Since Taylor Swift announced the release of her new album her fandom has gone into overdrive with various theories about what to expect. Titled Tortured Poets Department, it is rumoured to be a nod to her ex, Joe Alwyn, who once admitted that he is part of a WhatsApp group with Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott called ‘The Tortured Man Club’. Given that the track list includes songs like So Long, London and The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, many have speculated that the album will be about their relationship and consequent break-up.
When Taylor performed a new song, You’re Losing Me, during her Eras Tour last summer, Joe was reportedly ‘disappointed’ by the lyrics – and apparently, it will ‘really come as a shock to him if she talks about their breakup’ in the album.
Earlier this week, Taylor spoke about her upcoming album, calling it a ‘lifeline’, and fuelled speculation that it is about her relationship with Joe as she captioned an Instagram post of the cover art: “All’s fair in love and poetry.”
Joe has remained quiet about their break-up, and source close to him said upon the news of Taylor’s new album: “He has removed himself from her narrative and is very glad he did.” However, he has now broken his social media silence since Taylor’s comments about being ‘lonely’ while producing Folklore. At the same Melbourne gig, she told her fans that she was working on the record during the pandemic – when she was reportedly isolating with Joe in London – explaining: “[I was] imagining that, instead of being a lonely millennial woman covered in cat hair drinking my weight in white wine, I was a ghostly Victorian lady wandering through the woods with a candle in a candlestick holder.”
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Taking to Instagram for the first time since early September, Joe shared a series of images including snaps of a casino, Brian Cox, pints in the pub and natural landscapes.
Taylor’s fans were quick to comment on the timing of the post, with one writing on X, formerly Twitter: “I’ve seen more Joe Alwyn since the TTPD [The Tortured Poets Department] announcement than in his six years being with Taylor and that says a lot I think.”
Coincidence?
