Taylor Swift and Matty Healy's Relationship Timeline: A Breakdown of Their Romance
Updated May 12 2023, 9:02 a.m. ET
When news broke in May 2023 that Taylor Swift was reportedly dating The 1975 frontman Matty Healy, fans of both artists were caught off-guard. The musicians have been friends for years, both collaborate with producer Jack Antonoff, and they briefly faced romance rumors all the way back in 2014. But the announcement of Taylor and Joe Alwyn's breakup after six years of dating just happened. Could T-Swift really have moved on that quickly?
Let's take a closer look at Taylor and Matty's relationship timeline.
Taylor Swift and Matty Healy's relationship timeline began in 2014.
Taylor and Matty were first romantically linked back in 2014.
In November of that year, Matty wore a T-Shirt featuring Taylor's "1989" album during a The 1975 concert in Milwaukee, Wis. Taylor was spotted mere days later at a The 1975 concert in Los Angeles with her friends, Selena Gomez and Ellie Goulding.
Not long afterward, the "Blank Space" singer was photographed sporting a tank top with the British alternative band's name on it.
Matty Healy and Taylor Swift in 2014
During an interview with Australia’s Shazam Top 20, Matty confirmed that he met Taylor, along with a handful of other celebrities, at his band's LA concert.
"We exchanged numbers. Let's see what happens," Matty said when the host predicted he and Taylor would be the next big item. “I mean, bloody hell, what am I going to do, go out with Taylor Swift? She’s a sensation. I wouldn’t say no.”
In December 2014, Taylor attended a second The 1975 concert with former BFF Karlie Kloss in New York City. (That's where the infamous "kissgate" reportedly happened.) This sparked further dating rumors.
Also in December of that year, a video circulated of Matty and Taylor making a personal message for someone named Kitty. (She's the daughter of The 1975's record label, Jamie Oborne, per the Daily Mail.)
Early 2015: Matty Healy denied Taylor Swift relationship rumors.
In a January 2015 interview with Shazam Top 20, Matty clarified the Taylor dating rumors were unfounded. “It is bloody fake. It’s all fake. It’s all a farce,” he insisted. “There’s no, like, relationship or anything happening.”
In 2016, Matty again denied that he and Taylor ever dated.
An interview with Q magazine again brought up the subject of Matty and Taylor dating.
When Matty was asked if he was afraid of losing himself in the limelight of a public relationship, the musician responded with, "Yeah, absolutely," per The Guardian. “And the reason I mention that is because if I had gone out with Taylor Swift I would’ve been, ‘F---ing hell! I am NOT being Taylor Swift’s boyfriend.’ You know, ‘F---. THAT. That’s also a man thing, a de-masculinating, emasculating thing.”
That same year, Matty tweeted his praises for Taylor. “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," he wrote at the time, per Elle. "I personally have a lot of respect and admiration for her. Why would I not?”
Matty also tweeted about his frustration over the constant questions about reportedly dating Taylor. He wrote: “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.”
Matty and Taylor reportedly collaborated for "Midnights," but the song didn't make the final cut.
During an interview with Kroq’s DTS Sound Space about the release of The 1975's album, "Being Funny in a Foreign Language," Matty confirmed that Taylor listened to "bits of it" before it was released through music producer Jack Antonoff (who works with both the band and T-Swift). The 1975 frontman also revealed his band heard portions of "Midnights" before its release.
"Yeah, yeah. We actually worked a bit on that but then the version of it never came out," he said.
When folks booed, Matty immediately shut them down. "No, no, no, no, no, no, that's not how it works. It was for reasons that are not to be criticized. She's amazing."
January 2023: Taylor performed at a The 1975 concert in London.
On Jan. 12, 2023, Taylor took the stage for a surprise performance during a The 1975 concert in London, England. She performed a cover of the band's song, "The City," as well as her first-ever live performance of "Anti-Hero."
There were no dating rumors at the time, as Taylor was still (at least publicly) dating Joe Alwyn.
May 2023: Reports of Matty Healy and Taylor Swift dating spread like wildfire.
On May 3, a source close to Taylor reportedly told The U.S. Sun that T-Swift at The 1975 lead singer were dating. “She and Matty are madly in love. It’s super-early days, but it feels right," an anonymous source told the publication. "They first dated, very briefly, almost 10 years ago but timings just didn’t work out."
According to the source, there was no crossover between Taylor's romance with Matty and her relationship with Joe; she and Joe broke up in February 2023.
They added: "[Matty and Taylor] 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.
Coincidentally (or not), a video of The 1975 playing in Manila, Philippines, widely circulated on May 3. Right before he started singing "About You," Matty mouthed to a camera,"This one is about you. You know who you are. I love you."
Taylor mouthed the same phrase during "Cardigan" at her Eras tour concert on May 5.
May 5, 6, and 7: Matty attended Taylor's concert in Nashville (and even performed!).
Speaking of Taylor's concert on May 5; guess who else was in attendance? Matty Healy! He apparently hopped on a 17-hour flight from Manila in order to make it in time to make it for night one of Taylor's Eras tour Nashville stop.
Concert-goers posted videos of Matty singing and dancing along to the music (next to pal Phoebe Bridgers) from the crowd.
Matty showed up to Taylor's concert again for night two on May 6 — but this time, he joined boygenius (who opened for Taylor) onstage to play guitar.
Later that night, Taylor and Matty were reportedly photographed riding together in a car on their way back to her Nashville condo.
On May 7, Matty attended night three of Taylor's Nashville concert stop, which was postponed for four hours due to extreme weather. He showed up wearing his 1989 shirt and supporting Taylor from the crowd with a group of her friends — including Gigi Hadid, Lily Aldridge, and Ashley Avignone, according to People.
On May 8, Entertainment Tonight confirmed the dating rumors were true — and that Jack Antonoff was responsible for the pairing.
“Taylor and Matty like each other,” a source told the publication. “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.”
May 11: Matty and Taylor were photographed holding hands in public.
Matty and Taylor were photographed showing some light PDA in public for the first time on May 11. The pair was sighted at Casa Cipriani in New York City, where "they sat next to each other at a banquette in the lounge," a source reportedly told Page Six. Also at the venue was Jack Antonoff, as the photo below shows.
As of writing, neither Matty nor Taylor have officially confirmed or denied the relationship rumors. But we'll be sure to keep you updated if/when that changes!
