Although the recent breakup of Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn may have shocked the singer’s fans, it wasn’t all that “dramatic,” according to People magazine.
A source close to the singer told the publication that the split was largely caused by “differences in their personalities.”
The source said Taylor and Joe have “had rough patches before and always worked things out, so friends thought they would take some time apart but eventually come back together.”
However, after six years, it was clear they “weren’t the right fit for one another,” the source told People.
The breakup reportedly happened a few weeks ago. Representatives for the former couple did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s requests for comment.
People reported that they had been “talking about marriage as recently as a few months ago.”
According to People, Taylor and Joe first started dating in 2016. When the 2020 pandemic hit, the source said, they went through lockdown together, allowing their relationship to grow in an insulated fashion.
In addition to the romance, the couple collaborated on two of her albums, Folklore and Evermore. Joe, an actor and songwriter, won a Grammy Award for his role in 2021, and Taylor gave him a shout-out that same year after she won the Grammy for Album of the Year.
Previously, Taylor said her song Lavender Haze describes how the relationship felt at its best.
“When you’re in the ‘lavender haze,’ you’ll do anything to stay there and not let people bring you off of that cloud,” she said in an Instagram post, noting how she and Joe have had to protect their relationship from the outside world.
“We’ve had to dodge weird rumours, tabloid stuff, and we just ignore it,” the singer continued. “And so this song is sort of about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff.”
In one of the few times Joe publicly spoke about the romance, he explained that he didn’t want to be guarded and private about it, but felt he had no other option.
“We live in a culture that is so increasingly intrusive. … The more you give — and frankly, even if you don’t give it — something will be taken.”
But the People source said that as a result of their pandemic privacy, Joe didn’t really “know” Taylor outside of the bubble, and since then, “they’ve grown apart.”
Still, don’t expect the singer’s next album to be full of anti-Alwyn ditties.
“They are friendly. She doesn’t have anything bad to say about Joe,” the insider told People. “They just grew apart. Taylor is staying very focused on her tour right now.”
CORRECTION: This story has been amended to clarify when Swift and Alwyn are reported to have begun dating.