From poet to exile
In The Tortured Poets Department, Taylor Swift is said to be hinting at many people, from old enemy Kim Kardashian to current lover Travis Kelce. However, fans believe that the central character of the 11th studio album of “Country Music Princess” is her ex-lover Joe Alwyn.
The romance between the British actor and the American music superstar began in 2017. After 6 years together, they thought the two would have a beautiful ending, the wedding of the century. However, they suddenly broke up in March 2023.
Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn had a beautiful relationship but broke up after 6 years. Photo: NBCU Photo Bank.
During the process of their passionate love, Taylor wrote nearly 20 songs dedicated to her boyfriend who is 2 years younger, with many sweet words. Among them, albums Lover (2019) most clearly shows the passion that the blonde beauty has for Joe. The most typical is Lover, London Boy, Paper King…
It can be said that among the group of ex-lovers, Joe Alwyn received the most love from Taylor and also gave her the most inspiration for her writing.
However, when love ends, sweet words turn bitter. Right from the new album’s title, it shows the ironic attitude that Taylor has towards Joe. The Tortured Poets Department (roughly translated as Tortured Poets Club) is believed to have originated from a WhatsApp chat group called The Tortured Man Club of Joe and actors Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal.
Going into the content, Taylor never reveals the identities of the people she puts into her music, but Swifties (Taylor Swift’s fan community) are always ready to decode. According to analysis, Taylor exposed her 6-year love affair with Joe through many songs such as Fortnight, The Black Dog, So Long London, Loml, I Can Do It With a Broken Heart , But Daddy I Love Him nice The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived… Based on the lyrics, fans think that Taylor is implying that her ex-lover had an affair, was heartless, became increasingly cold and left her alone in a foreign land. In addition, the songs in the album also express Taylor’s struggle and pain when she has to say goodbye to the person she hopes to build a family with.
When responding to listeners’ comments Amazon Music, Taylor shared that the new album is about tragic love and loss. She recalls being highly appreciated at the beginning of a romantic relationship, but over time things went from bad to worse.
“Then suddenly they destroy or devalue us in their minds. Meanwhile, we’re still clinging to the saying: ‘No, no, no, you should have seen them the first time they see me’. They will go back to how they were then,” Taylor explained, mentioning the fact that there are people who still hold out hope about broken, toxic relationships.
Taylor Swift hinted her relationship with Joe Alwyn was toxic. Photo: SplashNews.com.
How is Joe Alwyn now?
Even though he works as an entertainer, Joe Alwyn likes a private lifestyle. He loved Taylor for 6 years but always kept their relationship as private as possible. This seems to go against the hit owner’s outlook on life Anti-hero. Before meeting the British poet, she declared that she did not like having to hide her love story.
“It makes me feel like I’m hiding from the law or something. I don’t want to feel like a fugitive,” Taylor said.
According to international media, amateur Billy Lynn Doesn’t like Taylor being too famous, wants her to keep to herself more. Meanwhile, Taylor likes flashy and bright things. Page Six commented that her old love was a barrier preventing Taylor from becoming the greatest artist of her generation.
With his quiet personality, it is not surprising that Joe did not react when his ex-girlfriend publicly accused him. The 9X actor’s most obvious move is to block the comments section on his personal Instagram.
Joe Alwyn did not comment on Taylor’s criticism. Photo: SCMP.
Own source Daily Mail said in February that Joe has no intention of speaking out about it and hopes the album doesn’t reveal too much about their relationship.
“Joe hasn’t said a word about Taylor or their breakup and has complete respect for her. There’s no denying that the name of her upcoming album is a reference to Joe’s WhatsApp group chat. Taylor criticizes him “Because of this name when they were together. She didn’t want people to think it had anything to do with her, so when he spoke up, of course she felt uncomfortable,” the source said.
According to the source, Joe doesn’t expect Taylor to criticize him or their relationship, instead reflecting on their time together. For the actor, the fact that his ex-lover made an album to attack him is absurd and shocking because he used to help her write songs for her albums. Folklore and Evermore (under the stage name William Bowery).
“No matter what she does, he won’t respond because he’s removed himself from her story and is glad he did,” the insider insisted.
Currently, Joe devotes all his attention to work. He appeared in movies The Brutalist, Hamlet and Brideshead Revisited. The biggest project is comedy work Kinds of Kindness by Yorgos Lanthimos, scheduled for release in June. In the film, Joe teams up with two of Taylor’s good friends, Emma Stone and Margaret Qualley.
Joe Alwyn is about to release a movie with Emma Stone. Photo: Twitter.
