A Timeline Of Taylor Swift's Exes And The Lyrics She Wrote About Them

The world got its first glimpse at a Taylor Swift romance in 2008 when she started dating fellow teen star Joe Jonas. They seemed to be a match made in music heaven… until they broke up three months later. The relationship may have been brief, but Swift still managed to write a slew of heartbreaking songs about it. It's rumored that "My. Perfectly Fine" and "Better Than Revenge" were written about the Jonas brother.

"I'm not even going to remember the boy who broke up with me over the phone in 25 seconds when I was 18," Swift told Ellen DeGeneres the same year. Fans think Jonas shared his side of the story in the 2009 song "Much Better": "I'm done with superstars and all the tears on her guitar." Then, more than ten years after the fact, Taylor gave an update on her and Jonas' relationship.

Swift's career hit a new peak in 2009 when she ventured into another side of show business: Hollywood! She had a small but charming role in the all-star film Valentine’s Day. The singer was unsurprisingly convincing as a lovesick teen opposite heartthrob Taylor Lautner. And fans couldn’t believe it when the love interests shared a real-life romance off screen. They dated for a few months, and their relationship was the inspiration behind a famous Taylor tune.

"I miss your tan skin, your sweet smile," Swift sings, along with "I watched you laughin' from the passenger's side, and realized I loved you in the fall." In the song, she apologizes for breaking his heart, and it seems that Taylor Lautner ultimately forgave her. Years later, he not only appeared in the music video for her song "I Can See You (Taylor's Version)," but he was even a special guest at some of her Eras Tour concerts.

Swift allegedly started dating fellow musician John Meyer in 2009 after collaborating on his track "Half of My Heart." The pair also performed together a few times, sparking furious rumors of romance. While neither singer has publicly confirmed their romantic relationship, both have songs that are widely believed to be about their break-up.

Mayer, who is also known for his string of ex-lovers, told Rolling Stone that Swift’s song "humiliated" him. "I never got an email, I never got a phone call, I was really caught off-guard," he said. It's rumored that Mayer's song "Paper Doll" is about Taylor Swift, and the lyrics aren't very nice: "You're like 22 girls in one, and none of them know what they're running from. Was it just too far to fall for a little paper doll?"

In Swift’s song "Would've, Could've, Should've," a bonus track from Midnights, she seemingly refers to Mayer when she talks about what she'd change about her past if she could. "I damn sure never would've danced with the Devil at 19," she sings. Despite all this bad blood, Swift gave a clear message to her fans during the Eras Tour. "I'm 33 years old; I don't care about anything that happened to me when I was 19 except the songs I wrote."

With her 2012 album Red, Swift started to experiment with a more contemporary, pop-heavy sound. Venturing out of the country music sphere was a risky move, but it was one that ended up paying off: the songs “All Too Well,” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” all made a huge splash, with the last staying at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks.

Much of Red is believed to be about Swift's relationship with Gyllenhaal. Rumors of a relationship between the two first popped up in 2010, when paparazzi snapped them getting cozy while out and about in New York. Swift’s 2012 single “All Too Well” paints a devastating picture of a relationship and ultimate break-up. Fans have long speculated that the song is about Gyllenhaal.

"I left my scarf there at your sister's house, and you've still got it in your drawer even now," Swift sings. Some fans think this is a reference to Gyllenhaal's sister Maggie, whom the pair were spotted visiting on Thanksgiving. Swift brings back the scarf at the end of the song when she sings, "But you keep my old scarf from that very first week, 'cause it reminds you of innocence and it smells like me."

Gyllenhaal continued, "It's about her relationship with her fans. It is her expression. Artists tap into personal experiences for inspiration, and I don't begrudge anyone that." He did say, though, that the fandom surrounding superstars can get a little out of control, which is no doubt a reference to how he was basically persona non grata to Swifties for years. They made their dislike for him known online.

As intense as the relationship between Gyllenhaal and Swift seemed to be, it wasn't the only one to inspire songs on Red. In fact, it's believed that Swift's brief romance with Harry Styles in 2012 also left the singer with a broken heart. The song “I Knew You Were Trouble” could be about Gyllenhaal, but some Swifties think it's actually about the former One Direction singer.

That's not the only track believed to be about the British pop star, either. From "Style" on 1989 ("You got that long hair, slicked back, white T-shirt") to "Gold Rush" on 2020's Evermore ("Everybody wants you, everybody wonders what it would be like to love you"), Swift may have poured her feelings about Styles into quite a few songs. And in 2015 it's possible that Harry returned the sentiment.

