Taylor Swift's Exes Who Have Spoken Out About Their Relationship

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Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have quickly become one of the most followed couples in the world, with fans clocking their every move, decoding their body language, and trying to decipher the nuances of their relationship. While things have largely looked good between the singer and football superstar, there are red flags that have cropped up. The two began dating in the summer of 2023, later going public with their relationship went public that fall. Since then, the couple has generated endless cultural fascination, with fans speculating about a possible engagement and even kids. After all, between the many love lessons that we've learned from Swift, we're naturally going to get invested.

There's no doubt that the relationship has left a mark on both parties. In terms of style, Swift has undergone a transformation since she started dating the football player. There's no denying that she's left a mark on him, too, least of all the fact that he's become a lot more famous thanks to his proximity to her. And in many respects, they appear to have a great connection. In fact, there's a science behind Kelce and Swift's winning relationship. But that doesn't mean it's perfect. Now, we can't possibly know what goes on behind closed doors, but we have noticed some things that certainly have the potential to be red flags. To discuss this, Women.com reached out to matchmaker Susan Trombetti, CEO of Exclusive Matchmaking, to understand what's concerning about Swift and Kelce.

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This detail isn't exactly their fault, but there's no denying that public audiences are inundated with every minute piece of information pertaining to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's relationship. Matchmaker Susan Trombetti told Women.com that audiences are getting a little fatigued by their relationship being an ever-present news story. "These two are overexposed and people are frankly sick of hearing about them. It happens," she said. As a cultural unit, they're overly featured. 

Trombetti looked back at another couple where this was the case. "Remember Ben [Affleck] and Jen [Lopez] before the 2nd go-round 20 years ago. Some say that contributed to Ben's career suffering." Commenting on how Kelce's team, the Kansas City Chiefs, lost the 2025 Super Bowl to the Philadelphia Eagles, Trombetti spoke about Kelce's career and media coverage around Swift at his games. "While I don't attribute that to Travis' team's Super Bowl loss, we sure were glad when they only showed Taylor once during the Super Bowl," she explained. "It can be too much sometimes." To be fair, Swift and Kelce would probably agree with this assessment, and seem to try and stay out of the public eye as much as possible. Swift has frequently used a fish bowl symbolically in her songs and music videos as an illustration of how much public scrutiny comes with dating her. So she and Kelce quite likely wish for more privacy than they get. 

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Another red flag between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce emerged after the Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas 2023. According to Life & Style, the stress of his loss put Kelce in a bad mood and he was short with Swift, spawning their first argument. An insider told the outlet, "The game pretty much ruined Taylor and Travis' holidays. Travis wasn't himself for days after. He snapped at Taylor and they had their first fight. He apologized after but Taylor definitely felt hurt and confused. It was rough."

In light of this, matchmaker Susan Trombetti talked to Women.com about later losses for Kelce, such as the 2025 Super Bowl. "His Super Bowl loss was something that left me wondering if he was going to be in a foul mood with Taylor afterward," she told us. "That shouldn't be. Don't forget his Christmas Day loss to the Las Vegas Raiders where he professed he wasn't himself for days. He snapped at Taylor which sparked one of their very first arguments, if not the first, if you believe what's been reported." This is concerning, Trombetti noted, if Kelce allows career disappointments to impact his romantic relationship, particularly since football losses are not remotely Swift's fault. 

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There's no denying that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are in two very different professions. For Kelce, as for all professional football players, retirement will come sooner than it does for most people, whereas Swift could (hopefully!) go on writing music and performing for the rest of her life. For matchmaker Susan Trombetti, this could spell potential trouble for the couple. "His eventual retirement, which he contemplated this year, is bound to happen sooner than later," she explained to Women.com. "You know it's coming even though he is going back for Fall 2025." 

The average NFL player retires at around 27, due to the high-impact nature of the game and the likelihood of injury. When Kelce played in the 2025 Super Bowl, he was 35, so he's already staying on past the typical age of most players. The brief careers of NFL players might be hard on the bond between Swift and Kelce. "Retirement changes the dynamic in a relationship," Trombetti told Women.com. "Football is all he ever knew and if suddenly, he isn't a star, where is that going to leave his ego next to her star wattage which isn't burning out anytime soon?" It's certainly something to think about. Swift and Kelce are used to supporting each other's huge moments; he cheers her on while she's on tour, and she cheers him on when he's playing. When that dynamic shifts, things might get tough for the two. 

