Taylor Swift fans think new album name is a inspired by Joe Alwyn and Paul Mescal’s WhatsApp group

Taylor Swift admitted she had been keeping a big secret for the past two years. The singer, 34, has been working very hard in the studio and although Swiftie’s were expecting her to release the re-recorded Reputation (Taylor's version) album the popstar revealed her new album The Tortured Poets Department will be out on April 19. 

The Lover singer announced the exciting news during her acceptance speech at the Grammy Awards on Sunday evening (February 4) when she won the Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights. Taylor Said: “[The way I can celebrate] is by telling you a secret that I’ve been keeping from you for the past two years, which is that my brand new album comes out April 19th. It’s called The Tortured Poets Department and I’m going to post the cover right now backstage.”

Taylor Swift has previously released 10 studio albums which include titles such as Fearless, Red, Reputation, Lover, Evermore and Midnights. So the new album title The Tortured Poets Department is very different from the others. Could it be that there is a higher meaning behind it - of course it's Taylor Swift after all. 

The Anti-Hero singer hasn’t said anything just yet however, Swiftie's think they've cracked the code. One fan took to social media platform X and wrote: “The album name is a literally reference to Joe’s [Alwyn] and Paul Mescal group chat … girlies obsessed with the Sally Rooney universe we are about to EAT.”

Taylor’s ex-Joe Alwyn spoke about his “Tortured Man’s Club” WhatsApp group during Variety’s actors on actors interview with Paul Mescal in December 2022 - just four months before he and Taylor split after six years of dating. Joe said: “It’s the Tortured Man Club, I think. It’s me, you — and Andrew Scott started the group, [Andrew is] just messaging himself good mornings. We were both in the Sally Rooney universe and crossed over with Lenny Abrahamson. ”

Seems like it could be a very sly dig at her ex. Taylor Swift shared first look images of the album cover with the singer lying on white pillows wearing black underwear with the caption “All’s fair in love and poetry... New album THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. Out April 19” 

Natalie Dixon is NationalWorld’s Lifestyle reporter. If you liked this article and want to read more about celebrities, fashion and beauty you can follow Natalie Dixon on X (Twitter) here.