Taylor Swift's Exes Who Have Spoken Out About Their Relationship
If there's one thing Taylor Swift appreciates, it's love. The star has spent what seems like her entire career writing songs about it, penning relatable lyrics about fizzled romances and even offering dating advice. But her own pursuit to find The One has resulted in a few dead ends — and that means a few exes ready and waiting to speak out about what it's really like to date her. Swift probably put it best herself though when she told Seventeen back in 2015, "In fairy tales the bad guy is very easy to spot. The bad guy is always wearing a black cape so you always know who he is. Then you grow up and you realize that Prince Charming is not as easy to find as you thought." She added, "You realize the bad guy is not wearing a black cape and he's not easy to spot; he's really funny, and he makes you laugh, and he has perfect hair."
Now, we're not saying these guys are bad guys; they just weren't the one for our Miss Americana. And long before her NFL boyfriend Travis Kelce talked about how great Swift is on his podcast, Swift's exes offered the world some interesting insight about what it's really like to be in a relationship with the most famous woman in the world.
Joe Jonas clapped back after Taylor Swift opened up about their split
Joe Jonas and Taylor Swift made one iconic teen power couple in 2008. Sadly for those obsessed with this romance (i.e. us) things didn't last too long. They were together for a short season, lasting from July 2008 to November 2008, around the time Swift famously put Jonas on blast during an appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." In the interview, Swift shared she hadn't spoken to Jonas since their breakup and accused him of calling things off during a 25-second phone call.
But the Jonas Brother wasn't about to take that lying down. "For those who have expressed concern over the '27 second' phone call, I called to discuss feelings with the other person. Those feelings were obviously not well received. I did not end the conversation. Someone else did," he wrote in a MySpace (how of the time!) post (via People). "Phone calls can only last as long as the person on the other end of the line is willing to talk," he added.
But while it seemed like things may have been a little sour at the time, just over a decade later, Jonas clarified during an appearance on "Lorraine" alongside his brothers that things were all good between himself and his ex. "I've moved on. I'm sure Taylor's moved on. We're all friends. It's all good," he shared.
Stephen Barker Liles and Taylor Swift wrote songs for one another
It seems Taylor Swift and Stephen Barker Liles got close during her 2008 tour. So close that Swift wrote a song for him — and he wrote one back! The Love & Theft singer opened up about their relationship to Taste of Country in 2011, explaining, "Me and Taylor really hit it off and became really close when we were on tour together. We had a real emotional relationship. We talked on the phone a lot. She was really cool." He also spoke about how Swift wrote the song "Hey, Stephen" from her "Fearless" album about him. The track features some very lustful lyrics, including, "'Cause I can't help it if you look like an angel/Can't help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain, so." Flirty!
Barker Liles went on to gush more about the singer, revealing he actually wrote a song about her too. But even though these two didn't go the distance, he still had nothing but nice things to say. "She's awesome. I really dig Taylor," he said. "As far as I know, none of the other dudes she's been hanging out with have written a song about her!"
Barker Liles later spoke about their relationship again in 2023 during an appearance on "The Bobby Bones Show" podcast. He again opened up about being the inspiration for "Hey, Stephen" and added of his past relationship with Swift, "We got close and it was cool."
Lucas Till claimed Taylor Swift was 'too nice'
One of Taylor Swift's lesser known exes, "Hannah Montana: The Movie" star Lucas Till claimed to have been dating Swift for a little bit in 2009. The two seemed to grow close after he appeared alongside the superstar in the music video for "You Belong With Me," which was released that year. The reason this brief romance came to an end, though? Apparently not only was Till too nice, so was Swift.
"We dated for a little bit. But, there was no friction because we were too nice," he explained of their split while speaking to MTV later that year. "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."
Taylor Lautner has no bad blood with Taylor Swift
Also in 2009, Taylor Swift and actor Taylor Lautner began dating after playing a high school couple in the star-studded movie "Valentine's Day." Although they only dated for a few months, they clearly remained on good terms for long after that, as Lautner went on to appear in Swift's "I Can See You" music video in 2023. Around the same time, Lautner appeared on stage with Swift at her "Eras Tour" show in Missouri and gushed about how much he still respected her. "I respect you so much. Not just for the singer you are, the songwriter, the performer, but truly for the human you are. You are gracious, humble, kind and I'm honored to know you," he told the star as fans cheered.
Lautner also spoke out that year after Swift's fans deemed him her "best ex" on social media. Speaking to People about the title bestowed on him from the Swifties, the "Twilight" star said, "[That] sounds like a nice compliment to me. I will take it." He also shared that his wife, Taylor Dye, is a massive fan of Swift, while sharing that his respect for Swift is very much mutual. "[Swift] let me know that I'm the only ex without a diss track now. So that sounds like a nice thing. I'll take it and run. No complaints here," he shared.
John Mayer was caught off-guard by Taylor Swift's song about him
It's pretty common knowledge that Taylor Swift's "Dear John" is about her brief romance with John Mayer (which happened around 2010 for a couple of months), but that doesn't mean Mayer had any idea it was coming. He was asked how the ballad made him feel in a 2012 Rolling Stone interview, in which he admitted he didn't actually agree with Swift's take on their romance. "It made me feel terrible. Because I didn't deserve it. I'm pretty good at taking accountability now, and I never did anything to deserve that. It was a really lousy thing for her to do," he told the outlet. "I never got an e-mail. 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 mean, how would you feel if, at the lowest you've ever been, someone kicked you even lower?"
