Actor Joe Alwyn breaks silence on Taylor Swift split for the first time

In a rare move, Joe Alwyn opened up about his six-year relationship with American pop star Taylor Swift, which began in 2016 and ended in April 2023.

The breakup made headlines at the time, but in a new interview with British newspaper The Sunday Times published online June 15, the 33-year-old British actor – notoriously private about his personal life – opened up about it. recognized for the first time. time publicly.

In the interview – which was to promote his new film Kinds Of Kindness directed by Greek author Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone – Alwyn lamented the public nature of the relationship’s end.

“I hope everyone can empathize and understand the difficulties that come with the end of a long, loving, fully committed relationship of over 6 1/2 years. It’s a difficult thing to deal with. What is unusual and abnormal about this situation is that a week later it suddenly comes into the public domain and the outside world can intervene,” he says.

Even when they were a couple, Swift, 34, and Alwyn rarely talked about their relationship. In the 2020 Miss Americana documentary, the singer explained that it was due to a mutual decision to keep things private.

Nonetheless, fans have feverishly speculated about why the couple decided to call it quits, especially after Swift released her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD), in April 2024.

But in the new interview, Alwyn warned Swifties against assuming anything, saying: “You have something very real suddenly thrown into a very unreal space: the tabloids, social media, the press, where it is then dissected, speculated, distorted beyond. acknowledgement. And the truth is that, on this last point, there will always be a gap between what we know and what is said. »

He also appeared to dismiss theories that TTPD track The Black Dog was about him, saying he had never been to Vauxhall.

Some fans had inferred that the song was about a pub called The Black Dog, located in the Vauxhall area of ​​south London, based on lyrics such as “I’m watching you walk into a bar called The Black Dog and break through new holes in my body. heart”.

Either way, anyone hoping that Alwyn will continue to shed light on his relationship with Swift will be disappointed.

“As everyone knows, we decided together – both of us, mutually – to keep the most private details of our relationship private. It’s never been something to be commodified, and I see no reason to change that now… And, look, it’s also been a little over a year now, and I feel lucky to be at a really great place in my life, professionally. and personally,” he said, though he declined to elaborate on whether he’s still in contact with Swift or dating again.

For her part, Swift kept her vow of secrecy about her time with Alwyn even after their “love affair” ended.

But in an interview with Time magazine in December 2023, while talking about her current boyfriend, American football star Travis Kelce, she said: “When you say a relationship is public, that means I go see him do what he loves, we show up for each other, other people are there and we don’t care… The opposite is you have to go to extreme lengths to make sure no one don’t know you’re seeing someone.

Swift is in the middle of the European leg of her record-breaking Eras Tour. She recently told audiences in Liverpool, England, that the tour would end completely in December, likely after a final run of concerts in North America.