It’s no question Taylor Swift has had a LOT to say about her exes over the years,
but the burning question remains: what do her exes actually think about her
deepest thoughts?
Right now, we’re breaking down all the things Taylor’s former flames have revealed about
her music.
The age-old saying goes, ‘there are two sides to every story,’ but when Taylor Swift
is telling the story, let’s be real: it’s really the only side that matters.
Since her personal diary entries began making their way to the music charts in 2006 with
her self-titled debut album, Taylor’s love life, in particular, has become the center
of her lyrical exposé, as fans have become deeply invested by use of context clues within
her writing– to decipher just who her songs are about.
But not long after the re-release of her 2012 album Red in November, which allowed fans
to re-live the heartbreak, following her relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal, Tay made it clear to
Seth Meyers how she feels about what her exes think about her songs.
“I haven’t thought about their experience, to be honest.”
“I think that’s the… that’s the biggest burn.”
Taylor admitted that this time around, releasing Red is MUCH better with MUCH less heartbreak,
but as for Jake, he’s reportedly been “ignoring all of the noise” surrounding Red (Taylor’s
Version) and is typically tight-lipped regarding his love life.
During a 2017 interview with The Guardian, Jake admitted to feeling scrutinized after
being asked about his relationship with Taylor, saying, “I think when you’re in a relationship,
you are constantly scrutinized, your friends are scrutinized, but … I would love to not
talk about my personal life.”
John Mayer clearly felt the same way after he and Taylor dated after being linked back
in 2009, after they collaborated on his hit “Half of my Heart.”
He went on to become the subject of her Speak Now track “Dear John” following their
split in 2010, and later opened up about the track in 2012 to Rolling Stone, saying, “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.”
John admitted that he was “really caught off guard” and that exposing him, “really
humiliated me at a time when I’d already been dressed down.”
He even called her songwriting tactic “bulls**t”, asking the outlet, “I mean, how would you
feel if, at the lowest you’ve ever been, someone kicked you even lower?”
Buuuut Apparently John changed his mind, telling Andy Cohen earlier this year that he didn’t
feel as though Taylor’s song about him was a “dirty admission,” adding, “Sometimes,
a song is so good, I go, ‘Man, I hope that’s about me.’
... I'll check everyone's music out.
I'm a fan.”
Others who didn’t take Taylor’s lyrics too personally included Taylor Lautner, whom
she wrote “Back To December” about, in which she admitted to feeling regretful of
the way she ended things.
During a Facebook Live back in 2016, Taylor Lautner caught up with Lea Michele and John
Stamos, to which he recalled their relationship, “It was a good time.
It was a fun few months there.
That's what she does.
She writes songs.
It's good music.
I listen to it.”
Not long after Taylor’s short-lived relationship with Tom Hiddleston back in 2016 (and may
we never forget THOSE viral photos of Tom’s ‘I HEART TS’ t-shirt)... many wondered
whether the relationship was simply a publicity stunt or the real deal.
Tom confirmed to GQ in 2017 QUOTE, “Of course it was real.
Taylor is an amazing woman.
She's generous and kind and lovely, and we had the best time.
I only know the woman I met.
She’s incredible.”
Things didn’t end as smoothly with Calvin Harris, on the other hand, which many fans
know ended just before she was spotted with Tom.
Their split, along with the drama that ensued after it was allegedly revealed by Taylor’s
team that Calvin’s 2016 track “This Is What You Came For” was co-written by Taylor,
resulted in a Twitter feud with a slew of angry tweets aimed at Tay.
Calvin explained that it was Taylor and her team who wanted to keep her name anonymous
and that the claims that he didn’t want to credit her were absurd, writing, “Hurtful
to me at this point that her and her team would go so far out of their way to try and
make ME look bad at this stage though.
I figure if you're happy in your new relationship, you should focus on that instead of trying
to tear your ex b-f down for something to do.”
He then went further below the belt, adding, “I know you're off tour and you need someone
new to try and bury like Katy, etc.-- but I'm not that guy, sorry.
I won't allow it.”
Months later, Calvin appeared to have cooled off and admitted to British GQ that he had
a hard time with something he considered “so personal” played out very publicly.
He told the outlet, “The aftermath of the relationship was way more heavily publicized
than the relationship itself.
When we were together, we were very careful for it not to be a media circus.
She respected my feelings in that sense.”
Taylor wasn’t as tight-lipped about her relationship with Joe Jonas and how it ended
during a viral interview on Ellen Degeneres while promoting her Fearless album…
“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.”
Years later, in 2015, the two were able to make amends as Joe accepted the fact that
he was now a notorious part of Taylor Swift songwriting history, telling Access Hollywood,
“That's part of being a musician, I guess.
You write songs about each other.”
He even complimented Taylor, adding, “She’s great.
Yeah, we're friends.
In this industry, you meet a lot of people and you stay in touch.
Obviously, it's tough to be friends with people that are always constantly traveling, but
yeah, we're cool.”
Things came full circle in 2020 when Tay wrote about sending presents to former lovers’
babies in her 2020 folklore track “Invisible String”, which fans are convinced is said
to be about Joe and Sophie Turner’s daughter Willa.
And finally, Harry Styles is one of Taylor’s most notable exes, as fans still recall the
photo just hours after their breakup, when Taylor found herself traveling home by boat
from their New Year’s Virgin Islands vacation.
Years after their 2013 split, Harry reflected on the paparazzi photos of he and Taylor strolling
through Central Park, telling Rolling Stone in 2017, “Relationships are hard at any
age.
And adding in that you don't really understand exactly how it works when you're 18, trying
to navigate all that stuff didn't make it easier.
It was a learning experience for sure.
But at the heart of it...
I just wanted it to be a normal date.”
He even stood up for the backlash Taylor constantly gets for writing songs about her exes while
complimenting her songwriting on her 2014 1989, despite the fact that multiple songs
like “Style” and “Out of the Woods” were said to be inspired by he and Taylor’s
relationship.
Harry said during a Google Plus hangout, “We always say we write from personal experience
and I think everyone does– so it would be hypocritical of us to be like, ‘Oh, you
can't write songs.’
And she's really good, so they're really good songs.
So I'm lucky in that sense.”
I mean, he’s definitely not wrong…
For more on Taylor, click right over here for all the details on her stripped down version
of ‘Champagne Problems’ wearing THAT iconic wedding dress.
Then be sure to let me know all your thoughts on Tay’s exes past remarks about her and
her music right down here in the comments.
I’m your host Carly Henderson, you can find me on my socials @CarlyHenderson_ and I’ll
catch you next time.