Grammy winning singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and actor Joe Alwyn allegedly ended their six-year relationship recently, according to a source at Entertainment Tonight. The ET source told the publication that the relationship “ran its course” and that the breakup was amicable. Swift recently embarked on her ambitious “The Eras Tour”, which incorporates a set list that encompasses all ten of her studio albums. Alwyn has reportedly not been in attendance at the first few stops on the tour.
Behind the Breakup
Swift and Alwyn’s respective publicists are yet to confirm or deny the breakup announcement. Some fans are urging the public to take the rumors with a grain of salt. Others urge fans to not discredit the news reports of the breakup. One TikTok user referenced Max Greenfield’s iconic “I am a child of divorce” scene from the Fox hit comedy “New Girl” in relation to the situation.
@camixoxo_
Alwyn is famously the subject of much of Swift’s “Lover” album, and also cowrote several songs from her “Folklore” “Evermore” and “Midnights” albums, under the pen name William Bowery. Swift maintains a massive global fanbase, who have been especially active online as she embarks on her first live tour since 2018. Since Swift is known for her lyrical and visual easter eggs that come together in her storytelling, listeners are revisiting the tour setlist and the lyrics of several songs from her last few albums to decipher the breakup rumors.
The Musical Easter Eggs
At Swift’s first round of shows on “The Eras Tour” in Glendale, Arizona, Swift included the airy acoustic “Invisible String”. The song is from her “Folklore” album, and subtly references her relationship with Alwyn through the East Asian folklore of “The Red Thread of Fate.” The lyrics insinuate Swift’s journey to finding her way to Alwyn and overall happiness in her life and career, and how everything must have happened for a reason. At the following set of shows, Swift switched out the “Folklore” track for “The 1”, and additionally showed the “Lover” house burning down on the set, which tells a very different story. Some are taking this as Swift’s subtle hint at the impending breakup announcement.
@michelletok Replying to @kylie.michele #taylorswift burns down the lover house on #erastour and removes invisible string from the setlist amid split rumors with #joealwyn #swifttok
Much of Swift’s “Folklore” and “Evermore” albums are written about other people’s life stories she has come across in her travels, or based on some of her favorite fictional tales. There are a few that loosely reference her own life, and fans are starting to feel like “The 1” just might become one of them. This song details a lost love, one that could’ve been a soulmate, but just did not work out in the end.
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On a different note, one TikTok Taylor Swift connoisseur Ginnie (@thethriftyswiftie) pointed to the “Midnights” track “Lavender Haze”, which references Swift and Awlyn’s relationship with each other, and the public eye. Based on the lyrics, Ginnie is not believing the rumors of the breakup just yet.
@thethriftyswiftie Replying to @tristan._.kaiser seems ab appropriate time for some lavender haze analysis #taylorswift#swifttok#taylornation#swiftietiktok#swifttoker#swifttoks#swiftliketaylor#taylorswiftlover #lavenderhaze#lavenderhazetaylorswift#lavenderhazemusicvideo#taylorswiftlavenderhaze#getitoffmychest#getitoffmydesk#ijustwannastayinthatlavenderhaze
Swift’s History With The Media
While Swift has spoken of her desire to continue to connect with fans, some are encouraging people to remember to be kind to Swift amid the breakup rumors. Swift’s “Reputation” album notoriously called out mass media’s poor treatment of famous women, ushering in years of change for ethics in entertainment journalism. Tabloid media scrutinized Swift for years over her dating history early on in her music career. A Twitter user named Irene (@enerianna) who works as host and video producer at Insider posted a thread of tweets about how to be a respectful Swiftie in this situation.
https://twitter.com/enerianna/status/1645075645347557378?s=20
While some fans are delivering flowers to Swift’s Cornelia Street residence, others remind the internet that none of us know the details yet, and that no one knows Swift personally, and that she more than deserves privacy at this time. The reactions to the rumors have sparked conversations about parasocial relationships with celebrities on the internet. Oxford Reference defines parasocial relationships as “relationships experienced by members of an audience in their mediated encounters with certain performers in the mass media”.
@scoutedbyjasmine insanity @oliver.schwartz #corneliastreet #riptoe #taylorswift
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Swift allegedly filmed an unknown video in Liverpool, U.K. this past weekend, and is set to return to “the Eras Tour” in Tampa, Florida. People reported from another anonymous source that Alwyn and Swift were “talking about marriage as recently as a few months ago.” The source further alleged that the breakup ultimately resulted in Alwyn struggling with Swift’s level of global fame and their differing personalities. Neither parties’ representatives have provided information on the breakup rumors at this time, and neither Swift nor Alwyn have addressed them directly.
