Fans react to Taylor Swift’s split with Joe Alwyn with speculation over setlist changes

Diehard Taylor Swift fans believe the superstar revealed her split with British actor Joe Alwyn in a series of messages hidden in her setlists.

Taylor Swift’s squad of detective fans speculate a shift from a song about a soulmate found to one about a soulmate lost in her Eras setlist confirms her split from her British actor Joe Alwyn.

After news broke the pair had called time out on their intensely private relationship, the Swifites have been trawling for clues the six-year romance was over.

And they reckon they have found confirmation in the ERas tour setlist for her stadium concert in Texas on March 31, a week before the split news broke.

Swift subbed out Invisible String, about two soulmates bound together, for The 1, which reminisces fondly about a past romance. It was the first time she performed the song on the tour which kicked off last month in America.

Both songs are from her 2020 reinvention record Folklore, which also featured Alwyn as a co-writer under the credit William Bowery.

If it is true that joe and Taylor broke up than it makes sense why she changed invisible string to the 1 #taylorswift#JoeAlwyn

— brynn (taylor’s version) (@enchvntedswift) April 9, 2023

Many Swift fans are refusing to accept the news until they hear it from Swift herself, while others are speculating that she has confirmed it through her music.

“She told us with hits dif. She told us with dear reader. She told us with the one over invisible string. She has always told us first xx,” wrote one fan on TikTok.

“I still refuse to believe unless they (Taylor or Joe) confirm it,” said another.

“I still think it’s fake news tho,” said another.

Some fans had their own dating advice to offer.

“Taylor needs to date a non celebrity, she’ll be (sic) love for years to come. We got you girl!!!,” said one fan on TikTok.

“Taylor. You’ll be fine,” said another.

Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn at the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2020. Picture: Christopher Polk/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank

The fallout comes after Entertainment Tonight reported Swift and Alwyn broke up “a few weeks ago” and that the split was amicable and “not dramatic”.

“The relationship had just run its course. It’s why (Alwyn) hasn’t been spotted at any shows,” ET quoted a source as saying.

Swift started her massive Eras stadium tour last month in the US, which will continue until August. Her Australian concert dates have not yet been announced, but are widely tipped to happen in the first half of next year.

Swift and Alwyn have been notoriously private about their relationship, which began at the end of 2016.

Taylor Swift in a rare PDA with boyfriend, Joe Alwyn.

In 2022 it was reported the couple were secretly engaged, although no official announcement was ever made.

Sources close to them said Alwyn had bought the singer a ring which she wore “behind closed doors”.

“Taylor and Joe are incredibly happy, and very, very in love,” an unidentified friend said at the time.

“They’ve actually been engaged for a few months but have only told their ‘inner-inner circle’ – basically immediate family and trusted, very old friends. Everyone has been sworn to secrecy, too.”

Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn are seen at Zuma restaurant in New York in 2019. Picture: Robert Kamau/GC Images

The private relationship was a big change of pace for Swift, whose previous partners have included Tom Hiddleston, Harry Styles and Calvin Harris.

She confirmed Alwyn had co-written two songs on her Folklore album under the pseudonym William Bowery and also helped pen three tracks on its follow-up, Evermore.

Originally published as Fans react to Taylor Swift’s split with Joe Alwyn with speculation over setlist changes