Taylor Swift’s first new love after Joe Alwyn is actually a past fling. On May 3, The Sun reported that Swift has been seeing Matty Healy, the frontman of The 1975. The couple was first romantically linked in December 2014.
While Swift and Healy didn’t explicitly confirm the new 2023 rumors, they were seen holding hands and kissing on May 11 in New York City. That week, sources told U.S. outlets that Swift only had a “crush” on Healy but was hesitant to commit so soon after her relationship with Alwyn, which lasted six years, ended in March.
So what’s their full story? Read through their history below.
November 2014
Healy and Swift meet backstage in Los Angeles during one of his concerts. Swift attends the show with Ellie Goulding and Selena Gomez. Healy later says on the Australian radio program Shazam Top 20 about how he and Swift got each other’s numbers. The host suggests he and Swift would become the next big celebrity couple. Healy replies, “I mean, bloody hell, what am I going to do, go out with Taylor Swift? She’s a sensation. I wouldn’t say no.”
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Swift is photographed wearing a black plaid skirt and a The 1975 tank top in Los Angeles on November 22. Around that time, she is also being linked to Harry Styles, with Entertainment Tonight even claiming Styles was at The 1975’s show, and the exes had a friendly reunion. But The Mirror is told by its own source that Styles was not there, just Goulding and Gomez.
December 2014
Swift attends another 1975 concert in New York City with Karlie Kloss. Us Weekly reports on December 10 that Swift and Healy are secretly dating. “It’s very new and they’re having fun,” a Swift friend told the outlet. “They’re seeing where things go.” The outlet adds that Healy pursued her and was frequently texting her.
January 2015
Healy denies the dating rumors, calling the idea that they had dated for two months “ridiculous.”
“It is bloody fake. It’s all fake. It’s all a farce,” he told Shazam Top 20. “There’s no, like, relationship or anything happening.” He said of what happened, “We met each other. We exchanged numbers in the same way a lot of people in this kind of world do. And we spoke occasionally, and then she’s the biggest pop star in the world. I’m in Australia. There’s no, like, relationship or anything happening. It’s just funny how people really, really buy into that.”
“So that didn’t really happen,” he added. “As much as it’d be amazing for me if it did, unfortunately it didn’t.”
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February 2015
Swift poses with Nick Grimshaw, Healy, and Ellie Goulding at Universal Music’s Brits party, following the Brit Awards cermony.
It’s actually the same night Swift is believed to have met her later-boyfriend Calvin Harris.
March 2016
Healy once again denies he and Swift were ever involved in an interview with Q magazine. He described their dynamic as a flirtation and went on to say that the idea of dating her would be “emasculating.”
He said in full:
So the one time I did have a flirtation with a girl, it ends up going everywhere…I mean, I got on E! News and people were like, ‘Who’s Matt Healy?’ so that was cool. But I didn’t make a big deal out of it myself. It’s not really anything to talk about, because if she wasn’t Taylor Swift we wouldn’t be talking about her. She wasn’t a big impact on my life.
A day after Healy’s “emasculating” comment went viral and sparked understandable backlash, he posted a statement clarifying what he meant. That tweet has since been taken down.
But Healy said at the time, “Now I may admit to being an idiot on occasion, but I am not a misogynist. This suggestion makes me really sad.”
He added that when the Swift dating rumor came out, “I was for a very short time immersed in a celebrity world that I found confusing and scary. At that time, I had fears of being ‘somebody’s boyfriend’ (remember this is all speculation as we never dated!) before even being recognized for my music or presence as a person in my own right.”
“Now I don’t pride myself on being more intelligent, or worldly, or wise, or progressive, or even regressive than the next man but I DO pride self on being honest,” he continued. “I was being HONEST about all the thoughts, feelings, and situations that come along when people ASSUME you are dating the most famous woman on the planet. I am telling you from experience it’s an all-consuming whirlwind and something that for me elicited a lot of self-exploration.”
“Now if you want to talk about Taylor Swift, that is easy…. Since she came to my show in December of 2014, I would say that 90 percent of journalists that have interviewed me have asked about either her as a person or what our ‘interaction’ was like. I have said on countless occasions that I found her to be one of the most gracious, hard working, creatively gifted, and beautiful women that I have had the pleasure to meet. I personally have a lot of respect and admiration for her. Why would I not?”
“I didn’t even date Taylor, but the media’s incessant and brutal obsession with her has meant that even a guy who DIDN’T DATE HER has been so battered by their never-ending questions that he’s inevitably said something that can be lifted and molded into something that resembles ‘shade’. It’s really sad.” Swift does not respond to his statement.
September 2019
Healy expresses interest in working with Swift on an acoustic album during an appearance on Neil Griffiths’ podcast The Green Room. “I would never slag Taylor off, I think Taylor’s amazing,” he said. “Taylor Swift doing an acoustic record? I can’t think of a record that would sell more than that. Like, Taylor Swift’s intimate return to country. Of course, you’d wanna produce that! She’s [probably] gonna sit on that idea, but Taylor, if you ever want someone to help you set up the mics for your acoustic record, just so you know, I’m there.”