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Taylor Swift has an incredible business acumen and a brilliant ability to market herself and stay relevant. She largely attempts to keep away from controversy, and doesn't embroil herself in media scandals. She deftly utilizes social media to her advantage, and it's one of the many reasons her career has been so successful. Travis Kelce, on the other hand, has had a few bumps along the way with media. Back in 2016, he was on an E! dating show called "Catching Kelce," and many of his quirkier tweets on X have resurfaced since he started dating Swift, revealing that the internet never forgets.   

Susan Trombetti predicts this could be a problem between the two. "Maybe it's just that he isn't as media savvy as to how things can come back to haunt you," Trombetti told us. "He did live in a football bubble most of his life until meeting Taylor. His dating show left him looking back regretting his behavior." Before he and Swift got together, he said on his podcast "New Heights" that he needed to meet a breeder. Trombetti noted comments like this as potentially problematic. "It's sort of harmless, but either he is lacking in class or hasn't learned about media scrutiny," she noted. However, this side of Kelce might actually be a good thing. "I think he is real enough though to keep Taylor grounded," she added. It hasn't been an issue so far, and it might prove to be nothing. 

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According to our expert, Susan Trombetti, Taylor Swift's age and potential desire to start a family could be another factor in her relationship with Travis Kelce. At the time of the 2025 Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, Swift, like Kelce, was 35 years old. "There could be pressure on Taylor since her biological clock is ticking, and this might blind her a bit," Trombetti noted, and this could add a different kind of pressure to their relationship. "If he isn't the one, she could want him to be the one so badly that she settles for him." 

Trombetti was quick to note that should Swift and Kelce start a family, it's not to say that she is forcing something along that's not meant to be. It's just that the pressure to start a family can be an added stress for many couples. "It doesn't mean she is settling for him, it's just that it is a possibility and a mistake a lot of women make at this age," Trombetti said. In spite of these potential red flags, though, Trombetti added that Swift and Kelce do, genuinely, seem solid. "That doesn't mean that it's perfect or they will get married, but they seem to be happy," she said. And for a star we're rooting for, this is a great thing. 

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If there's one thing Taylor Swift appreciates, it's love. The star has spent what seems like her entire career writing songs about it, penning relatable lyrics about fizzled romances and even offering dating advice. But her own pursuit to find The One has resulted in a few dead ends — and that means a few exes ready and waiting to speak out about what it's really like to date her. Swift probably put it best herself though when she told Seventeen back in 2015, "In fairy tales the bad guy is very easy to spot. The bad guy is always wearing a black cape so you always know who he is. Then you grow up and you realize that Prince Charming is not as easy to find as you thought." She added, "You realize the bad guy is not wearing a black cape and he's not easy to spot; he's really funny, and he makes you laugh, and he has perfect hair."

Now, we're not saying these guys are bad guys; they just weren't the one for our Miss Americana. And long before her NFL boyfriend Travis Kelce talked about how great Swift is on his podcast, Swift's exes offered the world some interesting insight about what it's really like to be in a relationship with the most famous woman in the world.

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Joe Jonas and Taylor Swift made one iconic teen power couple in 2008. Sadly for those obsessed with this romance (i.e. us) things didn't last too long. They were together for a short season, lasting from July 2008 to November 2008, around the time Swift famously put Jonas on blast during an appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." In the interview, Swift shared she hadn't spoken to Jonas since their breakup and accused him of calling things off during a 25-second phone call.

But the Jonas Brother wasn't about to take that lying down. "For those who have expressed concern over the '27 second' phone call, I called to discuss feelings with the other person. Those feelings were obviously not well received. I did not end the conversation. Someone else did," he wrote in a MySpace (how of the time!) post (via People). "Phone calls can only last as long as the person on the other end of the line is willing to talk," he added.

But while it seemed like things may have been a little sour at the time, just over a decade later, Jonas clarified during an appearance on "Lorraine" alongside his brothers that things were all good between himself and his ex. "I've moved on. I'm sure Taylor's moved on. We're all friends. It's all good," he shared.

