Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn keep their relationship very private, but they occasionally offer a small glimpse into their domestic life. On Friday, November 25, Alwyn shared a shot on his Instagram Stories of what looks like his ankle and a black and white kitty cat snuggled as much as it. The cat reportedly belongs to Taylor Swift and his name is Benjamin.
Joe Alwyn//Instagram
The remaining of his Stories are from different times and scenes, especially on set, so it’s unclear if the photo was taken over this Thanksgiving weekend or simply a throwback to another snuggly time. The couple have been together since 2016 and left minimal evidence of their relationship online or when it comes to paparazzi photos. Swift is understood for her songs about past relationships, but she only hints at her and Alwyn’s connection. He did co-write some songs together with her on recent albums folkmore and evermore, under the pseudonym William Bowery, which they worked on together through the pandemic lockdown.
But Swift did say directly that her recent song on Midnights titled “Lavender Haze,” is directly about Alwyn and the general public scrutiny their romance faces.
“I happened upon the phrase ‘Lavender Haze’ once I was watching Mad Men and I looked it up because I believed it sounded cool,” she said. “It seems that it was a standard phrase that was utilized in the ’50s where they might just describe being in love. Like, For those who were within the ‘Lavender Haze,’ that meant you were in that all-encompassing love glow, and I believed that was really beautiful.”
Swift continued, “I suppose theoretically, while you’re within the lavender haze, you’ll do anything to remain there and never let people bring you down off of that cloud. I feel lots of people must cope with this now, not only ‘public figures’, because we live within the era of social media. If the world finds out that you just’re in love with anyone, they’re going to weigh in on it.”
“We’ve needed to dodge weird rumours, tabloid stuff, and we just ignore it,” she concluded. “This song is kind of concerning the act of ignoring that stuff to guard the actual stuff.”
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will probably be released by Dial Press in February 2022.
