Taylor Swift shared how she was able to do the Eras Tour with a broken heart.
In her new documentary, Eras Tour: The End of an Era, singer Taylor Swift opened up about her 2023 breakups with Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy, revealing that both happened shortly after the Eras Tour began.
Taylor shared in a recent interview that at times, the tour was the only thing helping her through a difficult period in her life. However, she clarified that she never considered stopping the tour due to its demands; her struggles were personal, not related to the tour itself.
Taylor Swift usually expresses herself about breakups through her music, but she recently opened up a little about ending her six-year relationship with Joe in April 2023, and her brief romance with Matty, which ended in June 2023.
She shared that she experienced two breakups during the first part of her tour. She admitted that was a lot to deal with, and that performing gave her a reason to keep going. Surprisingly, the tour itself wasn’t the difficult part – it actually helped her find meaning and focus when everything else in her personal life was falling apart.
As she put it, “Men will let you down, the Eras Tour never will.”
Taylor Swift hasn’t publicly discussed her past relationships, but her 2024 album, The Tortured Poets Department, seems to explore those feelings through her songwriting. Many fans believe specific songs are about her exes, Matty and Joe.
Six months after the album came out, Matty Healy, the singer from The 1975, made a veiled comment about Taylor’s work. He mentioned he prefers not to base his songwriting on his own personal fame or history.
He admitted on the October 2024 episode of The Doomscroll podcast that making an album about the gossip surrounding his personal life – or simply his fame – wouldn’t be genuine. He explained he wouldn’t want to create something based on those things.
Joe, meanwhile, has more directly shut down speculation on his and Taylor’s breakup.
In 2024, he told The Sunday Times that they had both agreed to keep the personal aspects of their relationship private. He added that he didn’t believe in turning it into a public spectacle and still felt the same way.
He acknowledged that there will always be a difference between what people know and what they express, and he’s come to terms with that reality.
Taylor Swift has always drawn inspiration for her songs from her own life experiences. Continue reading to discover all the songs she’s written about herself…
Prior to the release of The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift had only definitively written one song about her then-boyfriend (now fiancé) on the Kansas City Chiefs – “So High School.” The couple famously used this song as the background music for their engagement announcement on Instagram in August 2025, with the exception of a rewritten version of “Karma” from The Eras Tour.
Fans have theorized that the song “The Alchemy,” from The Tortured Poets Department, references Travis Kelce due to its football and high school imagery. However, the song “So High School” contains a more direct reference with the lines: “Are you going to marry, kiss or kill me? / It’s just a game but really / I’m betting on all three, for us two.”
Back in 2016, Travis told AfterBuzzTV that if he had to play “Marry, Kiss, Kill” with Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Katy Perry, he would choose to kiss Taylor Swift.
Travis loves the song, and even though he’s a big Taylor Swift fan and knows there’s a lot of competition, he considers it his absolute favorite.
He jokingly admitted to Access Hollywood in 2024 that he was probably a bit biased when making the decision.
Taylor Swift seemingly wrote multiple songs on her album The Tortured Poets Department about her brief relationship with The 1975’s frontman in 2023. This includes the title track, which also mentions their friend and frequent collaborator, Jack Antonoff.
Fans speculate that songs like “Fortnight,” “Down Bad,” and “But Daddy I Love Him” are also about Matty Healy, with the last one seemingly addressing the criticism Taylor faced due to their relationship.
Matty Healy claimed in a 2024 interview with Entertainment Tonight that he hadn’t heard the album, but thought it was likely good. However, his mother, Denise Welch, publicly criticized the idea that the songs were about his breakup.
I was so shocked when Kaye Adams, during a 2025 appearance on Watch What Happens Live, revealed this story! Apparently, someone told another person they weren’t allowed to talk about something, and then that person went and poured their heart out into an entire album about it. It’s just incredible!
For more on Matty’s place in Taylor’s catalogue, read here.
Throughout their six-year relationship, Taylor Swift wrote multiple songs inspired by and even created with Joe Alwyn. Soon after they officially started dating in 2016, she released the album Reputation, which featured several songs clearly about Joe, including “Call It What You Want,” “Dress,” and “King of My Heart.”
