Taylor Swift has learned a lot about living in the public eye over the course of her career, and perhaps most importantly, how it make it a little more private—especially when it comes to her romantic relationships.
As someone who’s made a living writing some of the best love songs and breakup songs of her generation, Tay has had her fair share of media exposure and overzealous analysis of her boyfriends over the years. (Jake Gyllenhaal, John Mayer, Tom Hiddleston, etc.) And that’s exactly why Swifties have been fighting for their lives trying to find out every last detail about her relationship with Joe Alwyn, which was going strong until now.
Although these two had been linked together for roughly six years, no one really knew exactly when they officially got together. (They’ve literally never even gone IG-official!) And don’t get me started on the engagement rumors that have been swirling for years. But now, the pair has reportedly called it quits.
Before their split, the world got a lot of Jaylor (Toe?) content thanks to some songs Taylor has written not only about him, but also with him. Ahead, find a full timeline of Taylor and Joe's relationship, following the release of her tenth album, Midnights, and news about their breakup.
May 2016: The Met Gala brings them together...maybe.
It’s still unclear how the blonde power couple met—but according to her 2017 album, reputation, which all Swifties know was inspired by Joe, these two first met at the 2016 Met Gala on May 2. The evidence? Her song “Dress”: “Flashback to when you met me, your buzzed cut and my hair bleached.” The photos from the event match the lyrics…that’s all I’m saying.
But Swift was in a relationship at the time with Calvin Harris. And this was the same night that she met her next beau, Tom Hiddleston, who fans believe inspired her song “Gorgeous:” “I got a boyfriend, he's older than us / He's in the club doing, I don't know what.” The gorgeous man in question? Joe. But more on that later.
October 2016: They are spotted at the same concert.
Taylor attended a Kings of Leon concert just a month after breaking up with Hiddleston, per ELLE. Joe was also seen at the same concert that night, per E!. Coincidence? Maybe. Or maybe not.
November 2016: Taylor goes to Joe’s movie premiere.
Accompanied in a group, she went to the screening for Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Joe’s movie. But it’s unknown if they were dating at this point, because press coverage of the premiere didn’t even mention him, per ELLE, and he might have not even been in attendance himself.
May 2017: Sources say Taylor and Joe are dating.
A year after meeting, a source close to the couple told The Sun that Taylor and Joe have now been together for a few months. “Taylor and Joe are the real deal, this is a very serious relationship,” they said. “After her 1989 tour and all the attention Taylor received, she learned she had to be more protective of her personal life and she and Joe decided early on to keep their private life private.”
June 2017: They’re seen together IRL!
The couple was in Nashville where Joe was apparently meeting Swift’s parents, according to ELLE. The paparazzi snagged some photos of them.
November 2017: Her album, reputation, drops.
Fans were shocked at the vastly different, electronic sound this album had compared to her past music. And yet, that didn't stop them from immediately sleuthing through her lyrics to find connections to Joe. And trust me, there was a lot to unpack here. From the sexier “Dress” to the more romantic “New Year’s Day,” everyone got a lot of little tidbits about their relationship from this album.
December 2017: They get PDA-heavy at an Ed Sheeran performance.
Yup, at iHeartRadio’s Jingle Ball, nonetheless. They were kissing and holding each other, per ELLE.
September 2018: Joe talks about Taylor for the first time publicly.
But...also not really.
He told British Vogue that “we have been successfully very private and that has now sunk in for people…but I really prefer to talk about work.”
October 2018: Joe shows appreciation for Swift’s political activism.
Taylor stayed out of politics until October 2018, when she endorsed two Tennessee congressional candidates, per ELLE. In an interview soon after, Joe said he thinks it’s “great” and “important.”
November 2018: She tags Joe Alwyn in an IG post.
…for his movie. Still cute! She posted a video for his new movie, The Favourite, telling her followers to see it, and tagging him. If this is their version of going Instagram-official, I’m cool with that.
December 2018: Joe finally divulges a bit of info about their ‘ship.
When asked by Esquire if he went to friends for advice after beginning to date Taylor, he said he didn’t: “Because I know what I feel about it. I think there’s a very clear line as to what somebody should share, or feel like they have to share, and what they don’t want to and shouldn’t have to.” Claps for Joe!
January 2019: The couple goes to the Golden Globes separately.
