Taylor Swift’s ex, Joe Alwyn, weighs in on The Tortured Poets Department

If we accept as true that much of the latest album by Taylor Swift, The Tortured Poet’s Department, is about her six-year relationship with the English actor Joe Alwynhis absence from the spotlight seems understandable: the album describes toxic exchanges and painful breakups, with a cast of adult male children that makes Animal House. But after a leading role in the director’s new film Poor creatures Yorgos Lanthimos, Kinds of KindnessAlwyn can’t keep hiding. And unlike some characters who only agree to interviews under strict guidelines, Alwyn will also take questions about Taylor Swift, as long as they stay within limits.

Or at least, that’s what it seems to be like in an interview given to Sunday Times released today, in which for the first time Alwyn spoke publicly about his breakup with the billionaire singer.

If Swift’s song “Dress” is considered a reliable historical document, it appears the couple met for the first time at the 2016 Met Gala. Swift was there because she’s Taylor Swift; Alwyn, an actor at the beginning of his career, would be present as the actor’s companion Garrett Hedlund. Thus began a relationship lasting six or more years (depending on which versions are credited) with a fairly definitive arrival point around April 2023, or earlier.

Swift, who was in the midst of the Eras Tour when the news broke, changed pretty quickly, first with Matty Healy of 1975 (also a possible subject of TPD), then with her current spouse, the tight end of the Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce. While these relationships played out on the main stage, Alwyn’s life continued away from the spotlight, with rare public appearances and the occasional cryptic social media post.

Anonymous sources, presumably close to Alwyn, said he had also “moved on” and was “focused on work”. And it’s the work that could force him to take a step back, if this latest interview – which, perhaps understandably, highlights his connection to Swift more than his latest acting work – remains the norm.

Even Alwyn understands this, telling the Times: “I understand people’s curiosity,” when asked about Swift and TPD. And of the album itself, he says he “hopes that anyone can relate to and understand the difficulties that come with the end of a long, loving, fully committed relationship of over six and a half years.”

“It’s a difficult situation to deal with. What is unusual and abnormal about this situation is that, a week later, it is suddenly public knowledge, and the outside world feels entitled to make its assessments.”

Looking back on the furore surrounding their relationship, Alwyn says: “There’s something very real that’s suddenly thrown into a very unreal space: the tabloids, the social media, the press, where it’s then dissected, instrumentalized and twisted beyond recognition. The truth is there’s always going to be a gap between what’s known and what’s said. I’ve made my peace with that.”

Alwyn also suggests that fans and the media have been slower to get over it than he and Swift have been: “It’s been a little over a year and I feel blessed to be at a really great point in my life, professionally and personally,” he says.

One thing the relationship has taught him is the need to protect his private life as much as possible. “As everyone knows, we decided together—both of us—to keep the most private details of our relationship to ourselves. It was never something to be commodified, and I see no reason to change that now,” he says.

An assessment that he still makes his own today regarding his current love life, which he refuses to talk about: “I’m sure people will understand,” he says, “considering the many uncontrolled rumors about my past relationship. In short, I would not like to open the door to a repetition of these things at this time.”

“I have brilliant, authentic people in my life,” she says, “and I try to live in reality, away from the online noise of Twitter or whatever. I try to enjoy the moment.”