“This isn’t a new couple alert or a secret relationship - the only people this has been a secret to is the media because all of us, Taylor and Joe’s closest friends and their families, were aware they have been together for several months and have known each other for a long time. Kris Connor Getty Images May 16, 2017: Reports emerge that they’re dating.Ī source close to the pair told The Sun that Swift and Alwyn had been together for a few months, and that their friends and families were in on it: The lyrics in question: “Flashback to when you met me, your buzzed cut and my hair bleached.” Swift’s hair was, indeed, bleached at the Met Gala, and Alwyn’s hair was buzzed. But sleuths have determined that the song “Dress” on her 2017 album Reputation might refer to their first meeting. Nobody knows for sure when Swift and Alwyn first met. May 2, 2016: They meet at the Met Gala (probably). As we eke out the details, scroll below for a timeline of their coupledom, leading up to their collaboration on Swift’s ninth album and the brewing engagement rumors. This includes Swift’s confirmation that Alwyn co-wrote two songs on folklore under the pseudonym William Bowery and also helped pen three tracks from Swift’s latest record, evermore. Still, a love story like Swift and Alwyn’s couldn’t stay behind closed doors forever, and since 2020, they’ve been more public about their relationship than ever before. Instead, her accounts would focus on promoting her work and sharing photos of her other loves: cats Olivia, Meredith, and Benjamin. Gone were the paparazzi photo ops of Swift’s days with Tom Hiddleston, and gooey Instagram pics-like the ones she’d posted with Calvin Harris-would no longer populate her social media. When Taylor Swift first began dating actor Joe Alwyn more than four years ago, it was almost immediately clear the couple had come to an agreement: Their relationship would be an intimate but private one, and they’d be a united front in protecting that privacy.