ICYMI, Taylor Swift is engaged! She and her now fiance, Travis Kelce, broke the news this morning with a series of photos in front of a lush photo garden. After the news settled, however, the less-initated Swifties were wondering one thing: Has Taylor Swift been engaged before?
The question relates to her previous relationship with Joe Alwyn, whom Swift dated for just over six years, between 2016 and 2023. The relationship was serious, and Taylor’s longest to date. But were they ever engaged?
Taylor has kept quiet on exactly what happened in her Joe Alwyn break-up. But her lyrics speak volumes about the relationship. Here’s what we know.
Did Taylor Swift Get Engaged To Joe Alwyn?
Throughout the Joe and Taylor’s six-year relationship, tabloids fuelled speculation of an engagement, and even a secret wedding. Publicly the answer is unclear. Joe did go on the record to say that, even if they were engaged, he’d never reveal it. “If I had a pound for every time… I’ve been told I’ve been engaged, then I’d have a lot of pound coins,” he once told the Wall Street Journal. “If the answer was yes, I wouldn’t say, and if the answer was no, I wouldn’t say”.
However, in the grand tradition of looking to Taylor’s lyrics to decode her private life, there are some lyrical suggestions there was—at the very least—the expectation of a wedding.
On her Lover album, Taylor famously sung “I like shiny things, but I’d marry you with paper rings” in the song ‘Paper Rings’. Fast forward to The Tortured Poet’s Department, and Swift included some heartbreaking lyrics about them never making it down the aisle.
“You swore that you love me but where were the clues? / I died at the altar waiting for the proof“, from ‘So Long, London’ hit home for those wondering if Taylor and Joe were ever going to get married. It seem Swift was waiting for a proposal that may never have come. Meanwhile, in the music video for ‘Fortnight’, the lead single off TTPD, Taylor dons a wedding dress and a ring—symbolism Swifties read as a nod to a failed engagement or wedding that never happened.
Whether or not Taylor and Joe were ever engaged may never be known. However, Taylor has some thoughts on the speculation. Lest we forget she also used her lyrics to hit back at the public analysis of her marital status, writing in Midnights‘ ‘Lavender Haze’: “All they keep asking me is if I’m gonna be your bride / The only kinda girl they see is a one-night or a wife.”
Did Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn Secretly Get Married?
As for a secret wedding, Taylor Swift’s publicist, Tree Paine, went on the record to firmly deny these rumours.
An anonymous submission to gossip site, Deux Moi, first lit the spark of a secret wedding, in which a person claimed they had a private “non-legal” ceremony in 2020 or 2021. However, Paine was quick to jump online and quash the speculation.
“Enough is enough with these fabricated lies about Taylor from Deuxmoi,” Tree wrote on Twitter. “There was NEVER a marriage or ceremony of ANY kind.”
What Actually Happened To Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn?
After the two broke up, they didn’t speak publicly on their relationship. However, Joe later went on the record to say the split was “amicable” and “not dramatic”. He also confessed the end of their relationship was “a hard thing to navigate”.
Sources also said the two split amicably, with one insider telling PEOPLE: “They had plenty in common and fell in love in a safe bubble while [Taylor] was retreating from the world during Reputation. Then the pandemic hit, and they were locked down together and able to continue growing their relationship in this insulated way. But [Joe] didn’t really ‘know’ her yet outside of that bubble.”
However, looking at Taylor lyrics, it does sound like she initiated the split after her disappointment about how their relationship progressed. Rumours suggest she wanted to get married, and he didn’t.
Both insiders and Swift’s lyrics also suggest the two just weren’t a good match. Joe was an introvert who wanted to keep their relationship quiet. Meanwhile, Taylor allegedly craved someone who could handle her fame, and would publicly declare their love for her. (The latter is part of the reason Swiftie’s love her relationship with Travis Kelce.)
Swift has also hinted at possible mental health impacts on the relationship, through the lyrics to her song ‘The Black Dog’.
Which Songs Did Taylor Swift Write About Joe Alwyn?
Taylor Swift has never confirmed who exactly her songs about. But those crafty Swifties have a PhD in her relationship lore, and have put the pieces of the puzzle together. Songs like ‘Gorgeous’, ‘Lavender Haze’, and the entire Lover album are strongly thought to be about Joe. Meanwhile, tracks on Midnights (‘You’re Losing Me’) and TTPD (‘So Long, London’) tell the story of their split.
Considering timing and lyrics, Reddit presumes Swift wrote the following about Joe (and occasionally with him).
- Gorgeous
- High Infidelity
- Ready for it?
- Cruel Summer
- Delicate
- King of my heart
- Dancing with our hands tied
- So it goes
- Miss Americana and the heartbreak prince
- I think he knows
- Lover
- London Boy
- Daylight
- Call it what you want
- Don’t blame me
- New years Day
- Dress
- End Game
- Paper Rings
- Invisible String
- The lakes
- Snow on the beach?
- Paris
- All of the girls you loved before
- Glitch
- Gold rush
- Peace
- Cornelia Street
- Hits different
- False god
- tolerate it?
- Renegade
- The Great War
- ME!
- hoax
- Afterglow
- Evermore
- Labyrinth
- Lavender Haze
- Sweet Nothings
- Karma
- Bejeweled?
- You’re losing me
- Black dog?
- So Long London
- How did it end
- I look in people’s windows?
And if you thought this was a short list, there’s a good chance it’s longer, with many allegorical tracks on Folklore and Evermore hinting at Taylor and Joe’s relationship. Better get listening to decide for yourself!
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