A week of it; Taylor Swift, Joe Alwyn and the persistent rumours of a split - what has been reported so far

What a difference a week makes; it only feels like last week that Peopleworld were detailing news about a London apartment the crown princess of pop, Taylor Swift, had bought with her partner Joe Alwyn, and yet after the long Easter weekend, the majority of stories about the couple are now focusing on an apparent break up between the pair. Taylor and Joe, who have been dating since 2017, have had to endure a raft of stories across the internet alongside fans of the Era’s touring musician - much of which trying to deconstruct “Easter eggs” that Swift may-or-may-not have deliberately included to indicate to her fans about a split.

There are also a raft of Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn fans that are adamant also that there isn’t a break up and that ardent fans of Swift, aka Swifties, are just buying into conjecture and speculation until waiting for definitive proof. It’s very important to note that, as of writing, representatives for both Swift and Alwyn have yet to issue an announcement confirming their split, so everything discussed is once again wild speculation.

However, as we have seen in the past, there is no smoke without fire, and a number of critics of the multi-award winning performer have already decided to bring the smoke. Calls that Taylor Swift has broken up with Alwyn to plumb the depths of another failed relationship for a source of songwriting has been brought up once again, while others have come to the conclusion that given the pair were cosying up during the pandemic and now Swift is back on the road, that Alwyn perhaps is envious he’s not had much luck breaking the US market. 

However, Swift has been known to include hidden messages within her output on social media and within her music, with her fans previously coming together to solve what the musician is alluding to; who can forget her show of strength while ‘feuding’ with Katy Perry in the music video for “Bad Blood,” or numerous side-glances to former beau, Harry Styles, after their reportedly less-than-civil breaking up. 

We don’t have a definitive answer at Peopleworld, and are much like the rest of the world waiting for an official announcement from representatives of the pair. But with everything that has happened in the prelude to Easter weekend, we take a look at the smoke that has led to the media wildfire of Alwynxit. 

Absence at Taylor Swift shows

One of the first reports there was trouble in a North London paradise, shortly after news the pair had bought a home in the area, stems from Taylor hitting the road with her mammoth “Era’s” world tour. On March 22 2023, People quoted a source close to the couple that mentioned that Alwyn and Swift were doing well, and he had big plans on how he'd support her on tour: “Joe will travel with her when he can. They are great together. Joe is super supportive of her career.”

Interestingly, among all the celebrity appearances during her tour, there is a figure conspicuous in their absence - Joe Alwyn. He reportedly has yet to attend any of the shows while Taylor has been on tour, which first prompted discussion of a break-up late last month (March 2023.)

However, given that in 2022 the pair discussed on social media how they wished to keep their private lives outside of the prying eyes of the gossip-hungry public, perhaps Alwyn was at the show, but just kept low-key to avoid the attention being placed on their pair, rather than the attention focused on Swift. Speaking on Instagram in October 2022 about the song “Lavender Haze,” Swift told her followers “we’ve had to dodge weird rumours, tabloid stuff, and we just ignore it. This song is sort of about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff.”

Entertainment Tonight report of “break up”

With Alwyn absent from appearing at Taylor Swift's shows during her world tour, Entertainment Tonight were the first to report on a speculative break up between the pair. A source described the breakup as amicable and “not dramatic,” to the media outlet, while a source reported to People that “the relationship had just run its course. It's why [Alwyn] hasn't been spotted at any shows.”

That comment that the relationship has run its course is an interesting facet to this mystery surrounding the alleged break-up. It is that line that has caused Swift fans to take up the theory that Alwyn wasn’t happy that Swift was once again in the major limelight during the tour, and Alwyn was still struggling with his career. 

The thing is, Alwyn would have known this was always the case when the pair first started dating; there is also the rumours from Deux Moi that the pair had secretly married, with a ceremony having taken place already fuelled also by the inclusion of an engagement ring on Swift's finger during her appearance in her 2020 Netflix documentary, “Miss Americana,” but the speculation was never confirmed.  

Addition of a song in her set list she hasn’t played live

The rumours then continued after Taylor Swift made a last minute change to her set list during her performance in Arlington, Texas over the weekend. Already dogged with reports from Entertainment Tonight about a break-up, Swift included the song “The 1,” throwing devout fans who were expecting a similar set that she had performed at State Farms Stadium at the start of April 2023.

The topic of that song regards breaking up and “waking up alone,” announcing to fans in attendance that the song is one that she hasn’t performed live. This was seen as a hidden message to Swift fans that she had indeed broken up with Alwyn and this was her confirmation of the split - despite no official confirmation coming from representatives of the pair despite the intense media speculation. 

The song it replaced, “Invisible String” is said to be a love-letter to Joe Alwyn and has been a constant during Swift's performances dating back to touring her album Folklore, so the sudden change was seen as a coded message to fans about her most recent heartbreak. Or, knowing how savvy Swift is, perhaps leaning into the rumours a little more? 

Source reveals to People SwiftWyn “was never going to last.”

The biggest puff of smoke though came in the form of an inside source for Taylor Swift speaking to People a mere few days after the news started surfacing. “They've had rough patches before and always worked things out, so friends thought they would take some time apart but eventually come back together,” the source said, noting that they realised “ultimately, [they] weren't the right fit for one another.”

Though the source also decided to throw shade on Joe Alwyn, once again bringing up the idea of resentment he had/has towards Swift since hitting the road once again. “Then the pandemic hit, and they were locked down together and able to continue growing their relationship in this insulated way. But he didn't really ‘know’ her yet outside of that bubble. [Alwyn] has struggled with Taylor's level of fame and the attention from the public,” the source added. “The differences in their personalities have also become harder to ignore after years together. They've grown apart.”

A source offered a similar line to the Daily Mail, suggesting “it’s been hard for Joe trying to make it in Hollywood and not quite becoming leading man material while dating one of the most famous women in the world over the last six years. It was easier during the pandemic when it was just the two of them, but once things returned to normal, Taylor Swift the superstar emerged, and their differences were even more apparent. They really made a go of it and tried everything they could but ultimately were unable to save the relationship.”

So there seems to be a real focus with sources close to Taylor Swift that the narrative of the split stems from a resentment Alwyn has that his career didn’t quite pick up after going out/being engaged/marrying (delete as appropriate, readers) one of the most famous females in the world. Which again leads to the question - surely he knew he would be in the shadow of the performer, despite collaborating with her on a number of songs as a writer in the past.