One Direction took things a step further with the "Perfect" lyrics, "And if you like cameras flashin' every time we go out... if you're looking for someone to write your breakup songs about." If these words are anything to go by, the brief relationship left both celebs feeling heartbroken. When a photo of the ex-couple on a date made the rounds, Harry said, "You're on a date with someone you really like. It should be that simple, right? It was a learning experience, for sure."

As impressive as Swift's 2006-2013 run was, 2014 ended up being Swift's strongest year yet. Her reflective album 1989 was not only critically acclaimed, but it further cemented her as a genre-defying singer/songwriter. This album included the major hit “Style,” which is rumored to be about Styles. At this time, Swift started to reflect more on her fame and reputation, according to two of her biggest hits.

With all of her professional achievements, it seemed like Swift was on a single-streak in her love life. This all changed when she was spotted out and about with a new beau in 2015. There was a three-year break in between 1989 and her 2017 album Reputation, which gave the singer plenty of time to heat things up with Calvin Harris — and maybe write a slew of new tunes about him.

In the same song, she talks about being 25 years old — the age she was when she dated Harris. She also references a picture of her lover's face "in an invisible locket," which could be a reference to a real locket Harris is known to have given her as a gift. But as Swift explains in "Dancing With Our Hands Tied," love can turn sour.

As it turns out, Swift co-wrote the Rihanna and Harris song "This Is What You Came For," which was a major hit. And when the truth came out, people wondered why Swift hadn't been given proper credit for writing the song. "I wrote the music, produced the song, arranged it and cut the vocals... initially [Swift] wanted it kept secret, hence the pseudonym," Harris revealed on Twitter.

Given the timing of Swift's album Reputation, which came after some public break-ups and the Kanye West drama — that's a whole other story — it could make sense that some of the tracks are about Harris. In the video for the song "Look What You Made Me Do," you can see a headstone in a cemetery with the name "Nils Sjoberg" across it.

Perhaps the only thing more famous than Swift's romantic relationships is her “friend squad.” Over the years, the singer/songwriter has amassed an impressive group of famous pals, from Selena Gomez and Blake Lively to Gigi Hadid and Ed Sheeran. Many of these familiar faces can be found in Swift's music videos, like “Bad Blood” and “You Need To Calm Down.” And many of them even make their way onto songs.

Rumor has it that Swift's friendship with Katy Perry broke down when Perry poached — whether intentionally or unintentionally, it's unclear — dancers from Swift's Red Tour. It's also true that Swift briefly dated one of Katy Perry's famous exes, John Mayer. Their alleged feud grew to the point that the song "Bad Blood" is believed to have been written about it. Apparently, though, Perry's apology wasn't "just for show," as Swift claims in "Bad Blood."

It's possible that Harris' hard feelings were influenced by what happened shortly after his break-up with Swift. Within weeks of their split, Swift was seen canoodling with Marvel actor Tom Hiddleston on a beach. There's nothing wrong with a rebound relationship, and Swift and Hiddleston's time together was pretty short-lived. But some fans speculate that the fling overlapped with Swift and Harris' breakup.

"Should've known I'd be the first to leave, think about the place where you first met me, in a getaway car," Swift explains to her lover in the song. But if we’re looking for hidden meanings, the most blatant lyric could be, "While he was runnin' after us, I was screaming 'go, go, go!' But with the three of us, honey, it's a sideshow." Some fans think this lyric is Swift admitting to the suspicious timing between her relationships with Harris and Hiddleston.

Years later, it's been speculated that Swift's Midnights song "High Infidelity" also describes the deterioration of her relationships with Harris and Hiddleston. "Do you really want to know where I was April 29th?" she asks in the song, and the lyric made fans wonder: What had she been doing on April 29? Well, on that date in 2016 the song "This Is What You Came For" was released. Could the lyric be hinting that Swift wasn't with Harris on that important day?

Some songs on Reputation are rumored to be about British actor Joe Alwyn: "...Ready For It?" could very well be the most obvious one. On Gorgeous, she sings, "Whiskey on ice, Sunset and Vine, you've ruined my life by not being mine." According to some sources, including BuzzFeed and Spotify, Alwyn and Swift frequented a restaurant early in their friendship-turned-relationship... a restaurant located between Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street.

As dramatic as Swift's Reputation era was, it couldn't last forever. Remember how she'd first crossed paths with Alwyn just a few days before embarking on a fling with Hiddleston? Well, while she was captivating fans with her edgy, angsty performances from Reputation, she was secretly in her most long-lasting relationship to date. Unlike her former relationships, many of which were headline fodder, her new romance was defined by privacy.

A huge tonal shift from Reputation, Lover feels a lot happier — especially when it comes to the subject of love. She remained mum about her relationship with Alwyn, but the album’s core theme — love, obviously — hit fans right in the feels anyway. For many, it felt like the old Taylor and the new Taylor had merged into a more confident person who embraced her lovesick songwriting roots with a more mature perspective.

