Okay, is it safe to say that Taylor Swift’s announcement of her new album has me utterly freaked out? In my opinion, the Grammys are solely for Swift to steal the show like the icon she is, and with her current album, The Tortured Poets Department, set to be released on April 19th, rumors say it may be all about Swift’s ex, Joe Alwyn.
Swift moved to Instagram to quickly announce her new album and a preview of what could possibly be song lyrics from the album, which reads, “And so I enter into evidence / My tarnished coat of arms / My muses, acquired like bruises / My talismans and charms / The tick tick tick of love bombs / My veins of pitch black ink / All’s fair in love and poetry.”
Swift concluded the (possible) lyrics by writing “Sincerely, the Chairman of the Tortured Poets Department.” Yikes. Joe Alwyn, count your days (I guess).
But first, some backstory. If you remember, in April 2023, headlines swirled as it emerged that after six years together, the couple had split up. To Swifties, the breakup seemed probable after fans also noticed Alwyn’s absence from the first leg of Swift’s highly successful Eras Tour. A source told People magazine immediately after the split that the two had parted ways. And after that, not much was said from Swift or Alwyn.
Additional sources mentioned that their breakup was chalked up to differences in opinions in which Alwyn could not get passed Swift’s degree of popularity, quoting, “Joe has struggled with Taylor’s level of fame and the attention from the public.” They added, “The differences in their personalities have also become harder to ignore after years together. They’ve grown apart.”
As for The Tortured Poets Department, fans pointed out that the album title may be a reference to Joe Alwyn’s WhatsApp group chat, “The Tortured Man Club,” which he has with Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott. They joked in a Variety interview back in 2022 that it is no longer useful because they aren’t as “tortured.” Alwyn mentioned that he and Mescal were both in the “Sally Rooney universe,” a reference to their collaboration with the scriptwriter on projects such as Alwyn’s Conversations with Friends and Mescal’s Normal People.
Fans couldn’t help but point out the similarities in names and took to X/Twitter to express their thoughts.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for the album to drop.