How Swift’s list of lovers inspired some of her biggest hits
It’s no secret who has Taylor Swift’s heart this year due to her public relationship with Travis Kelce. This Valentine’s Day we take a look at how the music sensation’s dating history inspired her most popular songs.
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There is no secret who will be Taylor Swift’s Valentine this year, with the singer seemingly blissed-out with her current beau, Travis Kelce.
She and Kelce are not hiding their romance, which started when Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, made Swift a friendship bracelet that he had hoped to give her at one of her concerts in July this year.
When he failed to meet her, he spoke about the failed friendship bracelet quest on his podcast. She heard it and the rest is history.
Swift has dated plenty of famous men before she found Kelce, who many Swift followers believe is “the one”.
Her dating Rolodex resembles a Hollywood who’s who and those on Swift’s “Lovers list” have provided inspiration for a number of her biggest hits through different eras.
Joe Jonas (2008)
Swift dated Joe Jonas, the former Jonas Brother singer, from mid 2008 to October 2008. It is said the end to the relationship came via a 27-second phone call from Jonas. Swift’s songs Last Kiss and Forever and Always are believed to have been written about her break-up. Another track, Holy Ground, is also thought to be about the fleeting romance.
Lucas Till (2009)
Swift met actor Lucas Till on the set of the video shoot for the song You Belong With Me. Till was cast as Swift’s next-door neighbour in the music video. The pair hit it off and dated briefly in 2009. Perhaps because of the brief nature of their romance, Swift was not inspired to write a song about Till.
Taylor Lautner (2009)
A film set was the spark for another of Swift’s relationships, this time with Taylor Lautner. The pair met when they co-starred as high school sweethearts in the romantic comedy flick Valentine’s Day. Fiction turned into fact when Swift and Lautner became one of Hollywood’s hottest young couples in mid to late 2009. Lautner was onstage at the MTV Video Music Awards that year when Kanye West infamously interrupted Swift’s acceptance of the award for Best Female Video. The Swift/Lautner love affair did not last long. By late December they had split. Swift’s song Back To December is thought to be about Lautner. While not naming Lautner, Swift has described the song as an apology to someone who meant a lot to her.
“The person I wrote this song for deserves this,” she said.
“This is about a person who was incredible to me – just perfect to me in a relationship – and I was really careless with him.”
Swift broke up with Lautner and the lyrics reflect that dumping: “So this is me swallowing my pride / Standing in front of you saying I’m sorry for that night / And I go back to December all the time / It turns out freedom ain’t nothing but missing you / Wishing I’d realised what I had when you were mine.”
John Mayer (2009)
While it was never confirmed that they were dating, a brief relationship between musician/singer John Mayer and Swift in late 2009/early 2010 has seemingly inspired a number of songs. The pair met via Twitter and collaborated on the song Half of My Heart.
In October 2010 she released the song Dear John, widely believed to be about her break-up with Mayer. Fans jumped on the lyrics “Don’t you think nineteen is too young/ To be played by your dark twisted games / When I loved you so?” as proof the track is about Mayer. Mayer said the song made him “feel terrible.” For his part, Mayer responded in kind with the song Paper Dolls on his 2013 album Paradise Valley.
Cory Monteith (2010)
Swift and Cory Monteith were friends who appeared to have a short-lived romance in 2010. Monteith was famous for his role on the TV hit Glee.
Fans believe the song Mine is about Monteith. Monteith died from an accidental drug overdose at an upscale hotel in Vancouver in July 2013. On learning of her friend’s death, Swift tweeted: “Speechless. And for the worst reason.”
Jake Gyllenhaal (2010-2011)
Her time with actor Jake Gyllenhaal is one of Swift’s most famous and most public relationships with the couple regularly seen together in New York City and Los Angeles.
There was a 10-year age gap between them and Gyllenhaal eventually called it quits. The relationship may have ended but Swift took plenty of inspiration and lyrical fodder from the experience. The Last Time, which features the line “Put my name at the top of your list”, said to be about Gyllenhaal. Her masterpiece All Too Well is about Gyllenhaal …. He really should have just returned that scarf!
Chord Overstreet (2011)
Swift and the Glee actor Chord Overstreet hung out together in 2011 leading to speculation that they had dated. They were snapped together at the hockey, but that appears to have been their only recorded date. Overstreet does not seem to have had a song written about him.