Taylor presented Best Original Score and Best Original Song, while Joe attended because his movie, The Favourite, was nominated. The couple didn’t walk the red carpet together but still got very flirty, according to Us Weekly. An insider said that “she was smiling at him while she walked off the stage. She looked over her shoulder and gave a sassy cute little smile at his table’s direction.” Cute!
February 2019: Taylor skips the Grammy's to go to the BAFTAs with Joe.
Taylor didn’t go to the Grammys that year, but she go to the BAFTAs to support Joe, per PEOPLE. They were photographed holding hands on their way to the afterparty.
March 2019: Engagement rumors start.
And people are actually still speculating about it in 2022. But back then, the rumors were actually sparked by Tay’s friends, per Us Weekly. “Taylor’s friends are all talking about a proposal and how she really wants to marry Joe,” their source said. “He’s her dream guy.”
August 2019: Lover is released.
“It’s a really romantic album, but it really celebrates love in all its complexity,” Taylor said in a YouTube live before the drop, per ELLE. “Not just flowers and sunshine but the patchwork emotions that go into any love you feel.” And it’s evident that the album is all about Joe. Just take a peek at some of her songs: “Lover,” “London Boy,” “Cornelia Street,” and “Daylight,” are just four solid sources, here.
Meanwhile, in interviews, Taylor still kept things quiet on the Joe front. “I’ve learned that if I do [talk about it], people think it’s up for discussion, and our relationship isn’t up for discussion,” she told The Guardian that month. “That’s where the boundary is, and that’s where my life has become manageable.”
But clearly Joe has been treating her right because the pop star was “the happiest she’s ever been,” a source told PEOPLE.
November 2019: They celebrate Thanksgiving together.
Taylor went to London and spent the holiday with Joe. She stayed there with him for a bit in December as well, and even spent Christmas there, per E!. “She was there for the week leading up to Christmas and spent time with Joe's family and friends," an insider told the outlet. "Some of Taylor's family also flew in from Nashville to spend time with them."
January 5, 2020: Taylor and Joe attend the Golden Globes together.
Like, they literally sat together. Taylor presented (and was nominated for) Best Original Song–Motion Picture for the song she wrote with Andrew Lloyd Webber for Cats, called “Beautiful Ghosts,” per ELLE.
January 31, 2020: Miss Americana debuts on Netflix.
And what a work of art it was. In the documentary, she talks about Joe and a bit about their relationship, stating that she initially wasn’t in a good place before meeting him: “I figured I had to reset everything. I had to reconstruct an entire belief system for my own personal sanity. I also was falling in love with someone who had a wonderfully normal, balanced life.”
She also spoke about their reasoning to keep their relationship so private, just because they didn’t want anything to ruin what they have.
March 2020: Marriage might be in their future.
“They don’t have a set deadline in place, but they’re very much in love,” a source told Us Weekly. “Taylor considers Joe one of the only safe constants in her life.”
April 2020: They share cute quarantine photos.
During the isolation period for COVID-19, fans figured out that Joe and Tay were likely quarantining together—Joe posted photos of her cats and they shared photos with similar themes on the ‘gram.
Here's the evidence:
July 2020: Taylor announces folklore.
Swifties promptly spiraled on the Internet trying to figure out which songs were about Joe. “Invisible String” gave some insight into their relationship, as she talked about him working at a yogurt shop in London when he was a teenager. Some fans were even wondering if they broke up, since some of the songs like “the 1” were a bit darker.
Another conspiracy? Joe collaborated with her on the album under the name William Bowery. The couple was spotted outside the Bowery Hotel in October 2016, per ELLE, plus, Joe’s great-grandfather’s name is William, so...you do the math.
November 2020: Taylor reveals that William Bowery is, in fact, Joe.
Her songs “betty” and “exile” were co-written by Joe, she admitted in the Disney+ film, folklore: the long pond studio sessions. “Joe plays piano beautifully and he’s always just playing and making things up and kind of creating things. And 'exile’ was crazy because Joe had written that entire piano part,” she said.
December 2020: evermore.
This queen dropped the sister album to folklore in December, naming it evermore. Again, Joe was credited under William Bowery for the songs “champagne problems,” “coney island,” and “evermore.”
March 2021: Taylor and Joe win a Grammy for folklore.
Talk about power couple. Taylor won her third Album of the Year award for folklore, and Joe won his first Grammy. He didn’t appear onstage with her, according to PEOPLE, but Taylor shouted him out in her acceptance speech: "Joe is the first person that I play every single song that I write, and I had the best time writing songs with you in quarantine.”
