Why Taylor Swift & Joe Alwyn Reportedly Split After Previous ‘Rough Patches’ In Relationship

The split reportedly occurred in the last few weeks and was not at all ‘dramatic’, according to a new report.

Joe Alwyn wasn’t “The One” for Taylor Swift due to a series of “rough patches” in their relationship, according to PEOPLE. “They’ve had rough patches before and always worked things out, so friends thought they would take some time apart but eventually come back together,” a source for the publication said of the Grammy Award-winning singer, 33, and British actor, 32, in an April 10 report. However, the insider claimed they concluded that they “weren’t the right fit for one another.”

Taylor and Joe fell in love after first crossing paths at the 2016 Met Gala, which the former references in her 2017 song, “Dress”, which is off her fiery album, Reputation. The insider explained that the timing of their meeting allowed them to fall in love easily, but didn’t allow them to experience Taylor’s stardom in its entirety. “They had plenty in common and fell in love in a safe bubble while she was retreating from the world during Reputation,” the source noted. “Then the pandemic hit, and they were locked down together and able to continue growing their relationship in this insulated way. But he didn’t really ‘know’ her yet outside of that bubble.”

The global superstar and the Stars at Noon actor kept their relationship very private and never even walked a red carpet together, but were spotted spending time together on occasion, such as leaving a British Vogue party in 2019 hand in hand and inside the 2020 Golden Globes. Joe and Taylor even wrote some tracks for three of her albums together: 2022’s Midnights, 2020’s Folklore, and 2020’s Evermore. Taylor very lightly touched on their relationship in her 2020 documentary, Taylor Swift: Miss Americana, in which she gushed over fitting into his “wonderful, normal, balanced kind of life”.

Taylor has been open about striving to create a more private and balanced life for herself for years— especially after her dramatic feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian drove headlines for months in 2016. She complimented Paul McCartney for successfully maintaining a balanced and quiet life with his wife, Nancy, in an interview for Rolling Stone‘s Nov. 2020 cover story. “I know you have done a really excellent job of this in your personal life: carving out a human life within a public life, and how scary that can be when you do fall in love and you meet someone, especially if you’ve met someone who has a very grounded, normal way of living,” she said. 

“I, oftentimes, in my anxieties, can control how I am as a person and how normal I act and rationalize things, but I cannot control if there are 20 photographers outside in the bushes and what they do and if they follow our car and if they interrupt our lives,” she continued. “I can’t control if there’s going to be a fake weird headline about us in the news tomorrow.”

Unfortunately, PEOPLE‘s insider said the things Taylor could not control were too much for the Harriet actor. “Joe has struggled with Taylor’s level of fame and the attention from the public. The differences in their personalities have also become harder to ignore after years together,” they noted. The insider also claimed they have simply “grown apart” and that the “Anti-Hero” hitmaker simply “didn’t see them working out in the long run.”

Although fans may hear some new breakup songs from Taylor in the future, they likely won’t be anything too sassy, as the insider claimed the recent split was “not dramatic.” They explained, “They are friendly. She doesn’t have anything bad to say about Joe. They just grew apart. Taylor is staying very focused on her tour right now.”

Neither Taylor nor Joe or their reps has publicly commented on the reported breakup, which hit headlines on April 8. HollywoodlLife reached out to Taylor’s representative, but did not receive an immediate response.

@taylorerastour

Taylor Swift perfroming for the first time The 1 at the eras tour tonight!❤️ 📸: carolinaguzmman #arligtontstheerastour #tstheerastour #taylorswift #swifttok #concert

♬ the 1 – Taylor Swift

For now, mourning fans are using a hint from Taylor’s recent set list change for the Eras Tour to speculate that she and the rising actor are truly done: She recently switched out “Invisible String”, a love song written about the parallels in her and Joe’s lives before they got together, and replaced it with “The One”, a somber song about a lost love. A clip of her performing “The One” can be seen above.