Eddie Redmayne (2011-2012)
Did they or didn’t they? Swift and the Oscar-winner actor Eddie Redmayne reportedly struck up a romance when Swift auditioned unsuccessfully for the part of Eponine in Les Miserables. Redmayne was cast as Mauris. The pair are friends and while fans believe there was something between them, Redmayne said in 2016 “ I absolutely can put the rumours to rest, I never went out on a date with Taylor Swift, although I met Taylor Swift.”
Conor Kennedy (2012)
Swift dated Robert F. Kennedy’s grandson Conor Kennedy during 2012. Taylor even purchased a home near the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, during the romance. Begin Again is a song fans believe speaks about Kennedy, mainly via the lyric: “I think it’s strange that you think I’m funny ’cause he never did”.
Harry Styles (2012-2013)
Proof that one month can last a lifetime in song. Yes, Swift and Harry Styles were an item for just a month towards the end of 2012, but that brief coming together of mega talent and fame inspired a couple of great songs by Swift. That month saw them share paper aeroplane necklaces, be snapped walking in New York’s Central Park, and kiss in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.
Post break up the Swift songs flowed. I Knew You Were Trouble is about Styles. Out of the Woods from her 1989 album references their December romance and then there is her huge hit Style … which really doesn’t need explaining.
Calvin Harris (2015-2016)
A serious relationship that was well covered in the media. Swift and Calvin Harris, a hugely successful DJ, singer, songwriter and producer, appeared on red carpets and shared moments of their life together on social media.
It was reported that when the split came, it was Harris who pulled the pin – although neither party has ever spoken about their going separate ways. Among the Swift fandom there is a debate as to whether the hit, We Are Never Ever Ever Getting Back Together, was written about Harris or Gyllenhaal.
Tom Hiddleston (2016)
When it became public that Swift was dating Thor actor Tom Hiddleston, fans were shocked at the unlikely coupling and then immediately branded the pair as “Hiddleswift”. The pair reportedly hit it off at the Met Gala in May 2016 not long after Swift had split with Calvin Harris. Hiddleston became the internet’s favourite boyfriend when he was snapped wearing an ‘I Heart T.S.’ T-shirt at Swift’s Fourth of July party that year.
Speculation by the media that the relationship was a PR stunt led Hiddleston to say: “The truth is Taylor and I are together. We’re very happy. Thanks for asking. That’s the truth. Not a publicity stunt.”
In September 2016, it was announced the couple had split.
Fans feel that Swift’s Hiddleston era is recounted in the song Getaway Car from her 2017 album Reputation. The lyrics reflect on a relationship Swift should not have jumped into so quickly and the lines “Think about the place you first met me/ The ties were black, the lies were white” are seen as a reference to the Met Gala.
Joe Alwyn (2017-2023)
Swift’s relationship with actor Joe Alwyn spanned 2017 to 2023 and is her longest to date until it was confirmed in April 2023 that they had split. The song ‘ … Ready for It?’ is believed to be about Alwyn. Her song Gorgeous is an ode to Alwyn with a line reading “You make me so happy, it turns back to sad.” The song Dress on the Reputation album seems to reference the first time she and Alwyn met.
Alwyn was very much a part of Swift’s life and work. The couple collaborated on Swift’s lockdown albums, Folklore and Evermore, with Alwyn getting co-writer and/or co-producer credits on several tracks and he appeared in Swift’s Miss Americana documentary.
Fans believe the song You’re Losing Me from her Midnights era is about the breakdown of her relationship with Alwyn. The lyrics include lines such as “My heart won’t start anymore for you /Cause you’re losing me”, and “Do I throw out everything we built or keep it?”, and “I’m the best thing at this party / And I wouldn’t marry me either / A pathological people pleaser / Who only wanted you to see her.”
Matty Healy (2023)
In May 2023, Swift was reported to be hanging out with Matty Healy, the singer/songwriter with the indie pop British band The 1975 and he was seen that month at her show in Nashville. The pair first met in 2014. They were spotted leaving a New York recording studio together that month. By June reports drifted out that the casual relationship was over.
July 2023: Travis Kelce
Travis Kelce arrives on the scene with his friendship bracelet for Swift. Although only seven months old, this era has had a lot of chapters so far, including Grammy wins to the Superbowl. Will one more chapter in their romance be written this weekend in Melbourne?
Originally published as How Swift’s list of lovers inspired some of her biggest hits
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