A Comprehensive Deep Dive Into Taylor Swift's Dating History

Considering she's just, like, the biggest celebrity in the world, there's been much public fascination with Taylor Swift's dating history ever since she broke onto the country music scene in 2006. While the Grammy-award winner tends to keep a tight lip about her love life in interviews and on social media, she has dropped plenty of Easter eggs about past flames in her song lyrics, which Swifties have diligently decoded over the years.

That said, her current relationship with Travis Kelce is arguably her most public yet, and fans can't get enough. (It's us, hi—we're said fans.) Because we're suckers for a good love story, we're taking a deep dive into Taylor Swift's relationship timeline history. Relive the details from her public romances below, starting with the one Swifties are already calling "end game."

In this article:

Travis Kelce | Matty Healy | Joe Alwyn | Tom Hiddleston | Calvin Harris | Harry Styles | Conor Kennedy | Jake Gyllenhaal | John Mayer | Taylor Lautner | Lucas Till | Joe Jonas

2023-Present: Travis Kelce

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September 24, 2023, is a date that will go down in Swiftie history—because it was the first day Taylor Swift attended a Chiefs game to support Travis Kelce…and the internet just about exploded. This love story truly began in July 2023, when the NFL tight end attended Swift's Eras Tour in Kansas City. He really wanted to give the singer a friendship bracelet with his number on it, but alas, he didn't get a chance to go backstage.

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After lamenting about the missed connection on his podcast New Heights, which he hosts with his brother Jason Kelce, the internet went ablaze with the potential of a Taylor x Travis romance. Sure enough, the two started talking privately and hard-launched their fling when Swift showed up to the Chiefs game, completely unannounced.

From there, the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce relationship has been a whirlwind of rom-com-worthy moments. Not only was she by his side when he won the Super Bowl in 2024, he's been seen at countless Eras Tour shows—and he even showed up on stage as a backup dancer earlier this year. In a rare move, Swift candidly opened up about their high-profile love story in her TIME Person of the Year interview in late 2023. Then, she seemingly dropped two love songs about him on her latest album, The Tortued Poets Department. Because this Taylor Swift relationship is giving "End Game," fans are anxiously waiting to see what's next for this famous couple.

2023: Matty Healy

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Fresh off her breakup with Joe Alwyn in the summer of 2023, Taylor Swift was rumored to have had a fling with The 1975 frontman Matty Healy. The lore of this relationship actually goes back to 2014, when they first met. Rumors of a potential relationship hit the tabloids, especially after Swift was seen attending some of his shows. But two years later, he shut down those rumors rather impolitely in the press and things fizzled out.

In January 2023, the entertainer shocked fans when she showed up at a 1975 concert in London where she covered their song "The City" and sang "Anti-Hero" live for the first time. Not long after her breakup with Alwyn, she and Healy were photographed holding hands at an exclusive members-only club in NYC. He was also seen joining her for quite a few recording studio sessions, and even joined her opening act Phoebe Bridgers on stage for a handful of stops on the Eras Tour.

Alas, this relationship burned out as quickly as it began—and when Swift dropped The Tortured Poets Department in April 2024, fans deduced that many of the scathing breakup songs were actually about Healy, not Alwyn, as previously predicted. (Looking at you, "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.")

2017-2023: Joe Alwyn

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Taylor Swift's longest public relationship was with Joe Alwyn. Based on the lyrics from her song "Dress," it's believed the two crossed paths at the Met Gala in 2016. It would take another year for their romance to be reported on by tabloids. In 2017, The Sun revealed that Swift had been staying in London under disguises with her new beau. By the end of that year, the low-key couple was seen together at an Ed Sheeran concert.

Although this was one of her most private relationships, Swift dropped plenty of Easter eggs about the British actor throughout their time together. In March 2018, she wore a necklace with "J" on the pendant in a Spotify video (which coincided with the lyrics "I want to wear his initial on a chain 'round my neck / chain 'round my neck). Swift praised his 2018 film The Favourite on Instagram, and he appeared as a collaborator on the albums folklore and evermore under the pen name William Bowery. Brief clips of him were also featured in her 2020 Netflix documentary Miss Americana, where she spoke about his support behind the scenes.