Taylor Swift’s album Lover features the song “Cornelia Street,” named after the New York City apartment she lived in when she and Joe Alwyn first started dating. Fans also think other songs are about their relationship, including “invisible string” from folklore, and “Sweet Nothing” and its bonus track “You’re Losing Me” from Midnights. Producer Jack Antonoff confirmed that “You’re Losing Me” was actually written two years before Taylor and Joe broke up in 2023.
Joe is one of the many collaborators Taylor Swift has worked with on her songwriting. He’s credited on songs from the albums folklore and evermore, including tracks like “betty,” “champagne problems,” and “exile,” using the name William Bowery.
The cowriting happened completely by chance during lockdown,” the former student told GQ in 2022. “It started with just playing around on the piano, singing poorly, and someone overhearing. Then we thought, ‘Why not finish this song together?’
For more songs inspired by Joe, see here.
After a controversial phone call leaked in 2016—which was later found to be altered—between Kanye West and Taylor Swift regarding a lyric about her on his album The Life of Pablo, Taylor has responded to the couple with pointed remarks on several occasions.
In 2024, Taylor Swift released the song “thanK you aIMee,” which many believe is about Kim Kardashian, as the capitalized letters in the title spell out her name. She also hinted at Kanye West on another version of the same album, changing the capitalization to spell out “YE”.
Before TTPD, Taylor Swift had already released songs referencing her conflicts with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, specifically their dispute over the song “Famous.” One example is “Mad Woman” from her folklore album, where she sings about people working against her and suggests that the conflict brought Kim and Kanye closer together.
Taylor Swift’s first single from her Reputation album, “Look What You Made Me Do,” referenced the public drama she was experiencing. Similarly, in “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things,” she sings about a friendship that had been fixed but then fell apart again.
Taylor Swift’s connection to Kanye West musically stems from the infamous 2009 MTV VMA incident, where he interrupted her acceptance speech. She addressed the situation in her song “Innocent” from the album Speak Now, offering forgiveness. West faced significant criticism for his actions, even from then-President Barack Obama.
In the song, Taylor reflects on facing criticism, singing, “It’s OK / Life is a tough crowd.” He also mentions his age at the time of the VMAs, adding, “32 and still growing up now / Who you are is more important than your mistakes / You’re still capable of innocence.”
For a thorough dive into Taylor’s beef with Kanye, see here.
As a longtime fan, I always found it fascinating how Taylor’s summer romance with Tom Hiddleston, even though it didn’t last, clearly became fuel for her songwriting. It’s widely believed among us fans that songs like “Getaway Car” and “High Infidelity” detail the complicated timeline of her relationships – specifically, how things ended with Calvin Harris after a year together in June 2016, and then quickly moved forward with Tom around the same time. It was a messy situation, and she definitely turned it into art!
Both songs explore the idea that a relationship built on even a small betrayal is destined to fail.
As a longtime fan, everyone knows Taylor’s “Getaway Car” is about her relationships with Calvin Harris and Tom Hiddleston, but honestly, none of them have ever actually confirmed it. It’s all just speculation, even though it makes total sense to us!
Despite Taylor Swift denying that her songs are about her relationship with the former One Direction member, many fans believe there are hidden references to the “Watermelon Sugar” singer throughout her album 1989.
Fans widely believe the songs “Style,” “Out of the Woods,” and the bonus track “Wonderland” are about Harry Styles. The reference to a “Cheshire cat smile” in “Wonderland” particularly fuels this speculation, as many interpret it as a connection to his hometown of Holmes Chapel in Cheshire, England.
The 1989 song “Is It Over Now?” clearly captures the moment Taylor realized her relationship with Harry had ended for good.
She references the well-known January 2013 photo taken after her and her partner reportedly split while in the Virgin Islands, singing, “Blue dress on a boat.” She adds, “Your new girl is my clone,” suggesting a striking resemblance between herself and her partner’s new girlfriend.
In the song “Now That We Don’t Talk,” she revisits their failed vacation and playfully criticizes Harry’s musical preferences with the lines, “I don’t have to pretend I like acid rock / Or that I’d enjoy being on a huge yacht.”