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It seems Taylor Swift and Stephen Barker Liles got close during her 2008 tour. So close that Swift wrote a song for him — and he wrote one back! The Love & Theft singer opened up about their relationship to Taste of Country in 2011, explaining, "Me and Taylor really hit it off and became really close when we were on tour together. We had a real emotional relationship. We talked on the phone a lot. She was really cool." He also spoke about how Swift wrote the song "Hey, Stephen" from her "Fearless" album about him. The track features some very lustful lyrics, including, "'Cause I can't help it if you look like an angel/Can't help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain, so." Flirty! 

Barker Liles went on to gush more about the singer, revealing he actually wrote a song about her too. But even though these two didn't go the distance, he still had nothing but nice things to say. "She's awesome. I really dig Taylor," he said. "As far as I know, none of the other dudes she's been hanging out with have written a song about her!"

Barker Liles later spoke about their relationship again in 2023 during an appearance on "The Bobby Bones Show" podcast. He again opened up about being the inspiration for "Hey, Stephen" and added of his past relationship with Swift, "We got close and it was cool."

One of Taylor Swift's lesser known exes, "Hannah Montana: The Movie" star Lucas Till claimed to have been dating Swift for a little bit in 2009. The two seemed to grow close after he appeared alongside the superstar in the music video for "You Belong With Me," which was released that year. The reason this brief romance came to an end, though? Apparently not only was Till too nice, so was Swift.

"We dated for a little bit. But, there was no friction because we were too nice," he explained of their split while speaking to MTV later that year. "We just really both liked each other ... [but] most relationships work out cause you get along and then you don't, and then you make up and it's passionate, and with us I really just liked her as a friend. That's the only reason that didn't work out."

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Also in 2009, Taylor Swift and actor Taylor Lautner began dating after playing a high school couple in the star-studded movie "Valentine's Day." Although they only dated for a few months, they clearly remained on good terms for long after that, as Lautner went on to appear in Swift's "I Can See You" music video in 2023. Around the same time, Lautner appeared on stage with Swift at her "Eras Tour" show in Missouri and gushed about how much he still respected her. "I respect you so much. Not just for the singer you are, the songwriter, the performer, but truly for the human you are. You are gracious, humble, kind and I'm honored to know you," he told the star as fans cheered.

Lautner also spoke out that year after Swift's fans deemed him her "best ex" on social media. Speaking to People about the title bestowed on him from the Swifties, the "Twilight" star said, "[That] sounds like a nice compliment to me. I will take it." He also shared that his wife, Taylor Dye, is a massive fan of Swift, while sharing that his respect for Swift is very much mutual. "[Swift] let me know that I'm the only ex without a diss track now. So that sounds like a nice thing. I'll take it and run. No complaints here," he shared.

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It's pretty common knowledge that Taylor Swift's "Dear John" is about her brief romance with John Mayer (which happened around 2010 for a couple of months), but that doesn't mean Mayer had any idea it was coming. He was asked how the ballad made him feel in a 2012 Rolling Stone interview, in which he admitted he didn't actually agree with Swift's take on their romance. "It made me feel terrible. Because I didn't deserve it. I'm pretty good at taking accountability now, and I never did anything to deserve that. It was a really lousy thing for her to do," he told the outlet. "I never got an e-mail. I never got a phone call. I was really caught off-guard, and it really humiliated me at a time when I'd already been dressed down. I mean, how would you feel if, at the lowest you've ever been, someone kicked you even lower?"

But he changed his tune in 2022 when Andy Cohen asked if he ever actually wanted his exes to write about him. He didn't name our red lipstick queen Swift explicitly, but explained on SiriusXM's "Radio Andy," "Sometimes, I hope it's about me. Sometimes, it's a really good song." He then added, "I don't think it's a dirty admission. Sometimes, a song is so good, I go, 'Man, I hope that's about me.'"

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One of Taylor Swift's most famous exes has to be Jake Gyllenhaal. The two dated in 2010, with several snaps of them looking cozy while walking around the city together hitting the headlines at the time. Gyllenhaal hasn't spoken out a whole lot about what happened between him and the superstar, though he has spoken somewhat briefly a couple of times about their romance in interviews. The first was in 2015 on "The Howard Stern Show" when he told Stern, "She is a beautiful girl."

