After six years of dating, Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn decided to call it quits. The news of the split was confirmed by sources on April 8. According to Alwyn in an interview with PEOPLE, the split was amicable as they had grown apart over the years due to “differences in their personalities.”
Alwyn also reportedly couldn’t handle Swift’s growing fame. “Joe has struggled with Taylor’s level of fame and attention from the public,” one source said. Considering that Swift met Alwyn when she was largely out of the spotlight in 2016 and 2017, this makes sense.
“They had plenty in common and fell in love in a safe bubble while she was retreating from the world during Reputation,” another informant explained. The COVID-19 pandemic also appeared to bring them closer together during their relationship as they co-wrote some of Swift’s songs together including three on Evermore, six on Folklore, and “Sweet Nothing” on Midnights. However, once COVID-19 restrictions loosened, Taylor threw herself back into her career, causing them to “grow apart.”
This development rivals claims from this past October when Swift and Alwyn were said to have been “doing great” and that their “relationship is super strong.”
Other sources reported that Alwyn and Swift had been “talking about marriage as recently as a few months ago,” but Swift couldn’t see the relationship working out in the long run.
Fans suspect that Swift hinted that their break-up was more than just a quiet split during The Eras tour at her stop in Houston, T.X. At one point in her performance, she walked up to her performers on stage who represent the different album eras. One fan caught it all on video: she approached the performer who represented Lover and gave the “loser” hand signal over her forehead. Afterward, Swift chose her “surprise” song for the concert as “You’re Not Sorry” which is about a break up from a terrible ex. The true meaning of these gestures has yet to be confirmed.
Despite those rumors, one insider said that Alwyn and Swift are friendly to each other and that she has nothing “bad to say about Joe.” As for her priorities, she is “very focused on her tour right now.”