Taylor Swift is one of the most successful female recording artists ever: Billboard places her chart success in the top ten of all time, and she also held the distinction of being the youngest performer ever to win Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards, for biography. Almost as long as Swift has been in the spotlight for her music, she has also been in the spotlight for her high-profile relationships. Things can get pretty weird when dating Taylor Swift, and publicity isn't half of it.
Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn
After a career in the tabloids, almost out of nowhere came the news that Taylor Swift is dating actor Joe Olwyn. The British actor was relatively unknown until this point, but even more surprising was the lack of news coverage surrounding the pair. With the two celebrities doing their best to hide their private lives from the public, you can bet there have been some odd details about the couple. Here are the many oddities about Taylor Swift and Joe Olwyn's relationship.
Sure, Joe Olwyn could have gone on a date with someone with a reputation, but it's not normal that with Taylor Swift being one of the most public bachelorettes. A lot of internet ink has been spilled about Taylor Swift's alleged and confirmed boyfriends before she met Joe Olwyn. Was she dating actor Eddie Redmayne? As Redmayne said on a live chat with Andy Cohen, definitely not. What about musical performer Calvin Harris? Absolutely, cosmopolitan UK details.
Joe Alwyn and Taylor Swift relationship
Going further, these fans are rumoured to have been the inspiration for many of Swift's most popular songs. According to People, the song 'Forever and Always' from her Fearless album is dedicated to Joe Jonas. How about 'We'll Never Get Back Together', her first Billboard #1 single? It's probably about Jake Gyllenhaal, according to Rolling Stone. Ouch!
A number of songs on her seventh album, Lover, could easily speak of her relationship with English actor Joe Olwyn. Songs such as 'London Boy' or 'Paper Rings' ("I like shiny things, but I'd marry you with paper rings") even have some fans spreading engagement rumours. Time will tell!
Taylor Swift Joe Olwyn is secretive about their relationship
Joe Olwyn got his big break as an actor in 2016, playing the main character in Billy Lynn's The Long Walk at halftime of a football match. It was 10 years after Taylor Swift's debut album of the same name, so there wasn't much natural fanfare in between. In an interview for Mr. Porter, Olvin explains that he's a private man and still doesn't consider himself famous, even after his relationship with Swift. However, he is an expert who does not specifically answer any questions about the details of the relationship. According to him, people in public don't just "spill their guts to you, so why should I?"
According to an interview with Vogue UK, tabloids refer to Joe Olwyn as "Taylor Bae", but he has remained silent on any hints about his girlfriend so far. He understands why the public is interested in the details, but doesn't let it affect him. In his words, " I think we've been successfully very private and it's come to people's attention now." Consider us still unsatisfied – we want more savoury details!
Taylor Swift also pressed her lips tightly together
Taylor Swift is aware that publicity comes with her relationship, but she also doesn't like seeing her alleged romance in the headlines. As Swift told Rolling Stone, she doesn't like it when an article says, "watch out bro, she'll write a song about you" because she feels it devalues her work. She goes on to explain how the high visibility of her life creates so much pressure in new relationships that it "goes out" before it can even begin.
She seems to have taken her own advice to heart after having had so many relationships under constant public scrutiny, as Taylor Swift has played her match with Joe Olwyn completely understated. Like her boyfriend Alvin, Swift seems to be an expert at deflecting any direct questions about their relationship. As she definitively told The Guardian, "Our relationship is non-negotiable." She goes on to explain how keeping her romantic life out of public discussion has led to a more manageable life.
If you've noticed that there's usually no discussion of her relationship on TV appearances, that's on purpose. As Elle hints, even on shows like Ellen DeGeneres, the subject of Swift's relationship with Olwyn is never even mentioned. In fact, one of the few times Taylor Swift has addressed the affair was when she apologised for a previous appearance in which she criticised Joe Jonas for the way he broke up with her.
Where did Taylor Swift and Joe Olwyn meet?
As Taylor Swift and Joe Olwyn are very private when it comes to discussing their relationship, there are no definitive details available to the public. Fans are then left to use whatever is available to try and crack the mystery couple's case. One seemingly simple question that people have been trying to figure out is where they first met.
Two main theories exist around where Swift and Olwyn first rendezvoused. Firstly, the couple ran into each other at the Met Gala-an exclusive annual fashion fundraiser. Fans of the theory read into the lyrics of her song 'Dress' and point out that both Swift and Alvin were present at the 2016 Met Gala, Cosmopolitan UK reports. In the song, the lyrics "Memories of when you met me / your haircut / and my hair bleached" seem to refer to the platinum blonde hair she first flaunted when they held the gala together.
The second theory is that the two actually met at a secret Kings Of Leon concert. Eagle fans reportedly impressively used video footage to place Swift and Olwyn in the same NYC bar – fans today – at the same time. Neither of them have ever commented on these theories, so you'll have to pick your favourite.
When did Taylor Swift and Joe Olwyn start dating?
Taylor Swift's unabashed fans seem more intrusive than parents asking a child for a new friend. The relentless search by fans to pinpoint all the details of the relationship surrounding Taylor Swift and Joe Olwyn leads to some pretty amazing (bordering on creepy) detective work. Fans are using an amazing mix of paparazzi photos, news reports, song lyrics and other surveillance techniques to try and figure out when the pair started dating.