In 2022, he opened up about his ex again when asked by Esquire how he felt about Swift releasing "Red (Taylor's Version)," which it's thought contained songs inspired by him and their brief relationship. One of those? The notorious 10-minute version of "All Too Well." At the time, the actor disabled comments on his Instagram posts, which had some believing he didn't want Swifties taking over his comments section. "It has nothing to do with me. It's about her relationship with her fans," he told the outlet. "It is her expression. Artists tap into personal experiences for inspiration, and I don't begrudge anyone that."

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Harry Styles may have stayed pretty quiet about Taylor Swift since they dated for a few months from late 2012 into early 2013, but he did speak a little bit about his ex in 2014. It happened during a YouTube interview alongside his now former One Direction bandmates, when he was asked how he felt about Swift seemingly having written at least one song about him. "We write from personal experience, I think everyone does, so it would be hypocritical of us to be like, 'Oh you can't write about us,' And she's really good, so they're good songs," Style said. "I'm really lucky in that sense."

He spoke about his ex again on "The Howard Stern Show" several years later in 2020 when asked again about people writing songs about other people. "I think about what it means to me to write a song about somebody else, and for someone else to do that, I think it's flattering," Styles admitted. "Even if the song isn't that flattering, you still spent time on it, and ultimately, using Taylor as an example, she's a great songwriter."

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Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston dated briefly in 2016 following her split with Calvin Harris, and the British actor opened up about their whirlwind romance the following year in a GQ interview. The best part, though? He had nothing but nice things to say about the star. "Taylor is an amazing woman. She's generous and kind and lovely, and we had the best time," he shared, also shutting down rumors they dated for publicity.

The media was abuzz at the time after Hiddleston was snapped at Swift's annual Fourth of July party wearing a "I [heart] T.S." shirt, and he explained how the notorious look came to be. "The truth is, it was the Fourth of July and a public holiday and we were playing a game and I slipped and hurt my back," he recalled. "I wanted to protect the graze from the sun and said, 'Does anyone have a T-shirt?' And one of her friends said, 'I've got this.' I just, I was surprised. I was just surprised that it got so much attention. The tank top became an emblem of this thing."

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Joe Alwyn and Taylor Swift dated for six years before splitting in 2023, and he made it quite a point not to speak about his relationship during that time. "It's not really [because I] want to be guarded and private, it's more a response," he famously told Elle U.K. of why they rarely spoke about each other or stepped out together while they were still dating. "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," he added.

After splitting with Swift in April 2023 though, Alwyn pretty much went off-grid. Fans didn't see him out or online a whole lot — until he made a social media return at an interesting time. Swift announced the album "The Tortured Poets Department" at the 2024 Grammys in February, shortly after which Alwyn made a return to Instagram for the first time in five months. The actor posted a collection of personal photos, which also including a meme that read "Different drinks for different needs." Many fans have speculated the album may be about her romance Alwyn, while others noted his upload (which include plenty of artsy black-and-white shots) definitely seemed to be on-theme for a tortured poet...

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The 1975 singer Matty Healy hasn't exactly spoken a whole lot about his high-profile whirlwind romance with Taylor Swift publicly, but he did seem to reference their split during a gig. Swift and Healy had been friends for years before they (briefly) dated in 2023, right after her split with Joe Alwyn and shortly before she began her romance with Travis Kelce. Things fizzled quickly, after which Healy kinda, sorta addressed the situation while performing with his band.

In a video posted to X taken shortly after the breakup news went public, Healy addressed some of the banners some fans in the crowd were holding up. "My friend had some very, very beautiful signs that said, 'You are loved'. That was very, very kind of you. I'm sure that's alluding to..." he said, seemingly stopping just short of explicitly referencing his recent split with Swift. "As you're aware, I'm not very online at the moment and I'm sure people have just been calling me a c**t relentlessly. I've not been online, but what I have been with is my boys," he continued. "And honestly, as much as I appreciate that. It's so beautiful, and I thank you. But I don't need it, because I've got them."