Despite speculation that the couple was secretly engaged or even married, they ultimately parted ways in April 2023, right around the time her Eras Tour kicked off. A source told Entertainment Tonight that the breakup wasn't dramatic, but rather, "the relationship had just run its course." Once the news was public, many fans looked back on lyrics from her 2023 album Midnights and speculated that she may have written about their impending split before the news broke.

2016: Tom Hiddleston

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The Tom Hiddleston x Taylor Swift era was a brief—albeit thrilling—era for Swifties. This surprising pairing kicked off at the 2016 Met Gala (yes, the same one where Taylor met Joe). In a video clip posted from inside the exclusive party, Swift and Hiddleston could be seen wildly dancing together. What ensued next was a whirlwind of public moments that made for buzzy internet fodder.

After the couple was photographed kissing on the rocks surrounding her Rhode Island mansion, Hiddleston met her parents, the two hung out with her bestie Selena Gomez, and the Marvel star wore an iconic "I HEART TS" shirt at her famous Fourth of July party. By September, though, Hiddleswift had split, bringing their summer of fun to an abrupt end.

2015-2016: Calvin Harris

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Interestingly enough, there is photographic evidence that documents the very beginning of Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris' relationship. The singers were introduced by Ellie Goulding at the Elle Style Awards in February 2015. The next month, they were snapped shopping at a Whole Foods in Nashville (in matching outfits, no less). They made things official by kissing at the May 2015 Billboard Music Awards, and went on to share photos and videos from vacations and other trips together. Swift even posted photos of herself watching her boyfriend perform at Coachella.

The couple celebrated their first anniversary in 2016 with a Snapchat video showing off their "1 year" cake. Things took a turn not long after, though, and outlets reported that the couple broke up just two months later.

2012-2013: Harry Styles

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If you were around during the Taylor Swift and Harry Styles dating era, consider yourself lucky. This high-profile romance was a treat for Swifties and Directioners alike, and has resulted in some of her best songs (think: everything from "Style" to "Is It Over Now? (Taylor's Version) [From the Vault]"). Rumblings of this pairing took off when Swift and Styles were photographed singing karaoke in NYC. Then, she was seen wearing his signature paper airplane necklace out in public (which also appeared in the "Out of the Woods" music video).

The couple took a highly-publicized pap walk through Central Park in December 2012, where they played with the young daughter of One Direction's hair stylist Lou Teasdale. Things went south after Swift was seen sitting alone on a boat during one of their vacations, because they split up not long after. She seemingly took a jab at her ex-boyfriend by using a British accent during a performance at the 2013 Grammys (where, ahem, Styles was in the audience).

That said, the two have rekindled their friendship in the years following their relationship. Fans lost their minds when the two hugged and chatted at the 2021 Grammys, which happened again at the same event two years later.

2012: Conor Kennedy

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Remember when Taylor Swift was almost a Kennedy? It's true—and this is one element of Taylor Swift's dating history that only true fans remember. In 2012, the singer was linked to Conor Kennedy, who is the son of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Us Weekly broke the news when they spent time near the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, with a source saying, "Conor put his arm around Taylor and they kissed behind the boat shed."

Their connection was short-lived, and they ultimately split in October of that year. During their time together, Swift allegedly saw a photo of Bobby and Ethel Kennedy and was inspired to write the song "Starlight" on Red.

2010-2011: Jake Gyllenhaal

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Is Jake Gyllenhaal the twin flame bruise that painted Taylor Swift blue? There's a *very* strong chance. Taylor Swift dated Jake Gyllenhaal from October 2010 to January 2011, and that relationship is believed to have given us both "All Too Well" and "All Too Well (Ten Minute Version)."

While the history runs deep on this Taylor Swift relationship, let's put it this way: Swift and Gyllenhaal's tryst was revealed to the public when a photo of them was plastered on the cover of Us Weekly in December 2010. (It's believed their fling actually began in October.) By January, the actor (who was 29 at the time, while Swift was just 20) broke things off and completely blindsided the young singer in a move that was "completely out of the blue." Go ahead and listen to the entire soundtrack of Red (and Red (Taylor's Version)) for all the context you need on this relationship.