As PopSugar specifies, Swift has released a cover of the song 'September' by Earth, Wind, & Fire with the slightest of lyrical changes. The original song goes, "do you remember the 21st night of September?" while Swift's version changes the date to September 28. Us Weekly reported that Swift and Tom Hiddleston broke up in early September 2016, so the theory is that Swift may be referencing a significant date with Olwyn.
As part of her Lover album, Swift has released personal diary entries outlined by People. Swift writes in the January 2017 entry that she and Alvin had been together for three months at the time. Doing the maths, this seems to agree with the "September 28" line, which is probably the exact date their relationship began.
Taylor Swift cloaked in public early on
What would you do to hide a romantic relationship? What if you were one of the world's biggest pop stars? In 2017, The Sun first reported that Taylor Swift and Joe Olwyn had already been dating for months at the time of publication of this article. Taylor Swift's boyfriends and relationship had usually been heavily documented before, so this news was somewhat surprising. Even better were the steps to keep the relationship a secret.
A source told the magazine that Swift had rented a house in London to spend more time with Olwyn. When she went out on the town with her new man, Taylor Swift allegedly wore wigs, scarves and hats to disguise herself. Whether this worked on the street isn't clear – Taylor's appearance has changed a lot over time, but it at least kept the paparazzi from finding out for a while.
Going a step further, Taylor Swift flew to London on private jets and used extreme security measures. According to a source, Swift's security made it "a military mission to avoid being seen." If the theories are true that the couple started dating in September 2016, it means that all those precautions worked out for Taylor Swift and Joe Olwyn about eight months of secrecy.
Taylor Swift teasingly uses social media about her affair
Taylor Swift's fans have been known to decipher her lyrics and come up with theories about her relationships. The singer knows this too. As she explained to Rolling Stone, when her song comes out, people are "obsessed with who she's talking about. "This is also true of her relationship with Joe Olwyn, and because she rarely talks about her significant other, fans leave their own hypotheses.
Which is surprising and only adds to the general mystique when Swift likes these theories on social media. As Elle reports, a Tumblr user posted an incredibly detailed explanation of why a fan thought Swift's song "…was ready for this?" was all about her relationship with Joe Olwyn after she broke most of the lyrics. Several other posts with theories about the lyrics or general thoughts about Swift also received likes from the singer's Tumblr account. It doesn't prove anything, of course, but it does fan the flames and flames of fans, and fans love it.
Did cactus prove that Taylor and her boyfriend were on holiday together?
Never before has a picture of a plant caused such a stir on the internet. In 2018, Taylor Swift posted a photo to Instagram showing her standing next to a giant cactus in the desert – a shot taken by an unknown photographer. A day later, Joe Olwyn posted a photo on his Instagram standing Solo next to something else, a cactus. A coincidence? Sure, there's more than one cactus in the world, but it was the same cactus Taylor Swift was standing next to, even taken from roughly the same position.
Naturally, fans went crazy and thought the posts were proof of a vacation together and a happy relationship. When GQ UK asked Olwyn during an interview if there were double Instagram photos to post, the actor claimed that he didn't even realise the significance. He said that on his return to New York from the desert, someone pointed out the scenario to which Olwyn clarified, "no, no! It wasn't purposeful at all!" Olwyn had probably figured out that nothing goes unnoticed in the fast universe.
Taylor Swift and Joe Olwyn attended the same event, but separately
With several major events on most celebrities' social calendars, it was only a matter of time before Taylor Swift and Joe Olwyn were invited to the same party. At the 2019 Golden Globe Awards, Olwyn appeared on Solo's red carpet in support of his film Favourite. Taylor Swift also appeared on the red carpet … but not in person. The singer surprised Elizabeth Moss with a video message in which she told Moss how much she loves her show The Handmaid's Tale.
During the ceremony Taylor Swift then made a surprise physical appearance as a category presenter alongside her cat-star Idris Elba, as told by E! News. Joe Olwyn was in the audience, but it's unclear if he knew Taylor Swift was about to take the stage. The pair were spotted together at the Golden Globes after-party, reports E! News. Maybe the two will eventually give the world some cute couple photos, but until they're ready to do so, it's safe to say we're not getting them.
Emma Stone has a history with Taylor Swift's boyfriend, Joe Olwyn
Taylor Swift and Emma Stone first met in 2008 and quickly became friends, Cosmopolitan UK writes. The actress has attended at least one Taylor Swift concert. Swift, meanwhile, showed her support by attending the Los Angeles premiere starring Emma Stone and Jo Alwyn. People reported that an audience member saw Swift and Stone "chatting up a storm" during the car-party, and that Swift was by Olwyn's side all evening.
If Taylor Swift was chatting up her friend and her boyfriend after the movie, she may have mentioned the sex scene she just witnessed between Olwyn and Stone. EM, awkward. The two actors played a delightful game of cat and mouse during the British royal film Favourite, which led to the scene in question on the characters' wedding night. Emma told ET Live about the steamy on-screen encounter, saying it was too "colourful" to say on TV. You'll have to watch the film, or you can guess based on the assumption that Emma Stone will be given a hand for her spectacular sex scene.
How much of Taylor Swift's art has to do with boyfriend Joe Olwyn?