Jenny Lewis
Beginning in 2001, Jake was dating Jenny Lewis, an actress and musician who was also at the very beginning of her career. Although the relationship was brief, the two held onto a solid friendship, with Jake even taking Jenny as his date to the Golden Globes some ten years later.
Kirsten Dunst
How’s this for a pair of early 2000s icons? Jake Gyllenhaal dated Kirsten Dunst for two years after meeting in 2002 on the set of Mona Lisa Smile, which his sister also starred in. The couple moved in together, and even adopted a German Shepherd, but they split in 2004.
Reese Witherspoon
The 2000s iconography continues with this hot pairing, which lasted on-and-off from 2007 to 2009, when Reese was amid the drama of her divorce from Ryan Phillippe. The pair remain friends, with Jake even saying in 2016 that “she is … one of the smartest, strongest people I’ve ever met.”
Taylor Swift
We all know how that ended.
Anna Kendrick and Alyssa Miller
Jake’s two next rumoured romances fizzled pretty quickly, if they existed at all, given the rumours were unconfirmed. Jake was linked to Anna while they filmed End of Watch in 2011, but then remained reportedly single until 2013, when he was spotted smooching model Alyssa Miller in New York City, leading to another short fling. While Anna is five years Jake’s junior, Alyssa is the same age as Taylor, so for a hot minute, that lyric might have been onto something.
Rachel McAdams
We’re trying not to get caught up on the details, but this romance was never actually confirmed. The pair met on the set of Southpaw, and were spotted together numerous times, but both just claimed to be good friends. For what it’s worth, Rachel is two years Jake’s senior, so if they did indeed date, our ‘Jake Gyllenhaal as the subject of All Too Well’ hypothesis suddenly has a hole in it.
Ruth Wilson
Another unconfirmed romance, Jake was linked to actress Ruth Wilson in 2015 when he was spotted kissing her, again in New York. They were starring on Broadway together at the time, but since the rumours were never confirmed, the fact that she was only one year his junior means our theory remains flawless.
Jeanne Cadieu
Welcome to the list, Jeanne Cadieu. Jake’s current partner, model Jeanne Cadieu, has been with him since 2018. She’s 25, 16 years Jake’s junior, and we now think we see what Taylor might have been getting at with her new lyric.
Despite the age gap, the pair seem really solid, with Jake telling Vogue last year and mid-pandemic that he has “turned to love” after “seeing life as something that is, you know, fleeting, and the world being as it is now”.
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