﻿Taylor Swift has finally found her "love story." When the singer first started dating Joe Alwyn six
years ago, the pair immediately agreed that they were going to do everything they could to protect
their relationship. For years, Taylor's romances and heartbreaks have been plastered all over the
tabloids, and she felt like her life didn't belong to her anymore. The singer decided to do things
differently with Joe and set firm boundaries around her private life. All Taylor and Joe
want is to have as much normalcy as possible. Following her breakup from Tom Hiddleston back
in September 2016, Taylor Swift sparked romance rumors with another English Actor. By May 2017,
it was said that Taylor and Joe Alwyn had been secretly dating for a few months and were doing
everything they could to keep the public from finding out about their relationship.
In order to keep their budding romance on the down low, Swift rented an apartment in London,
near Alwyn's home, and she would even wear disguises when they would go out in public. One
month later, the pair took the next step in their relationship, and Joe was introduced to some of
Taylor's closest friends. The couple was spotted on a double date with another famous couple,
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, while visiting Swift's home in Rhode Island.
In a diary entry, Swift later revealed as part of her album 'Lover' in 2019, she wrote,
"I'm essentially based in London, hiding out trying to protect us from the nasty world that
just wants to ruin things. We have been together, and no one has found out for three months now."
At the time, Taylor and Joe didn't confirm their relationship with the public,
but a source close to the couple shared that they were "very much in love," adding that
they were enjoying keeping things low-key and "are still taking it slow." They kept things
simple by working out together, watching movies, and spending time with each other's friends.
Taylor had already taken a step back from the spotlight after receiving a harsh amount of
criticism over the past few years. She'd also experienced numerous public breakups and wanted
to approach her relationship with Joe differently. The singer felt it was important for her to take
some time off from being in the public eye and focus on her personal life, writing music, and
spending time with the people closest to her. As she prepared to release her latest album,
'Reputation,' an insider explained that Taylor wanted to reveal her relationship with Joe on her
own terms. After the album was released, her new relationship garnered even more attention as fans
tried to figure out when and how they first met. Some fans thought that it was possible that Taylor
first met Joe back at the 2016 Met Gala while she was still dating Calvin Harris. The singer
was spotted dancing with Hiddleston at the event, which sparked their romance rumors. But again, all
fans could do was speculate because Swift refused to give any details about what really happened.
In December 2017, Taylor and Joe didn't hold back from showing some PDA while they attended
Ed Sheeran's Jingle Bell Ball performance in London. The couple was spotted kissing,
dancing together, and enjoying the show. While they hadn't confirmed their relationship with
the public themselves, it was pretty clear that Taylor and Joe were definitely an item
and were completely smitten with each other. At the beginning of 2018, an insider shared that
Swift "really believes Joe is the one for her." Adding that "she wants to get engaged to him"
and "she just doesn't feel as though she has to impress anyone at this point." As for Joe,
he reportedly felt "privileged that he gets to be with Taylor."
Alwyn offered a bit of insight into why he and Swift are so private, sharing, "For me,
I just don't feel it's something I want to offer up to be picked apart by people who don't know
about it, and it's just not theirs to have." It was pretty clear from the start of their
relationship that it wasn't like any of Taylor's other previous romances. A friend
of the singer explained that Joe "showed her a different lifestyle and the value of privacy."
Swift seemed like "the happiest she'd ever been" with him by her side, and he was
making a very positive impact on her life. Taylor realized "how much better off she is"
without having to keep her personal life out in the open. She also credited Joe for how
much he had changed everything for her. Almost a year after their relationship was
first reported, Swift and Alwyn quietly made their romance Instagram official.
In matching posts in May 2018, the couple both shared shots of themselves standing next to a
giant cactus. While Swift's caption was about her Reputation tour kicking off,
Alwyn's included only a single cactus emoji. In August, the couple made a rare public
appearance when they went out for dinner in London. They were spotted
holding hands but made sure to keep their heads down to avoid the paparazzi storm.
One month later, Joe finally spoke out about his relationship with Taylor. During an interview with
British Vogue, he said, "I'm aware people want to know about that side of things. I think we
have been successfully very private." As Taylor re-entered the spotlight and
their relationship garnered more attention, they continued to keep the details between themselves.
