An exclusive excerpt from Taylor Swift. The 100% unofficial bio by Chas Newkey-Burden.
In 2010, the gossip circuit linked Taylor to three famous men: John Mayer, Cory Monteith, star of Gleeand Toby Hemingway, co-star of her music video for “Mine”. However, the most talked about rumor was about her relationship with a Hollywood heartthrob. After successfully co-hosting the Saturday Night LiveTaylor later returned to the same studio for an episode in support of her friend Emma Stone, who was also a guest on the show. While there, Taylor met one of Hollywood’s hottest young men of recent times and they agreed to meet up again for a date. The relationship that developed between her and Jake Gyllenhaal would be a remarkable experience for Taylor and their breakup would inspire some of his best-known songs.
You could say that Gyllenhaal was put on this planet to act. He was born in Los Angeles in 1980, the son of a director and a screenwriter. He began acting at the age of ten, but it wasn’t until his late teens and early twenties that he found his big break. In 1999, he had a starring role in the coming-of-age story October sky. Two years later, he earned cult status when he starred in the independent film Donnie Darko. More recently, he has carved out a position as a versatile talent by appearing in other independent films, such as The Good Girlas well as major mainstream hits like The Day After Tomorrow – The Dawn of the Day After and intense dramas, acclaimed by critics, such as Brokeback Mountain. She received an Oscar nomination and won a BAFTA.
In addition to his acting career, he has been much talked about for his beauty and love life. Gyllenhaal has dated actresses Kirsten Dunst and Reese Witherspoon. In 2006, the magazine People he included it among the 50 Most Beautiful People – the list of the fifty most beautiful people in the world – and, in the same year, among the Hottest Bachelors, the list of the sexiest bachelors. Additionally, he has reached the top spot in several gay polls of attractive men. Gyllenhaal had split from Witherspoon ten months before meeting Taylor who, when she ran into him backstage at thesnlknows his story well. According to a surprisingly cautious source cited by Peoplethe two “were careful not to be seen too close” as they “hung around backstage together.” The source concluded: “It was hard to tell if they were together.” TThere was a significant age difference between Ms. Taylor and Jake: he is nine years older than her. That difference and the different nature of their fame would become a problem when the first heady days gave way to the reality of getting to know each other better, with all the difficulties that could entail.
After their meeting at the TV studios, they were seen together in Brooklyn, near Jake’s sister Maggie’s house. Then they stopped at the restaurant Al Di La, where Emma Stone joined them for lunch. They started making people talk about them and It was only a matter of time before Taylor was asked about the gossip that was circulating. When he was a guest at the The Ellen DeGeneres Showthe hostess asked her how optimistic she was about her love life. “I’m always optimistic about love” said Taylor. “Yes, always, sometimes.” Ellen was in a particularly mischievous mood and retorted: “Especially if your boyfriend is Jake Gyllenhaal, because he’s gorgeous.”
Later in November, they were spotted together at the luxurious Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, California. Taylor, according to reports, “laughed at every joke Jake told” while eating ice cream and yogurt together. Taylor had a rainbow sprinkle yogurt, while Gyllenhaal went for Swiss chocolate chips. She even stood on tiptoe to compare her heights with Jake’s. According to witnesses, the couple was “smiling a lot” and was “happy” and “sociable.” Things seemed to be going well.
Gwyneth Paltrow, actress and wife of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, had been friends with both Jake and – thanks to Martin – Taylor for some time.. He told to USA Today of having arranged a dinner for the young couple in London. Everything seemed to be going great. They were so in love that, according to reports, Taylor changed her Thanksgiving plans at the last minute and chose to spend it with Gyllenhaal instead of the Swifts. On that occasion, in New York, she met Jake’s family, a clear indication that the relationship was getting serious. The visit seemed to be a success and Maggie, Jake’s sister, told Us Weekly that everything had gone “great.”
Then came the now-famous photographs of the couple sipping maple lattes at Gorilla Coffee in Brooklyn, the very embodiment of the fall-loving young American adult. Then, after flying to Nashville, the two were spotted taking romantic walks and making other pit stops for coffee and late-morning breakfast. Among the coffee shops the caffeine-hungry couple hit were Frothy Monkey, Crema, and Fido. Their relationship seemed exciting on more than one level: if photographic evidence was anything to go by, the couple must have been high on caffeine.
As with her previous relationships, including with Jonas, Taylor was evasive when asked by the press. When MTV asked her if she was dating Gyllenhaal, she said: «I write a lot about my personal life, but I don’t talk about it.» Yet, various sources continued to have their say in the press. One, on Us Weeklysaid Taylor was head over heels in love with Gyllenhaal. “She really likes how cute and affectionate he is. Jake likes how sweet, calm and good-natured Taylor is.”
When he reportedly flew her to Britain – where he was busy with events to launch his latest film – to spend a weekend with her, it seemed serious. According to some media outlets, he spent £100,000 flying her across the Atlantic on a private jet so they could spend 48 hours together in his luxury suite at the Dorchester Hotel on the capital’s fashionable Park Lane. This made the relationship seem quite intense. Some even speculated that the couple would get married. Things were certainly moving very quickly.
As Taylor celebrated her 21st birthday, mixed signals emerged about her relationship with the Hollywood hunk. According to some newspaper articles, he reportedly spent eleven thousand dollars to buy her a vintage Gretsch guitar. Others said she had spent £100,000 on a gold bracelet studded with dozens of diamonds. To complete the list of gifts reported in the chronicles, there were a grinder and a coffee machine, complete with Kona coffee beans. Such generosity, if the rumors were true, indicated a strong relationship where both parties saw a long-term future together.
However, when she reached the seventy guests at her birthday party, Gyllenhaal was not among them. Although work commitments could have explained his absence, it was notable that she spent Christmas with her relatives instead of ditching them for Jake, as she had done on Thanksgiving. It soon became clear that the two had gone their separate ways. “He said he no longer felt the same passion and that all the attention they were receiving made him uncomfortable.” a source told Us Weekly. «He also said he felt the age difference. Taylor was really upset. We told her not to rush, but she didn’t listen.”
Where did things go wrong? The increased media attention he received from being linked to Taylor seemed to have disgusted Gyllenhaal and made him uncomfortable. The press was nothing new, of course, but he cherished his image as a credible actor focused on independent films. Many actors aspire, at least in part, to a lifestyle and image of solitary, mysterious artists, a bit like Robert De Niro, for example. Taylor’s more adolescent, easy-going image and the kind of media coverage he consequently attracted made him feel less interesting.
Taylor noted his objections, but she was convinced that he was oversensitive about the press. She told Vogue: “I also can’t deal with someone who’s obsessed with privacy. People care about famous people hanging out, but not to that extent. If you care about privacy to the point where you have to dig a tunnel under a restaurant to leave… I can’t do it.” He would still talk about what they had been through together, but he would do it on his new album.
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© 2024 HarperCollins Italia ©Chas Newkey-Burden
Source: Vanity Fair
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