The Life of a Showgirl is finally here, and Swifties everywhere are rejoicing. Taylor Swift released her highly-anticipated 12th album on Oct. 3, but even before the 12 tracks hit streaming, fans were convinced the song “Actually Romantic” was about Charli xcx. Why, you ask? Let’s break down the lyrics, and what fans are saying.
Now, let’s get one thing straight — the song is absolutely a diss track, regardless of who it’s about. Swift opens the song strong, singing, “I heard you call me Boring Barbie when the coke’s got you brave / High-fived my ex and then you said you’re glad he ghosted me / Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face / Some people might be offended.” Some fans have connected that one of Swift’s famous exes is The 1975’s Matty Healy, and Charli xcx is now married to Healy’s bandmate, George Daniel, which gives the “high-fived my ex” line a deeper meaning.
Fans have also taken the liberty to connect the coke line to Charli because of drug culture that was often mentioned on her BRAT album in summer 2024. The singer also released a limited-edition vinyl of the BRAT album filled with “white powder.”
Then, Swift, sings in the chorus, “But it’s actually sweet / All the time you’ve spent on me / It’s honestly wild / All the effort you’ve put in / It’s actually romantic / I really gotta hand it to you, ooh / No man has ever loved me like you do.” Fans have also connected the song to Charli xcx because of the title of the track itself, “Actually Romantic.” Some think it could be a direct reference to Charli’s song “Everything Is Romantic,” which was also on the BRAT album.
Another important track from Charli’s BRAT album that could be connected to Swift, according to fans, is “Sympathy Is A Knife.” Charli sings, “Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show / Fingers crossed behind my back, I hope they break up quick.” George Daniel was Charli’s boyfriend at the time the song came out, so it doesn’t take much to connect that Swift might be backstage at The 1975’s shows.
In the track, Charli xcx also sings about being insecure around another woman, and how she “couldn’t be her if [she] tried.” The lyrics go, “This one girl taps my insecurities / Don’t know if it’s real or if I’m spiraling / One voice tells me that they laugh / George says I’m just paranoid.”
In Swift’s “Actually Romantic,” she seems to directly reference this lyric from “Sympathy Is A Knife” in the second verse, singing, “Hadn’t thought of you in a long time / But you keep sending me funny valentines / And I know you think it comes off vicious / But it’s precious, adorable / Like a toy chihuahua barking at me from a tiny purse / That’s how much it hurts / How many times has your boyfriend said / ‘Why are we always talking ’bout her?'”
While many fans are convinced the song is a Charli xcx diss track, there are so many other options for who “Actually Romantic” is about. In the first 60 minutes after The Life of a Showgirl hit streaming, fans also suspected the song could be about Nicki Minaj (because of the Barbie line), some think it’s more of a dig toward Matty Healy, and others say it could be about Healy’s fiancée, Gabbriette. To be honest, Swifties may never actually know who the song is about. But either way, it’s a bop.