting romance POV, moving to Illicit Affairs and ending with Cardigan from the older POV of Betty - could it be a reflection of James as Matty, August as Young Taylor, the pain of their illicit affair and Betty as Taylor, reflecting that she may have always felt how things would turn out?
Evermore (2020):
This lyric seems yet another reference to Healy’s controversial public behavior I call you out on your contrarian shit
It will never be relates back to the 1. ("it would've been fun if you could've been the one")
Anticipating my face in a red flush foreshadows Maroon ("how the blood rushed into my cheeks")
At the NME Awards Show (Feb 2020 that Swift attended as well), for the Innovation Award, Matty Healy gave a “cowboy” speech
"Never wanted love, just a fancy car" (talking about the man in the song) connects to the lyric in Fortnight "buy the car you want"
The song “Change of Heart” by The 1975 was believed to be about Swift and how from his perspective, the relationship in 2014 faded out. In the song, the girl smashes a glass in the restaurant as they are breaking up. “Right Where You Left Me sings” about breaking a glass at the "restaurant" that she never left.
Midnights (2022)
Both lyrics So if I sell my apartment/And you have kids with some internet starlet and Your roommates cheap rose call back to “the 1”.
How the blood rushed into my cheeks is like anticipating my face in a red flush in Gold Rush
Rust that grew between telephones reads a lot like the times Matty and Healy came in and out of each other’s lives. The lyric also foreshadows rusting my sparkling summer in “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived”
This song was on a 2022 album, listening to it in 2025 with hindsight that her relationship with Alwyn seemed rocky and she was working with The 1975 in the recording studio in New York, its easy to believe this song may be a literal retelling of events (emphasis on the maybe).
We were supposed to be just friends..don’t live in that part of town by maybe I’ll see you - they both lived in London.
Depending on what kind of mood and situation-ship I'm in - while she was in a public relationship with Alywn, a situationship is about a relationship without a clear commitment, which she may have felt her an Alwyn’s relationship was. This may also explain the Bejewled lyric “They ask, "Do you have a man? I can still say, "I don't remember"
and what’s in my system - in Fortnight, Swift sings about having been a "functional alcoholic, perhaps drinking led her to make decisions she’s now reflecting on.
Starry Eyed (starry-eyed means having a hopeful, dreamy, or unrealistic outlook) is echoed Cowboy Like Me, Down Bad, and The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived- all songs that seem to speak a lot to Healy.
2,190 days of our love blackout is a very specific word choice and is approximately 6 years - about the length of her relationship with Alwyn, and while she was with Alwyn when Midnights was released, other things on the timeline imply it may have been on shakey ground.
A brief interruption, a slight malfunction I'd go back to wanting dudes who give nothing is this a call out to Sweet Nothing, cowritten by Alwyn?
Let’s Dance dancing is a common metaphor she uses for relationships, such as Dancing is a dangerous game in “Cowboy Like Me” from 2020’s Evermore.
I'm fastening myself to you with a stitch foreshadows the lyrics we embroidered the memories of the time I was away, stitching “we were just kids babe in TTPD’s “loml”. Also, nights are so starry, blood moon lit, it must be counterfeit also shows up again in “loml”, are they secondhand embarrassed that I can’t get out of bed cause something counterfeits dead
Sweat you out may end up down bad crying at the gym from TTPD’s “Down Bad”. Sweat you out is also commonly used to explain symptoms of ending a physical addiction.
Question?
Lost in situations, circumstances, miscommunication - from interviews, it would appear that if Swift and Healy did attempt a relationship in 2014, Healy was intimidated by Swift’s fame and wealth and focused too much on the the impacts of the business and not on her as a person.
Fucking politics and gender roles sounds a lot like sensual politics from Cardigan.
She was on your mind with some dickhead guy that you saw that night would be the night they were at the same event where she also met Calvin Harris and ended up leaving with him.
You were on something is another drug related reference.
Got swept away in the gray is another black/white/gray reference
1989 Taylor’s Version (2023) - Slut!!
When the 1989 Taylor’s Version exclusive vinyl for Target was released, a misprint in the lyric sleeves gave credits to The 1975 with an extra verse that is assumed to be written by Matty and the crew, implying these details may have been accidentally carried over from the original, 2014 liner notes that were cut.
Travis Kelce
August 2023 - Forever
So High School
That feeling when you’re giddy, smiling at nothing, wanting them to look for you in a crowd—when you know, you know.
In July 2023, Travis Kelce, tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, attended the Kansas City stop of the Eras Tour with a plan: a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it for Taylor. He didn’t get the chance to give it to her and later joked about it on his podcast New Heights. Word got back to Swift, and his “metal as hell” move caught her attention. While they had already begun quietly getting to know each other, they went public in September 2023 when Swift showed up at a Chiefs game.
Swift and Kelce seem to fit effortlessly. Both are extroverted, action-driven, and deeply committed to their craft and their teams. They come from strong, grounded families and share an infectious energy—together, they look genuinely joyful.