Taylor dated several other celebrities from Britain after Harry, but he was her first British boyfriend. Because London is mentioned in some of her earlier songs, like “Come Back, Be Here” and “Message in a Bottle” from the album Red, many fans believe those songs are also about Harry.
Okay, so everyone thinks Harry Styles totally inspired Taylor’s 1989 album, but honestly? It’s way more complicated than that! I mean, remember when she hinted to Rolling Stone back in 2014 about “Bad Blood”? She said it was about another female artist who tried to ruin her whole tour! It’s obviously about Katy Perry, and I’ve known it forever! It’s not all about Harry, people! This song is a total diss track and a piece of pop perfection, and it’s all about her drama with Katy! I’ve researched everything, and it’s so clear!
Taylor explained that she realized she and Katy were direct rivals, saying, ‘It became clear we were enemies.’ She clarified the conflict wasn’t over a romantic relationship, but stemmed from professional issues, specifically after some of her dancers joined Katy’s tour.
However, Taylor maintained she penned the song simply to get some feelings off her chest.
I didn’t want to start a rumor mill,” she told Rolling Stone. “My goal was for people to connect with the story if they’ve ever felt betrayed personally.”
However, the song eventually sparked a conflict. The day after Rolling Stone published its article, Katy posted on X, warning people to be careful of someone who seems innocent but is actually mean – referring to Regina George.
The singers resolved their differences in 2019, and Katy Perry later made a brief appearance in Taylor Swift’s music video for “You Need to Calm Down.”
Taylor Swift also enjoys writing fanfiction. Before her album Red came out, she met Ethel Kennedy while dating her grandson, Conor Kennedy. Inspired by Ethel and her late husband, Taylor wrote the song “Starlight” imagining a romantic date night for the couple.
Taylor Swift said she wrote “Starlight” after seeing a photo of Ethel and Bobby Kennedy as teenagers. She didn’t know the story behind the picture, but it looked like they were having a wonderful time, so she created a song imagining what that night might have been like.
In response to the nod, Ethel told the Cape Cod Times, “She is just sensational, inside and out.”
Many fans believe Taylor Swift’s popular breakup song, “All Too Well”—especially the extended 10-minute version—is about actor Jake Gyllenhaal. The song includes details that match their brief 2010 relationship, like references to fall, a family home, and a scarf. Jake’s sister, Maggie Gyllenhaal, is a well-known actress, and the couple reportedly shared a striped Gucci scarf during their time together.
Taylor Swift seemingly referenced her relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal in songs like “The Last Time,” “We Are Never Getting Back Together,” and “I Bet You Think About Me” (from the Red vault). These songs mention details about his musical preferences and privileged upbringing.
Although many people think the album Red was largely based on Jake, he later denied any connection to it after the 2021 re-release.
“It’s about her relationship with her fans,” he told Esquire in 2022. “It is her expression.”
Taylor agreed with Jake, explaining that she’d watched “All Too Well” evolve into something more meaningful than just a song about a breakup.
She explained on Good Morning America in 2021 that what surprised her most was how quickly fans embraced the song. They independently decided it was their favorite and, within the first six months of the Red album’s release, considered it the most important track on the record.
Many fans believe Taylor Swift’s song “The Manuscript” from The Tortured Poets Department is inspired by the effect her song “All Too Well” had on her relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal.
Oh my god, you guys, back when Taylor was nineteen, a HUGE part of her heart – seriously, at least half! – was totally given to John Mayer. And it’s SO obvious now! I always knew “Dear John” was about him, but she actually said both that and “The Story of Us” were inspired by the same person! It all makes sense now, it’s heartbreaking and beautiful all at once! I’ve always connected with those songs on such a deep level, and knowing that… it just hits different.
In 2010, she told USA Today that ‘The Story of Us’ came from a real experience: seeing an ex-boyfriend at an awards show. They were sitting close by, and she felt an intense, unspoken tension. She wanted to ask him if the situation was as painful for him as it was for her, but neither of them could bring themselves to break the silence between them.
Okay, so for a while, fans were obsessed with Taylor Swift leaving hidden clues – ‘Easter eggs’ – in her work, especially about her relationships. She’s said recently she doesn’t really do that anymore, but it’s fun to look back! For example, when you looked at the liner notes for the Speak Now album – those little messages she used to write – the letters actually spelled out ‘CMT Awards.’ And guess what? She and John Mayer were both at that show back in 2010! It’s little details like that which really fueled the speculation, and honestly, it’s just a fascinating part of being a Swiftie!