The song "Cruel Summer" is mainly about Swift's summer 2016 experiences, which she once referred to as "the apocalypse." During that time, her reputation took a hit when she was involved in a feud with West, and she was also dealing with the fallout from the Harris-Hiddleston drama. While all of this was unfolding in Swift's life, she was also juggling a fling-turned-relationship with Alwyn.

While boyfriends come and go, family is forever, something Swift was careful to convey in the sweet song “The Best Day” from Fearless. The song is a nostalgic tribute to her family and especially to her mother, Andrea. Swift's mom is often her plus-one at important events, such as the American Music Awards. And over the years, Swift's love for her mother has made its way onto several songs, especially after Andrea's cancer diagnosis in 2015.

As Swift and Alwyn's romance turned from a fling into a serious relationship, their deepening feelings were reflected on the album in the songs "I Think He Knows," "The Archer," and "Daylight." "I've been sleeping so long in a 20-year dark night, and now I see daylight," she sings. Still, two songs on the album may reference their relationship more than any other: "Cornelia Street" and "London Boy."

In "London Boy," Swift seemingly describes the hold that the British Alwyn had over her. "I saw the dimples first and then I heard the accent," she says. "Took me back to Highgate, met all of his best mates," she says later on in the song; Alwyn is known to have grown up in the neighborhood surrounding Highgate. It feels like Lover found Swift in a much happier place than some of her past albums in terms of her love life.

Swift's 2020 album Folklore was far more stripped-down and introspective than some of her previous work. Dreamy, mysterious, and sophisticated, Folklore quickly became Swift's most critically acclaimed album to date. And Taylor still wasn’t done: just five months later, Swift released another surprise album, Evermore, which she referred to as its “sister album." And whether fans realized it or not, Alwyn had taken on a bigger role than Swift's previous flames when it came to crafting the albums.

On Folklore, Alwyn contributed to the songs "Betty" and "Exile," and on Evermore, he helped write the songs "Champagne Problems," "Coney Island," and "Evermore." And, of course, he was the alleged subject of more than a few songs on both albums. In the song "Invisible String," which is about fate pulling lovers together, Swift very clearly references Alwyn in the lyrics, "Teal was the color of your shirt when you were 16 at the yogurt shop/You used to work there to make a little money."

Swift's references to her boyfriends in "Invisible String" don't end with Alwyn, either. The lyric "Cold was the steel of my axe to grind for the boys who broke my heart. Now I send their babies presents" is most likely about her first famous ex, Jonas, who had a child with actress Turner in 2020. The song "Peace" and the bonus track "The Lakes" are also thought to be about her growing love for Alwyn.

Once again, Alwyn was more than Swift's muse on Midnights. He was given writing credit on the romantic song "Sweet Nothings," which details the couple's uncomplicated time together. "Outside, they're push and shovin'. You're in the kitchen hummin'. All that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothin'." As opposed to Swift's more high-profile relationships, her time with Alwyn was as pure and private as possible. The maturity of her relationship with Alwyn is mirrored in the Midnights song "Maroon."

Still, all relationship are subject to ups and downs, and Swift details a nearly-disastrous fight between herself and Alwyn in the Midnights bonus track "The Great War." It's impossible to know for sure whether this fight really happened, but what Swift describes is an argument caused in part by her own stubbornness and insecurity. "I drew curtains closed, drank my poison all alone," she sings. "You said I have to trust more freely, but diesel is desire, you were playing with fire."

The couple kept just as close-lipped about their split as they'd been about the rest of their relationship, but a source close to the pair said that they had broken up because of "differences in their personalities." The source claimed that Swift and Alwyn had decided that they simply "weren't the right fit for one another." But unlike some of Swift's former break-ups, this one wasn't messy, according to another source.

Rumors have swirled about a romance between Swift and the lead singer of The 1975, Matty Healy, for years now, and it certainly got fans talking when Swift sang her Midnights tune "Anti-Hero" live for the first time at a The 1975 concert. Despite the rumors, when in May 2023 she was spotted out and about with Healy, people were shocked. After all, the country singer-turned-pop-star couldn't be more different from the hard-partying pop-rock singer.

Yep, Swift went from casually seeing a controversial British rocker to dating Travis Kelce, an American football star. A self-proclaimed Swiftie, Kelce's admiration for the singer is no secret. On a podcast, Kelce admitted to having made a friendship bracelet for Swift but hadn't been able to give it to her when he attended an Eras Tour concert. And according to a source close to the duo, when Kelce invited Swift to a football game, it was a gamble whether or not she'd show up!