Joe was showing her unconditional support. After over two years of dating with very few
public appearances, Swift explained that keeping her relationship ultra-private
helps her maintain a boundary between her personal and professional life.
"I've learned that if I do, people think it's up for discussion,
and our relationship isn't up for discussion." She added, "That's where the boundary is,
and that's where my life has become manageable. I really want to keep it feeling manageable."
Over the next few months, rumors of a proposal were beginning to swirl. Insiders shared that
"Joe is very keen on proposing soon. But he wants to make it unforgettable and extremely special."
Swift hinted that her song, 'Lover,' referred to her relationship with Joe. When he was
asked if he had any reservations about being the inspiration behind some of her music,
he answered, "No, not at all. It's flattering." Following the release of Taylor's 'Miss Americana'
documentary at the beginning of 2020, she explained that Joe's "wonderful, normal,
balanced kind of life" is something that sparked her interest in him.
While Alwyn doesn't feature much in the documentary, viewers enjoyed some sweet moments,
such as the couple cuddling backstage at one of Swift's concerts and the singer kissing
her boyfriend's hand during a car ride. A few months later, friends of the couple
shared that they "have talked about their future and marriage," although they "don't have a set
deadline in place, they're very much in love." After the international pandemic hit,
Alwyn shared that he was quarantining with Swift after he posted several pictures of her cat,
Benjamin Button, in her home. In November 2020, Taylor opened up for
the first time about her relationship with Joe and why she made the decision to keep things
as private as she could. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, she said,
"I have definitely made decisions that have made my life feel more like a real life and less like
just a storyline to be commented on in tabloids." Whether it was where she chose to live,
who she spent time with, or when she wanted to have pictures taken,
it was important for her to live her life for herself. She added, "The idea of privacy
feels so strange to try to explain, but it's really just trying to find bits of normalcy."
Taylor knew how the media had made a huge impact on her previous relationships,
and she wanted to do things differently with Joe. Being in the spotlight for so many years
made her feel like her life didn't belong to her anymore, and she wanted to reclaim it.
Swift shared, "Would it be enough if I could never fully achieve the normalcy that we both crave?"
The singer spoke candidly about maintaining a "real life" with Alwyn. She confessed "scary"
it can be to fall in love with someone who has a "very grounded, normal way of living" and hasn't
been exposed to the kind of attention she faces. "I cannot control if there are 20 photographers
outside in the bushes and what they do and if they follow our car and if they interrupt
our lives. I can't control if there's going to be a fake weird headline about
us in the news tomorrow." She explained. Taylor also confirmed that Joe had assisted
in co-writing some of her songs in her album 'Folklore' under the pseudonym, 'William Bowery.'
He also went on to co-write three other songs on her next album, 'Evermore.'
In March 2021, Swift gave Alwyn a sweet shout-out while accepting the
award for Album of The Year for 'Folklore.' She said, "Joe, who 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."
By the following year, the couple had been together for more than five years. A friend
close to them shared that "Taylor and Joe have the best of all worlds right now." Adding,
"they love dividing their time between England and Nashville, and that's the way they both like it."
From the moment the singer started dating Alwyn, "It became apparent to both of them that they were
happiest doing their own thing in a low-key way. That was a big reason why they bonded."
It was pretty clear that both Taylor and Joe "are wildly happy together" and are
looking forward to their future. In January of 2023, Alwyn decided to
shut down the engagement rumors that had been swirling around over the last couple of years,
saying, "If I had a pound for every time I think I've been told I've been engaged,
then I'd have a lot of pound coins." He added, "I mean, the truth is,
if the answer was yes, I wouldn't say, and if the answer was no, I wouldn't say."
Taylor and Joe have now been together for just over six years, and while they prefer to keep
their relationship out of the spotlight, it's clear that she's the happiest she's ever been.
It's not always easy to have a somewhat "normal" relationship when you have a life in the public
eye, but Swift seems to be doing everything she can to protect the love that she and Alwyn share
from the outside world. We're so happy that Taylor found a partner that's made her feel
grounded and loved unconditionally. We wish them only the best for their future together!