As for where “Dear John” is concerned? John himself had to respond to the brazen shots fired.
“I really didn’t think I deserved that treatment,” the musician said in a 2012 interview with Rolling Stone. “I’ve learned to take responsibility for my actions, and I hadn’t done anything to warrant it. It was a mean thing for her to do.”
Taylor Swift has moved on from past conflicts. While she acknowledges she wasn’t always mature enough to handle things differently when she was younger, she’s now past the point of getting caught up in old drama. Before performing her song “Dear John” during The Eras Tour in 2023, she told her fans she’s no longer concerned with what happened to her at age 19, except for the inspiration it gave her for her music and the positive memories created with others.
As she put it, “I do not care. We’ve all grown up. We’re good.”
After a brief romance with Taylor Lautner in 2009, Taylor Swift wrote the song “Back to December” which is believed to be about him. The song references a “September night” when he saw her upset – a possible reference to the 2009 VMAs, where Lautner was present. She also included a subtle tribute to him in the song’s album notes, simply writing the name “Tay.”
Before Taylor Swift re-released her album Speak Now in 2023, actor Taylor Lautner—known for his role in Sharkboy and Lava Girl—humorously mentioned his involvement with the songs, telling Today he felt secure about it.
Some fans believe Taylor Swift’s songs “Today Was a Fairytale” and “I Can See You” (in which she appeared in the music video) were also inspired by her Valentine’s Day co-star. They point to the lyrics in “I Can See You” where she sings about maintaining a professional relationship, which later turned into something more.
Surprisingly, Taylor Swift used to be starstruck by Owl City’s lead singer. Her song “Enchanted” is actually about the night they met, and she secretly included the word “wonderstruck” in the lyrics as a nod to him – he’d used that same word in an email he sent her!
In a 2010 interview with Yahoo, Taylor explained that when she first met him, her immediate thought was a worried, ‘I really hope he doesn’t have feelings for someone else.’
A year after Taylor’s song came out, Adam replied by recording his own version. He even added a new line, singing, “Oh Taylor, I was so enchanted to meet you too.”
He confessed he was quite shy and explained that he decided to record a song as a way to respond to a track on their latest album, since he found it easier to express himself through music. He included a note with the song, sharing it on the band’s website, and sweetly called the artist ‘a true princess from a dreamy fairy tale.’
Taylor Swift used to be very open about the real-life inspirations behind her songs, particularly those written after her split from Joe Jonas. In 2008, she famously wrote “Forever & Always” and quickly added it to her album Fearless. This timing coincided with her appearance on Ellen, where she publicly criticized Jonas for ending their relationship with a very short phone call lasting around 25-27 seconds.
Taylor Swift’s 2010 album, Speak Now, featured two songs seemingly inspired by Joe Jonas. One was the emotional ballad “Last Kiss,” which specifically mentions July 9th – the date she saw the Jonas Brothers perform while they were still a couple.
Taylor Swift also included the song “Better Than Revenge” on the album, which was a response to the Jonas Brothers’ song “Much Better.” That song subtly referenced Swift with the line, “I’m done with superstars and all the tears on her guitar.”
As Taylor Swift’s music evolved, she subtly referenced her relationship with Joe Alwyn in songs like “Holy Ground” on her Red album and “Invisible String” on folklore. The latter song reflects on how they later became friends. In “Invisible String,” she sings about past heartbreak and how she’s moved on, even to the point of sending gifts to the children of those who hurt her: “Cold was the steel of my axe to grind for the boys who broke my heart, now I send their babies presents.”
Taylor Swift continued to playfully reference her past relationship with Joe Jonas when she released Fearless (Taylor’s Version) in 2021, including the song “Mr. Perfectly Fine,” which she actually wrote around the time they broke up in 2008. Interestingly, Joe Jonas’s then-wife, Sophie Turner, appeared to confirm the song was about him by sharing it on social media and jokingly calling it “not a bop.”
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2025-12-19 17:19