When news first broke of Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn’s breakup, fans braced themselves for the countless Taylor Swift dating rumours that were inevitably heading their way.
The pop star’s love life has long been under intense scrutiny, and whilst her private six-year relationship with Joe may have held off the rumour mill momentarily, as soon as the demise of their relationship was made public (unconfirmed or otherwise), social media was abuzz with speculation about who she would date next.
Just two months after news of their breakup first broke, Swifties were surprised by her next relationship.
Apart from some short-lived (and amusing) suggestions that she was dating Formula One driver Fernando Alonso, publications focused on one story in particular: The idea that Taylor was dating none other than The 1975 frontman Matthew Healy.
While the rumours may have shocked many around the globe, OG Swifties know this rumoured relationship wasn’t as left-of-field as one may expect. The two singers actually have a long history, with dating rumours first emerging back in 2014.
Now, as fans get more insight into their short but seemingly serious relationship in Taylor’s latest album The Tortured Poets Department, we’re taking it back to the very beginning to look at their relationship history.
Who is Matty Healy?
We’ll get this out of the way first – Matty Healy, 35, is an English singer and musician who is part of the band, The 1975.
The son of English actress and television personality Denise Welch, Matty has had a tumultuous relationship with fame, retreating back and forth between over-sharing on social media and disappearing and deactivating his accounts completely.
Throughout his time in the spotlight, Matty has dated a number of notable names including FKA Twigs, Gabriella Brooks and Halsey.
Did Taylor Swift and Matty Healy date?
November 2014
It’s believed the pair first met back in 2014 when Taylor attended The 1975’s concert in LA alongside Selena Gomez.
“We exchanged numbers,” Matty told Aussie reality show Shazam Top 20. “I mean, bloody hell, what am I going to do? Go out with Taylor Swift? She’s a sensation; I wouldn’t say no!”
Mere days after attending the concert Taylor was spotted wearing a The 1975 T-shirt, then (brace yourselves) Matty was spotted wearing a 1989 T-shirt and Tumblr collectively lost its mind.
By December 2014, rumours began circulating that the pair were dating after Taylor was spotted at another concert alongside Karlie Kloss.
However, the rumours seemed to fizzle out pretty quickly, apart from a few pictures of the pair attending the Universal Music Brits party in February 2015.
December 2016
Almost two years after fans speculated that the pair dated, Matty spoke out on the rumours, telling Q Magazine that the idea of being Taylor Swift’s boyfriend was “demasculinating ” and “emasculating.”
Yeah. The same guy who is now supposedly dating the pop star had some pretty choice words at the time. But then again, he’s known for saying an unhinged thing or two from time to time – even about his closest friends.
“So the one time I did have a flirtation with a girl, it ends up going everywhere…I mean, I got on E! News and people were like, ‘Who’s Matt Healy?’ so that was cool,” he told the publication.
“But I didn’t make a big deal out of it myself. It’s not really anything to talk about because if she wasn’t Taylor Swift we wouldn’t be talking about her. She wasn’t a big impact on my life.”
“It’s just interesting to me how interested the world is about Taylor Swift. The reason I mention that is because if I had [properly] gone out with Taylor Swift, I would’ve been, ‘F**king hell, I am not being Taylor Swift’s boyfriend. You know, “F**k. That. That’s also a man thing, a demasculinating, emasculating thing.”
Matty later backtracked on he remarks, explaining that his comments were taken out of context.
“I have said on countless occasions that I found her to be one of the most gracious, hard-working, creatively gifted, and beautiful women that I have had the pleasure to meet,” he told Elle. “I personally have a lot of respect and admiration for her. Why would I not?’”
At the time of publication, Taylor Swift was dating Calvin Harris and didn’t make any comment on the quotes.
November 2022
For the next few years, any rumours of the pair dissipated as Taylor began dating Joe Alwyn, apart from Matty confirming that he collaborated with Taylor for a song on her Midnights album, which unfortunately didn’t make the album “for reasons that are not to be criticized.”
“She’s amazing,” he added during the interview.
January 2023
On January 12 Taylor Swift shocked fans when she appeared at The 1975’s show in London, performing Anti-Hero for the first time live.
She also sang a cover of The 1975’s song, The City, but fans didn’t think much of it considering she was rumoured to have replaced Harry Styles as the surprise guest at the last minute.
