In truly shocking news, Entertainment Tonight reported on Saturday that Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn quietly split up a few weeks ago after six years together. A source explained to the outlet that the breakup was amicable and “not dramatic.” People also independently confirmed the news.
The source said, “The relationship had just run its course. It’s why [Alwyn] hasn’t been spotted at any shows.” Plenty of other celebrities of course, from Selena Gomez to Emma Stone, have been at Swift’s Eras tour, which began last month.
Entertainment Tonight‘s report comes just weeks after People reported that Alwyn would be traveling with Swift when he could and planned to be at her concerts. On March 22, a source told the outlet, “Joe will travel with her when he can. They are great together. Joe is super supportive of her career.”
Swift and Alwyn purposely kept the bulk of their relationship private, although Swift dedicated many songs to her and Alwyn’s romance—songs she has been performing on her tour.
Swift has not yet spoken about the breakup report.
But the pair never really addressed speculation about their relationship status while dating. Alwyn, for example, purposely played coy when asked about engagement rumors between the two last year. He said, “If I had a pound for every time I think I’ve been told I’ve been engaged, then I’d have a lot of pound coins. I mean, the truth is, if the answer was yes, I wouldn’t say, and if the answer was no, I wouldn’t say.”
Swift herself last opened up about their relationship when discussing the inspiration behind her Midnights track “Lavender Haze.” (Swift’s new release from March, Lover vault track “All the Girls You Loved Before” was also speculated to be about Alwyn.)
Swift said of the Midnights song, “I happened upon the phrase ‘lavender haze’ when I was watching Mad Men. I looked it up because I thought it sounded cool. And it turns out that it’s a common phrase used in the ’50s where they would describe being in love. If you’re in the ‘lavender haze,’ then that meant you were in that all-encompassing love glow. And I thought that was really beautiful.”
“I guess, theoretically, when you’re in the ‘lavender haze,’ you’ll do anything to stay there,” she continued, going on to touch on her love life, a rare move for Swift. “And not let people bring you down off of that cloud. I think that a lot of people have to deal with this now, not just like ‘public figures,’ because we live in the era of social media, and if the world finds out if you’re in love with somebody they’re going to weigh in on it. Like my relationship for six years we’ve had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff, and we just ignore it. So this song is about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff.”
Senior News and Strategy Editor
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.