So. That shows they were definitely were together during quarantine.
May 2021: She wins the BRIT Awards’ Global Icon Award and shouts out Joe (again) in her speech.
“The world changed, and I ended up putting out three albums instead, so making folklore and evermore was one of the most unique, cathartic, extraordinary experiences I’ve ever had," she said, per ELLE.
"I would love the opportunity to thank the amazing creative people that I made those albums with. Thank you, Aaron Dessner, thank you Jack Antonoff, Joe, Justin Vernon, the National, Marcus Mumford, Jon Low, Serban Ghenea, Laura Sisk, and HAIM. I want to thank my friends and family who know exactly who they are: Whose opinion of me never changed whether my stock was up or down."
February 2022: Engagement rumors resurface.
On February 17, Life & Style wrote that the pair got engaged, and their representatives didn’t respond to the story. A source did, however, talk with Entertainment Tonight…but not about the engagement.
“They've been enjoying their time as a couple,” they told the outlet. “They have spoken about their future together and feel very secure about their relationship.”
April 2022: Joe is asked about Taylor again in an interview.
During press for Conversations With Friends, ELLE UK asked Joe why he doesn’t talk about their relationship: “We live in a culture that is so increasingly intrusive," he said. "The more you give—and frankly, even if you don't give it—something will be taken.” And that's all he offered up on the subject.
October 2022: Taylor says that one of her songs on Midnights is inspired by her relationship.
Taylor posted an Instagram video explaining that one of her tracks, “Lavender Haze,” is influenced by Joe and Mad Men, of course.
“It’s a common phrase used in the ’50s where they would describe being in love...If you were in the lavender haze, then that meant that you were in that all-encompassing love glow, and I thought that was really beautiful,” she said, adding that for six years, she’s had to keep her relationship with Joe under wraps. “We’ve had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff, and we just ignore it. This song is sort of about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff.”
October 2022: Midnights drops, and fans have theories.
As expected, a new album means new fan theories, and Swifties were quick to analyze anything that gave hints at the couple's relationship.
On "Lavender Haze," Taylor sang about the stresses of having her relationship in the spotlight along with all those engagement rumors.
"I'm damned if I do give a damn what people say/ No Deal/ The 1950s sh*t they want from me/ I just wanna stay in that lavender haze," sings Swift. "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."
Then, on her track "Sweet Nothing," Joe returns as a featured writer under his pseudonym William Bowery. The gentle track hints at their vulnerable and honest dynamic.
"And the voices that implore/ You should be doing more/ To you, I can admit/ That I'm just too soft for it all," she sings.
Her last track, "Mastermind" (track 13—IYKYK), feels like a confession from Taylor to Joe about the night they met. She sets it up like a fairytale-like story where they meet by fate, sparking their romance. But Taylor changes the plot, revealing that she's a "mastermind" who strategically planned for their initial run-in.
“So I told you none of it was accidental / And the first night that you saw me, nothing was gonna stop me / I laid the groundwork and then, saw a wild smirk / On your face, you knew the entire time / You knew that I'm a mastermind / And now you're mine."
While fans have more than enough Joe and Taylor content to last them a while, there are still a few music videos on the way that may shed even more light on their relationship. In the meantime, her first video for "Anti-Hero" is now available on YouTube.
April 2023: Entertainment Tonight reports that Taylor and Joe have broken up.
The report said the split was amicable, and occurred a few weeks ago while Taylor was on tour.
"It was not dramatic," an insider told the outlet. "The relationship had just run its course. It's why [Alwyn] hasn't been spotted at any shows."
Joe and Taylor haven't commented on the news yet, but it was also confirmed by People. Plus, a video surfaced on TikTok of Taylor getting choked up while singing "Champagne Problems" on tour.
My heart is hurting for these two!
Addison Aloian (she/her) is an editorial assistant at Women’s Health. When she’s not writing about all things pop culture, health, beauty, and fashion, she loves hitting leg day at the gym, shopping at Trader Joe’s, and watching whichever hockey game is on TV. Her work has also appeared in Allure, StyleCaster, L’Officiel USA, V Magazine, and Modern Luxury Media.
Sabrina is an editorial assistant for Women’s Health. When she’s not writing, you can find her running, training in mixed martial arts, or reading.