Watch Below: Taylor Swift performs at The 1975 concert
May 2023
After news broke that Taylor and Joe split in April, The Sun reported that she was now dating Matty Healy.
“She and Matty are madly in love,” a source told the publication on May 3. “It’s super-early days, but it feels right. They first dated, very briefly, almost ten years ago but timings just didn’t work out.”
“Both Matty and Taylor have been touring over the past few weeks, so it’s been a lot of Face-Timing and texting but she cannot wait to see him again…But as two international megastars, they understand the pressures of one another’s jobs better than anyone, and are incredibly supportive of their respective careers.”
“They are both massively proud and excited about this relationship and, unlike Taylor’s last one — which was very much kept out of the spotlight, deliberately — she wants to ‘own’ this romance, and not hide it away,” the source continued.
“Taylor just wants to live her life, and be happy. She’s told pals Matty is flying to Nashville over the weekend to support her on the next leg of her tour.”
Watch Below: Matty Healy sings ‘She’s American’ amid Taylor Swift dating rumours
Adding fuel to the fire, The 1975 played their song She’s American on May 4, which fans believe was an obvious sign that the pair are officially dating – especially considering the track was not part of previous set lists.
“This one’s about you, you know who you are. I love you,” he appeared to mouth to the camera during the song.
Watch Below: Matty Healy spotted at The Eras Tour
Whilst there was a bit of chatter about the rumours initially, things really ramped up when Matty was spotted at Taylor’s concert in Nashville on May 5, seemingly confirming that at least a part of the source’s information was correct.
TikTok well and truly (and understandably) lost the plot, with Swifties sharing clips of Matty dancing to The Eras setlist alongside Phoebe Bridgers.
The following night on May 6, Matty was once again in attendance at Taylor’s concert, even performing with Phoebe Bridgers and her Boygenious bandmates as the opening act for the night.
The DailyMail also obtained photos that appear to show Taylor Swift and Matty Healy arriving at Taylor’s condo following her concert.
June 2023
And just as quickly as it emerged, the relationship was seemingly over, with reports emerging in June 2023 that Matty Healy and Taylor Swift’s had broken up.
A close friend first told Page Six that Taylor was “single” again but didn’t reveal the reason behind the pair’s split.
However, a source later told Entertainment Tonight that scheduling and incompatibility were the causes.
“Taylor and Matty broke up. They are both extremely busy and realised they’re not really compatible with each other,” the source explained.
“Taylor’s friends want what’s best for her and aren’t shocked that their relationship fizzled out since she recently got out of a long-term relationship.”
August 2023
As Taylor travels the globe on her Eras Tour, it appears that Matty has reconnected with his former flame Meredith Mickelson.
According to The Mirror, Matty and Meredith were initially together during the early part of this year, with a source telling the publication that Meredith “thought nothing” of Matty’s time in the studio with Taylor.
“He’d spend the day in the studio then come home to her. Things were going well until around March 29 then, out of the blue, he stopped replying to messages and calls,” the insider told The Mirror.
“Four weeks later, he went public with Taylor. She was totally blindsided and, of course, it stung her a bit.”
It appears any hard feelings between the couple have since been put aside, with photographs emerging of Matty and Meredith sharing an affectionate moment outside a restaurant in Los Angeles.
April 2024
With both Taylor and Matty moving onto other relationships in the past six months, fans had all but forgotten about their seemingly small fling – but the release of Taylor’s newest album The Tortured Poets Department shed light on their surprisingly deep connection.
While fans were expecting the tracks to be about ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn, many lyrics alluded to her relationship with The 1975 frontman.
Fans quickly jumped to the conclusion that tracks including ‘The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived’, ‘I Can Fix Him’, and ‘Fortnight’ were about her and Matty, with lyrics alluding to typewriters, a two-week relationship and smoking all tied to the 35 year old musician.
Shortly after the release of the album, Matty himself responded to questions from paparazzi about his thoughts on Taylor’s “diss track” about him, with a confused Matty replying, “I haven’t really listened to that much of it but I’m sure it’s good.”
In addition to Matty’s reaction, his aunt Debbie Dedes also spoke to the Daily Mail about the frontman’s response, telling the publication, “Nothing surprises him anymore.”
“Him and her know what went on. She writes about all her relationships, doesn’t she? I don’t think it will come as a shock to him at all,” she said, adding, “As my nephew, we know a bit more about what went on than has been in the press.”
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