Joe Alwyn has spoken out for the first time about his split from Taylor Swift.
The Conversations With Friends star and Grammy-winning singer were together for around six years, before it was first reported that they’d parted ways in 2023.
A year on from the split, Joe was asked by The Times whether he’d listened to Taylor’s latest album The Tortured Poets Department, the title of which is thought to be inspired by the British actor, as are select songs.
Joe declined to give a “direct answer” to the question, but he did say: “I would hope that anyone and everyone can empathise and understand the difficulties that come with the end of a long, loving, fully committed relationship of over six and a half years. That is a hard thing to navigate.
“What is unusual and abnormal in this situation is that, one week later, it’s suddenly in the public domain and the outside world is able to weigh in.”
He also noted that a public break-up means “something very real” is “suddenly thrown into a very unreal space” that includes “tabloids, social media, press, where it is then dissected, speculated on, pulled out of shape beyond recognition”.
“The truth is, to that last point, there is always going to be a gap between what is known and what is said,” he said. “I have made my peace with that.”
While tracks like So Long London are widely considered to be about Joe, fans were surprised when The Tortured Poets Department dropped earlier this year to discover that most of the album appears to be about Matty Healy, who Taylor dated shortly after her break-up.
After splitting with Matty, she began dating NFL star Travis Kelce, with whom she’s been in a relationship for almost a year.