But he changed his tune in 2022 when Andy Cohen asked if he ever actually wanted his exes to write about him. He didn't name our red lipstick queen Swift explicitly, but explained on SiriusXM's "Radio Andy," "Sometimes, I hope it's about me. Sometimes, it's a really good song." He then added, "I don't think it's a dirty admission. Sometimes, a song is so good, I go, 'Man, I hope that's about me.'"
Jake Gyllenhaal called Taylor Swift 'a beautiful girl'
One of Taylor Swift's most famous exes has to be Jake Gyllenhaal. The two dated in 2010, with several snaps of them looking cozy while walking around the city together hitting the headlines at the time. Gyllenhaal hasn't spoken out a whole lot about what happened between him and the superstar, though he has spoken somewhat briefly a couple of times about their romance in interviews. The first was in 2015 on "The Howard Stern Show" when he told Stern, "She is a beautiful girl."
In 2022, he opened up about his ex again when asked by Esquire how he felt about Swift releasing "Red (Taylor's Version)," which it's thought contained songs inspired by him and their brief relationship. One of those? The notorious 10-minute version of "All Too Well." At the time, the actor disabled comments on his Instagram posts, which had some believing he didn't want Swifties taking over his comments section. "It has nothing to do with me. It's about her relationship with her fans," he told the outlet. "It is her expression. Artists tap into personal experiences for inspiration, and I don't begrudge anyone that."
Harry Styles admitted he's a fan of his ex's songwriting skills
Harry Styles may have stayed pretty quiet about Taylor Swift since they dated for a few months from late 2012 into early 2013, but he did speak a little bit about his ex in 2014. It happened during a YouTube interview alongside his now former One Direction bandmates, when he was asked how he felt about Swift seemingly having written at least one song about him. "We write from personal experience, I think everyone does, so it would be hypocritical of us to be like, 'Oh you can't write about us,' And she's really good, so they're good songs," Style said. "I'm really lucky in that sense."
He spoke about his ex again on "The Howard Stern Show" several years later in 2020 when asked again about people writing songs about other people. "I think about what it means to me to write a song about somebody else, and for someone else to do that, I think it's flattering," Styles admitted. "Even if the song isn't that flattering, you still spent time on it, and ultimately, using Taylor as an example, she's a great songwriter."
Tom Hiddleston called Taylor Swift 'an amazing woman'
Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston dated briefly in 2016 following her split with Calvin Harris, and the British actor opened up about their whirlwind romance the following year in a GQ interview. The best part, though? He had nothing but nice things to say about the star. "Taylor is an amazing woman. She's generous and kind and lovely, and we had the best time," he shared, also shutting down rumors they dated for publicity.
The media was abuzz at the time after Hiddleston was snapped at Swift's annual Fourth of July party wearing a "I [heart] T.S." shirt, and he explained how the notorious look came to be. "The truth is, it was the Fourth of July and a public holiday and we were playing a game and I slipped and hurt my back," he recalled. "I wanted to protect the graze from the sun and said, 'Does anyone have a T-shirt?' And one of her friends said, 'I've got this.' I just, I was surprised. I was just surprised that it got so much attention. The tank top became an emblem of this thing."
Joe Alwyn didn't explicitly speak out after their six-year romance ended
Joe Alwyn and Taylor Swift dated for six years before splitting in 2023, and he made it quite a point not to speak about his relationship during that time. "It's not really [because I] want to be guarded and private, it's more a response," he famously told Elle U.K. of why they rarely spoke about each other or stepped out together while they were still dating. "We live in a culture that is so increasingly intrusive ... the more you give — and frankly, even if you don't give it — something will be taken," he added.
After splitting with Swift in April 2023 though, Alwyn pretty much went off-grid. Fans didn't see him out or online a whole lot — until he made a social media return at an interesting time. Swift announced the album "The Tortured Poets Department" at the 2024 Grammys in February, shortly after which Alwyn made a return to Instagram for the first time in five months. The actor posted a collection of personal photos, which also including a meme that read "Different drinks for different needs." Many fans have speculated the album may be about her romance Alwyn, while others noted his upload (which include plenty of artsy black-and-white shots) definitely seemed to be on-theme for a tortured poet...
Matty Healy appeared to subtly address their split in concert
The 1975 singer Matty Healy hasn't exactly spoken a whole lot about his high-profile whirlwind romance with Taylor Swift publicly, but he did seem to reference their split during a gig. Swift and Healy had been friends for years before they (briefly) dated in 2023, right after her split with Joe Alwyn and shortly before she began her romance with Travis Kelce. Things fizzled quickly, after which Healy kinda, sorta addressed the situation while performing with his band.
In a video posted to X taken shortly after the breakup news went public, Healy addressed some of the banners some fans in the crowd were holding up. "My friend had some very, very beautiful signs that said, 'You are loved'. That was very, very kind of you. I'm sure that's alluding to..." he said, seemingly stopping just short of explicitly referencing his recent split with Swift. "As you're aware, I'm not very online at the moment and I'm sure people have just been calling me a c**t relentlessly. I've not been online, but what I have been with is my boys," he continued. "And honestly, as much as I appreciate that. It's so beautiful, and I thank you. But I don't need it, because I've got them."