There are a ton of celebrity exes I think about often, but Taylor Swift and Harry Styles’ short-lived romance is constantly on my mind. The two dated a few short months back in 2012 and when it was announced that they had called it quits in early 2013, it felt like Haylor shippers had become children of divorce — and TBH, it still feels like that.
With Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) album dropping on Oct. 27, fans can’t wait to relive her relationship with Harry Styles, who has long been rumored as the muse for the original 1989 album. The couple that we all adored has a lot of history, from roaming Central Park together to celebrating the New Year together. Though Swift and Styles’ relationship is now a thing in the past, it doesn’t hurt to look back at their short, but passionate romance.
March 2012: Taylor Swift and Harry Styles First Meet At The Kids Choice Awards
Alongside her BFF, Selena Gomez, Swift watched Styles and his One Direction bandmates perform their hit song “What Makes You Beautiful” at the 2012 Kids Choice Awards. Later that same night, Gomez’s boyfriend at the time, Justin Bieber, hinted that one of the “biggest artists in the world thinks Harry is so hot.” Spoiler alert: The Biebs was talking about Swift.
November 15, 2012: Harry Styles and Taylor Swift Fuel Romance Rumors
As a romance between Swift and Styles started to brew, they weren’t afraid to show their feelings for each other in public. In November 2012, Swift subtly confirmed she was dating the One Direction member when she was spotted wearing Styles’ silver paper plane necklace, which she also mentioned in her song “Out The Woods” on her 1989 album.
That same month, Styles visited the X Factor studio to see Swift rehearse. A source who was present said, “He watched her onstage going through her performance. He was sitting with her mom and the rest of her entourage.” They added, “He was smiling at her while she rehearsed. When she was done, he jumped up on stage, picked her up, put her over his shoulder and carried her off stage.”
December 3, 2012: Taylor Swift and Harry Styles Take A Stroll Through Central Park
The singers made their official debut as a couple while taking a walk through Central Park. This was the beginning of Haylor as excited fans took to Twitter to gush over this new romance.
December 13, 2012: Taylor Swift Celebrates Her 23rd Birthday With Harry Styles
Haylor was spotted hand-in-hand while they celebrated Swift’s 23rd birthday in England. What made the celebration even more special was Styles sweetly surprised Swift with 23 cupcakes. How cute! Styles also took Swift to his local golf club and introduced her to his mom.
December 31, 2012: Haylor Bring In The New Year Together
December 2012 was a month full of romance for the couple. It started off with a ski trip in Park City, Utah, and they ended off with a New Years kiss in Times Square, following Swift’s New Year’s Eve performance.
January 4, 2013: The End of Haylor
Three days after the start of the New Year, Swift and Styles were spotted vacationing at a resort in the British Virgin Islands. According to fans, the couple looked happy, as they even posed for photos during their trip.
Though it seemed the singers were smitten with each other during the trip, things took an unexpected turn when Swift was spotted leaving the island alone, while Styles stayed back.
April 18, 2017: Harry Styles Speaks About His Relationship With Taylor Swift
In October 2014, Swift released her fifth album, 1989, which included songs many believe are about Styles, such as “Style,” “Wonderland,” and “Out The Woods.”
In April 2017, Styles did an interview with Rolling Stone where he about his romance with Swift. He thanked the “Shake It Off” singer for the time she spent with him. “Certain things don’t work out. There’s a lot of things that can be right, and it’s still wrong… In writing songs about stuff like that, I like tipping a hat to the time together. You’re celebrating the fact that it was powerful and made you feel something, rather than ‘this didn’t work out, and that’s bad’… Meeting someone new, sharing those experiences, it’s the best sh*t ever. So thank you.”
March 15, 2021: Haylor Reunites, But Just As Friends.
On March 15, 2021, fans were delighted to see Swift and Styles reunite eight year after their heartbreaking split. The pair were seen chatting at the 2021 Grammy Awards and it seems like there were no hard feelings.
Two years later, the singers were spotted catching up at the 2023 Grammys.
October 2023: fans think Swift hinted at a harry styles feature on ‘1989’
On Oct. 27, Swift will be releasing 1989 (Taylor’s Version). In the days leading up to the release, Swift posted the handwritten titles of three possible bonus tracks on the re-recording of 1989 on her Instagram Story and fans were quick to notice how similar the cursive writing was to Harry Styles’ handwriting. Fans took this as a clue that the “Adore You” singer might be featured on the new album.
Is this the making of another Haylor reunion or are fans just being delulu? Regardless of where this ex-couple stands with each other today, their relationship will always be remembered as of the greats.