Many songs on TTPD likely point to Kelce, suggesting that between July 2023 and April 2024, Swift was writing some of her most hopeful love songs in years. That continued into October 2024 with The Life of a Showgirl, filled with direct references to Kelce and lyrics radiating confidence, stability, and true partnership.
There’s a hint of “star-crossed lovers” to them—fitting, considering Swift’s career first exploded with “Love Story,” her Romeo-and-Juliet retold as a romance, not a tragedy and now “The Fate of Ophelia” where once again, Swift reimagines a new ending for a Shakespeare tragedy.
Signs the fates may already be at work:
Both were born in 1989
Swift’s Birthday is Dec 13 (Sagittarius – The Archer) and Kelce’s is Oct 5 (Libra – Scales - aka Karma?)
Swift’s favorite number is 13, Kelce’s jersey number is 87. 87+13=100. Kelce often used the phrase “Keep it 100”
Mary’s Song (2006) contains the lyrics you’ll be 87 and I’ll be 89
Both Swift and Kelce had struck the bowman (archer) pose years before they even knew each other.
Swift’s grandmother, Marjorie’s birthday was also October 5th
Tortured Poets Department (2024)
This song captures the giddiness of young love, even when you’re older. Lyrics such as You know how to ball, I know Aristotle is a direct reflection of their different professions. Other lyrics seem to be directly tied to personal experiences with each other, but the rest of us have been able to see for ourselves as well.
Are you gonna marry, kiss, or kill me? - Travis’ interview in 2016 where he was asked this direct question about Taylor
You knew what you wanted and boy you got her - Travis very publicly pursued Swift from the start
Do that impression you do of your dad again - Travis is very close to his family and is known to be a goofball.
Alchemy is the philosophy that two different materials can be combined and fundmentally changed into something new. Swift and Kelce apart are one thing, but together they become a whole new thing.
Once again we also see the theme of foot ball, the art of winning and more importantly the art of winning the big prize, not just the trophy (but she does call out pretty specifically the championships the Chiefs won with Kelce early in 2024).
These blokes warm the benches / We’ve been on a winning streak and more
So when I touch down / Call the amateurs and cut them from the team -all their past relationships with the amateurs are no longer a consideration.
These lines specifically echo the celebration between Kelce and Swift on the field after the Chiefs AFL championship game: Shirts off, and your friends lift you up, over their heads / Beer stickin’ to the floor, cheers chanted ’cause they said / ‘There was no chance trying to be the greatest in the league’ / Where’s the trophy? He just comes, running over to me
He jokes that it’s heroin, but this time with an E - could this be a call back to her time with Matty who is open about his struggles with addiction?
The Life of a Showgirl (2025)
The Fate of Ophelia -
This song is not a grand rescue fantasy, but a rewriting of fate. Several lyrics feel especially pointed.
Keep it 100 - is a Travis Kelce catch phrase.
Calling on the megaphone - Kelce used his podcast to get Swift’s attention — not quietly, not indirectly, but loudly.
Lingering in purgatory - reflects all the past failed relationships (venom) she felt trapped under.
Pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes - After the heartbreak of Alwyn and Healy, Swift focused on “my, myself, and I” and the ERAs tour, but once she met Kelce, her allegiance changed.
Don’t care where the hell you’ve been ’cause now you’re mine - Kelce’s past relationships drew plenty of commentary, just as Swift’s always have — but finding your person renders all of that irrelevant.
Beyond the lyrics, the amount of easter eggs in the music video is pretty impressive.
Opalite
Opal is Kelce’s birth stone, symbolizing hope, creativity, and good fortune. Opalite is the man-made version of opal and symbolizes calm, communication, and empowerment, promoting openness and harmony. A balance in a relationship that’s formed under pressure.
I had a bad habit / Of missing lovers past - many of her songs speak of painful recollections and yearning of past loves, this song speaks of looking forward.
Fans have pointed to You were in it for real, she was in her phone as possibly echoing Kelce’s earlier relationship with Kayla Nicole, a media personality, during which Kelce may have felt more invested than she was.
Wi$h Li$t
Swift has said the song’s playful vibe was inspired by Happy Gilmore and the idea of a “happy place” — fitting, given that Kelce was involved with Happy Gilmore 2 at the time.
The line ‘We tell the world to leave us the fuck alone’ captures the exhaustion of constant visibility with them both being famous, and her wish for a quieter life — kids, a driveway, a basketball hoop.
Wood
It’s a song about superstition. Taylor got lucky. If you can’t figure the rest out, I can’t help you.
Honey
This song is also pretty easy to see how it’s inspired by someone who is able to take what is usually used as passive aggressive pejorative into a truly felt term-of-affection from a loved one.
On the New Heights podcast announcing the album, a tin of wintergreen Altoids sat on the desk, which fans quickly connected to the lyric “wintergreen kiss,” reading it as a sweet nod to a shared, ordinary memory.
Lines like “buy the paint in the color of your eyes, of your mind / and graffiti my whole damn life” suggest how fully Kelce has woven himself into her world — not just as a partner, but into the everyday texture of her life.