It's important to note that Gyllenhaal never had anything bad to say about Swift back then, even despite the songs that were allegedly written about him. He broke his silence on the "All Too Well" mania in a 2022 profile with Esquire, saying, "It has nothing to do with me. 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."

2009-2010: John Mayer

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The same cannot be said for Taylor Swift's ex John Mayer. Perhaps her most dramatic public relationship, Swift dated Mayer (who was 12 years older than her) from December 2009 to February 2010. The two first connected when they collaborated on his song "Half of My Heart." After performing together a handful of times, Mayer said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that Swift is "one of the smartest, most talented people around," adding that he's a "huge fan."

Unfortunately, things got messy, fast. After they were seen out and about together at the beginning of 2010, their public appearances stopped after he presented her with an award at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in June, where he also gave her a kiss on the cheek. By October, Swift dropped her album Speak Now which included the song "Dear John," a devastating hit about a relationship gone wrong after a man takes advantage of a younger woman. Despite the cheeky name, Swift never admitted that the song was directly about him. Rather, she once said the name was a play on the "Dear John" letter, which is a well-known idiom that refers to a woman ending a relationship with her partner.

Mayer took the lyrics to heart, though, and in a 2012 interview with Rolling Stone, he called it "cheap songwriting," saying, "I never got an email. I never got a phone call. I was really caught off guard, and it really humiliated me at a time when I'd already been dressed down…I know she's the biggest thing in the world, and I'm not trying to sink anybody's ship, but I think it's abusing your talent to rub your hands together and go, 'Wait till he gets a load of this!' That's bullsh—."

The plot thickened in 2023 when Swift dropped the song "Would've, Could've, Should've" on the extended version of Midnights, which many fans interpreted to be about her relationship with Mayer. In the gut-wrenching lyrics, Swift says that she wished she "only played it safe" and never "danced with the devil." In another line about the aftermath of their falling out, she sings, "Living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts / Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first."

2009: Taylor Lautner

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The Taylor and Taylor phenomenon of 2009 blossomed after Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner played on-screen lovers in the rom-com Valentine's Day. Despite their short fling, it's believed that Back to December was written about their relationship. The two have remained friendly over the years, and Swift is close with Lautner's wife, who's also named Taylor. Taylor and Tay Lautner attended one of Swift's Era's Tour shows where she debuted the music video for "I Can See You," in which the former Twilight star makes an appearance alongside actress Joey King.

2009: Lucas Till

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After Taylor Swift famously wrote "You OK?" to Lucas Till in the 2009 music video for "You Belong With Me," the two briefly dated. At least, that's what the Hannah Montana: The Movie leading man told MTV at the time. "We dated for a little bit. But there was no friction because we were too nice," he told the outlet. "We just really both liked each other…[but] most relationships work out 'cause you get along and then you don't, and then you make up and it's passionate, and with us, I really just liked her as a friend. That's the only reason that didn't work out."

2008: Joe Jonas

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Finally, this brings us to the very first public relationship of Taylor Swift's dating history. The singer was linked to Joe Jonas from July 2008 through October 2008, and their breakup was seared into pop culture history. After the Jonas Brothers singer ended things over the phone, Swift had a lot to say on the matter. Not only did it result in the song "Forever and Always," she confirmed the dramatic ending during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. "When I find that person who is right for me, he'll be wonderful, and when I look at that person, I'm not even gonna be able to remember the boy who broke up with me over the phone in 25 seconds when I was 18," she told the host.

While she eventually apologized for putting him on blast, she also referenced their split while hosting SNL in 2009: "You might think I'd bring up Joe, that guy who broke up with me on the phone. But I'm not going to mention him in my monologue. Hey, Joe! I'm doing real well and I'm hosting SNL—but I'm not going to write about that in my monologue."

Have no fear: Things aren't so bad between the two anymore. Swift referenced the current status of her ex and his then-wife Sophie Turner in the 2020 song "invisible string," writing, "Cold was the steel of my axe to grind / For the boys who broke my heart / Now I send their babies presents." She also pulled back on her original statement to DeGeneres, telling her in May 2020, "That was too much. Yeah, that was too much. I was 18. We laugh about it now, but that was mouthy...just teenage stuff there."