There was a lot of skepticism last week when the Sun came out with their exclusive that Taylor Swift and Matt Healy are “madly in love” and that they would be premiering their relationship at her tour stop in Nashville. Skepticism because, well, it’s the Sun, and the Sun doesn’t have great accuracy record. Like maybe a once a year? And they may just have met their annual target because Matt actually showed up in Nashville this weekend where he performed with Phoebe Bridgers during the opening act before Taylor hit the stage and then joined Taylor’s friends, including Gigi Hadid and Lily Aldridge. 

 

Here’s a fan video of him dancing to “Shake It Off” with Gigi: 

The paps also got shots of Taylor and Matt in a car together returning to her Nashville apartment. They’re not great quality pictures but it’s obvious enough to be the two of them though it’s not clear whether or not they were alone or if members of her squad were with them.

 

What we do know is that Matt was at all three of Taylor’s shows and that he flew in from the Philippines, where The 1975 was on tour on Thursday to make it to Nashville for Friday which is a strong suggestion that, well, this is definitely a thing. Because that’s a lot of distance and a lot of fatigue for someone who’s just a friend. 

And then there’s the friend energy – her friends surrounding him, almost as if they’re welcoming him into her life, and theirs – and we have seen in the past that this is kind of like an informal initiation for all of Taylor’s boyfriends. So… I guess… this is real? 

Real and strategic at the same time? Both things can be true. And on the strategy level, given the way this has rolled out, and given that Taylor knows how to guard her personal life when she wants to, it feels deliberate, like she indeed wanted to go public about this. If that’s the case…why? 

I work with a Taylor Swift superfan. She shared this morning during our team meeting that she thinks that it’s because there’s a certain segment of her fanbase that’s refusing to believe that Taylor and Joe Alwyn are over. And this could be her message to them to give up on that hope. 

 

If this is legit a romantic relationship though, its DNA is already different from what Taylor had with Joe. They were really quiet, really private, really undercover. And already we’re seeing that Matt is …not about that life. The guy who once said that being Taylor’s boyfriend would be “emasculating” is now out here doing the choreo to her songs and holding his hand over his heart while she’s singing. 

To be fair to Matt, he said those things back in 2016 and a lot can change in seven years. His own career has changed – and he was talking then about being on the come-up and the risk of having his love life overshadow his own work. I’m not saying Matt is the household name that Taylor is now but The 1975 is indeed much more established and they’re both in their 30s now, more mature of course than they were nearly a decade ago when their priorities were different, and no doubt their perspectives have now shifted…

 

If he is indeed her boyfriend, his style is a lot more demonstrative, already, than Joe ever was. And in the end, that may suit her love language – at least for now. It tracks for me that she’d respond positively to her boyfriend being her biggest fanboy. That he would be willing to perform that role in public. And that she wouldn’t have to hide the fact that she likes it. 

Or, you know, it could just be a rebound… which also tracks. Taylor’s refractory periods have always been short. She rebounded off Calvin Harris to Tom Hiddleston. And then left Tom on the side of the road for Joe. Is Matt Healy a Tom or a Joe?