Swifties are in mourning this week after it was revealed Taylor Swift and her longtime boyfriend Joe Alwyn had split up.
The pair had been dating for six years, with Alwyn inspiring some of Swift’s most romantic songs to date (as well as allegedly co-writing a few).
However, it seems the two won’t be exchanging ‘paper rings’ any time soon after they split in recent weeks, the confirmation citing they were no longer “the right fit for each other”.
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Who is Joe Alwyn?
Born in 1991, Joe Alwyn is a British-born actor from Kent.
Alwyn studied theatre and acting at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama before landing his debut role in a feature film, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, in 2016.
It was this film that scored Alwyn an invite to the 2016 Met Gala, where he met his future long-term girlfriend, Taylor Swift (who was co-chair of the event that year, coincidentally).
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Why did Joe Alwyn and Taylor Swift break up?
Alwyn and Swift have reportedly broken up after six years of dating.
Entertainment Tonight first broke the news over the Easter weekend that the singer, 33, and actor, 32, amicably split “a few weeks ago”.
A source told the media outlet the former couple’s breakup “was not dramatic” at all, and the relationship “had just run its course.”
“It’s why [Alwyn] hasn’t been spotted at any shows,” the source said.
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How did Joe Alwyn and Taylor Swift meet?
The pair met at the 2016 Met Gala, and although Swift allegedly went home to “stalk” Alwyn on the internet that night, they did not get together after the event.
Swift met not just one but two future boyfriends at the 2016 Met Gala.
At the time, the singer was still in a long-term relationship with DJ Calvin Harris but met British actor Tom Hiddleston, who she later described as her ‘getaway car’ from her dying relationship with Harris.
Towards the end of 2016, after Hiddleston and Swift had announced their breakup, the singer was snapped at a Kings of Leon concert with some famous pals – and Alwyn.
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What TV shows and movies has Joe Alwyn been in?
Joe Alwyn is perhaps best known for appearing in the TV adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Conversations With Friends, in which he portrayed the character of Nick alongside Alison Oliver, who played bookworm Frances.
Alwyn has also appeared as Robert Dudley, lover and counsellor of Queen Elizabeth, in Mary Queen of Scots, and starred in The Favourite as Baron Masham – the love interest to Emma Stone’s Abigail.
He’s also appeared in Harriet, the Oscar-nominated biopic of American abolitionist Harriet Tubman.
Most recently, Alwyn has landed a role in the upcoming movie The Brutalist.
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What has Joe Alwyn said about Taylor Swift?
Swift has become notoriously private in recent years surrounding her personal relationships and her relationship with Alwyn was no exception.
However, Alwyn did give fans a brief glimpse into the pair’s romance with a few tidbits of information over the years.
“I’m aware people want to know about that side of things,” he said in the October 2018 issue of British Vogue.
“I think we have been successfully very private and that has now sunk in for people … but I really prefer to talk about work.”
The actor has also defended his tight silence over his relationship with Swift.
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“I don’t think anyone you meet on the streets would just spill their guts out to you, therefore why should I?” he told MR PORTER’s The Journal in January 2019.
“And then that is defined as being ‘strangely private.’ Fine. But I don’t think it is … I think it’s normal.”
Alwyn also addressed the reality of dating someone mega-famous in a candid interview last year.
“It’s not something I think about, unless I’m in situations like this, and someone says, ‘What’s it like?’ and I have to think about what to say about it,” he told The Guardian.
“It’s just not for other people and I don’t say that with aggression.”
What has Taylor Swift said about Joe Alwyn?
Swift is also notoriously private, but has given the odd remark about her long-term relationship with Alwyn in both interviews and in coded messages within her songs.
In the Disney+ exclusive of Swift’s Long Pond Studio sessions after releasing Folklore, Swift confirmed Alwyn had leant his songwriting skills to the songs Betty and Exile.
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“There’s been a lot of discussion about William Bowery and his identity because it’s not a real person,” she said, referring to Alwyn’s pseudonym.
“So, William Bowery is Joe, as we know. He plays piano beautifully, and he’s always just playing and making things up and kind of creating things … It was a step that we would have never taken, because why would we have ever written a song together?”
In her 2020 documentary, Miss Americana, Swift described falling for someone “who had a really wonderful, normal, balanced kind of life.”
“We decided together we wanted our relationship to be private. I was happy. But I wasn’t happy in the way I was trained to be happy. It was happiness without anyone else’s input. We were just happy.”
Did Joe Alwyn write any Taylor Swift songs?
Yes, Swift and Alwyn have written songs together.
Under the pseudonym ‘William Bowery’, Alwyn co-wrote Exile and Betty from Folklore, as well as Champagne Problems, Coney Island and Evermore from the album Evermore.
Alwyn was also credited as co-producer for six tracks from Folklore.
As for Swift’s latest record, Midnights, William Bowery was credited as co-writer for the track Sweet Nothing.
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What Taylor Swift songs are about Joe Alwyn?
Since beginning a relationship with Alwyn six years ago, Swift has written dozens of romantic tracks dedicated to the actor.
Here are all the songs that are either confirmed to be about the actor or heavily allude to the pair’s relationship:
…Ready For It? from Reputation
Delicate from Reputation
Gorgeous from Reputation
King of My Heart from Reputation
Call It What You Want from Reputation
New Year’s Day from Reputation
Lover from Lover
Cruel Summer from Lover
I Think He Knows from Lover
Paper Rings from Lover
Cornelia Street from Lover
London Boy from Lover
Daylight from Lover
Peace from Folklore
Invisible String from Folklore
Long Story Short from Evermore
Gold Rush from Evermore
Lavender Haze from Midnights
Snow on the Beach from Midnights
Sweet Nothing from Midnights
Mastermind from Midnights
All the Girls You Loved Before previously unreleased Lover track
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