On the evening of Saturday, April 9, Taylor Swift fans were faced with the incredibly shocking and unexpected news that Swift and her long-time boyfriend of six years, Joe Alwyn, had allegedly broken up. The news came as a shock to many, but fans specifically were taken aback due to recent speculations from media reporting that the couple was engaged and happier than ever.
It all started at the 2016 Met Gala, where Swift and Alwyn first met. Swift, at the time, was dating Marvel actor Tom Hiddleston, and she wrote about this relationship and night in her song “Dress” off the album Reputation “Flashback when you met me / Your buzzcut and my hair bleached.” It was officially revealed that Swift and Alwyn were a couple a whole year later in May of 2017.
Since then, the couple has kept their relationship as private as possible considering their fame and inability to avoid the public eye, something Swift has always been vocal about—keeping her private life private. Amidst this, fans got to experience their romance through Swift’s beautifully written songs on her albums Reputation, Lover, folklore, evermore, and Midnights. From what fans could tell, Swift and Alwyn seemed happy together, and they were glad that she finally found her person after years of not-so-great relationships, and that was enough for everyone to be content. I can say I personally admired the love that Swift and Alwyn shared and, from what I heard about their relationship through her songs like “Cornelia Street” and “Sweet Nothing,” it seemed like it was a love for the history books.
So, when the news broke that the pair had reportedly decided to split, to say that we were shocked would be an understatement.
At first glance, fans thought that this news may just be speculation since the initial article by People Magazine didn’t provide any evidence of the split other than Alwyn not attending any of the Eras Tour shows so far, which didn’t seem concrete enough to believe to be true. In the past, there have been several other rumors spread by the media about this specific relationship, so it’s understandable that fans wouldn’t immediately jump to conclusions.
However, as more and more news sources began publishing about the breakup and editing their articles by saying “a source close to the pair confirms,” the denial died down and people were devastated. Several major news outlets including CNN and Entertainment Tonight seemingly confirmed that the couple broke off their relationship amicably several weeks ago, before the Eras Tour even began, leaving fans to wonder what Swift must have been going through behind the scenes when she was off stage. These same reports also stated that the two would remain friends following their breakup.
Quickly, the heartbroken tweets turned into fans sharing their love for Swift and asking others to respect her privacy during this time, as she will be performing more shows on tour this upcoming week in Tampa.
At this point, neither Taylor nor her team have confirmed or denied this statement, and no one is expecting them to because, as I had mentioned previously, Taylor Swift likes to keep her private life private. Fans can only hope that Taylor is taking care of herself and that her upcoming tour shows can provide her with the much-needed happiness and healing she needs to get through this extremely emotional situation.
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