November 2022
Rumors emerge that Healy and Swift collaborated in private. Healy first calls them fake in September, then later says in November that he and The 1975 actually did work with her on her album Midnights, but the music they made together didn’t make the cut.
“We actually worked a bit on that but then the version of it never came out,” he said during an interview with KROQ’s Klein/Ally Show for Audacy’s DTS Sound Space, via People. He defended Swift’s choice not to use their work, saying, “It was for reasons that are not to be criticized. She’s amazing.”
January 2023
Swift, who is still dating Joe Alwyn at the time, makes a surprise appearance at The 1975’s London show on January 12. She performs her Midnights song “Anti-Hero” for the first time there. She also covered The 1975’s “The City.”
April 2023
Swift and Alwyn’s breakup is reported on April 8. A source tells Us on April 20 that Swift isn’t looking to date anyone. “Taylor is handling the breakup really well and she’s feeling very optimistic about her future,” the source said. “She truly believes whatever is meant to be, will be, and knows everything happens for a reason.”
The source noted that the singer is “enjoying her freedom,” and is “adjusting to the single life.” A new boyfriend just isn’t likely now, the source added: “She isn’t dating anybody and isn’t even thinking about getting into another relationship anytime soon.”
May 2023
Healy and Swift emerge as a couple, to the surprise of the internet.
May 3
The Sun reports Swift and Healy are dating and claims they will go public with their relationship at Swift’s Nashville Eras shows that weekend. A source close to Swift described her and Healy as being head over heels.
“She and Matty are madly in love,” the source claimed. “It’s super-early days, but it feels right. They first dated, very briefly, almost ten years ago but timings just didn’t work out. Taylor and Joe actually split up back in February, so there was absolutely no crossover. Both Matty and Taylor have been touring over the past few weeks, so it’s been a lot of Face-Timing and texting but she cannot wait to see him again.”
“But as two international megastars, they understand the pressures of one another’s jobs better than anyone, and are incredibly supportive of their respective careers,” the source continued. “They are both massively proud and excited about this relationship and, unlike Taylor’s last one—which was very much kept out of the spotlight, deliberately — she wants to ‘own’ this romance, and not hide it away. Taylor just wants to live her life, and be happy. She’s told pals Matty is flying to Nashville over the weekend to support her on the next leg of her tour.” Many people are skeptical of the report, as it is from a British tabloid, and other outlets reported Swift and Alwyn’s split as having taken place in March.
May 5
Healy takes a 17-hour flight to attend Swift’s first Nashville Eras concert, as The 1975 had just played in the Philippines the day before. Swift does not announce their relationship on stage, but fans noticed that the two singers both mouthed the phrase, “This one is about you. You know who you are. I love you,” on stage during their concerts that week. Healy did it on May 3, while Swift did it on May 5, when Healy was in the audience.
May 6
Healy joins his friend and Eras tour opener Phoebe Bridgers on stage to play during Swift’s second Nashville show. That night, Swift and Healy are photographed arriving back at Swift’s Nashville condo on 12:30 a.m. on Sunday. It’s their first time being photographed together since the new dating rumors broke.
May 8
Entertainment Tonight becomes the first U.S. outlet to report that Swift and Healy really are romantically involved. “Taylor and Matty like each other,” a source told the outlet. “Taylor has a crush on Matty and they are having a good time hanging out. Matty also thinks Taylor is awesome and incredibly talented, too. They dated briefly in the past.”
A second source added, “Taylor and Matty have been hanging out recently, and Jack Antonoff reconnected them.”
That same day, Us Weekly runs a report confirming the news too, while noting Swift is hesitant about jumping into a new relationship so soon after her and Alwyn’s long-term relationship ended.
She “isn’t sure [she’s] ready to commit [to something] so soon,” a source told Us.
Yet a source said that Swift and Healy are “looking to give things a second chance,” confirming, like Entertainment Tonight‘s source did, that they really did date in 2014. “[They] run in the same circle of friends [and are] having a good time reconnecting again. [She] really likes [him and is] happy spending time with him.”
A second source told Us that yes, Swift and Healy “have been hanging out and are having fun together. They both respect and admire each other’s talent. They have a lot of mutual friends, including Jack Antonoff.”
May 11
Swift and Healy are seen on their first public date at New York City’s Casa Cipriani.
An eye witness told Page Six that the two artists were seen “cuddling and kissing” and that their mutual friend and producer Antonoff was there as well.
“They sat next to each other at a banquette in the lounge,” the source said.
A fan-taken photo comes out of Swift and Healy holding hands there, marking their first PDA sighting:
May 12
Healy once again got on stage at Swift’s concert, this time in Philadelphia, wearing his skeleton costume.
He was later seen in the audience with Swift’s friend Blake Lively and three of her daughters. A source told ET that Swift is “enjoying her time with Matty.”
“Taylor and Matty have known each other and have history, so there’s a comfortability factor there, but also feelings of excitement,” they added.
Another insider told People, “Taylor is happy. She’s very focused on her tour but is enjoying hanging out with Matty when she is off. They’re hanging out and having a good time. It’s not just platonic.”
Senior News and Strategy Editor
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
