After years of glorious romantic oversharing, Taylor Swift has at last adopted a discreet new dating strategy. Exhibit A: the new photos of Swift and her boyfriend, British actor Joe Alwyn, leaving her New York apartment cloaked in black hoodies. Yes, per earlier reports, it appears Swift and Alwyn are, in fact, dating, but outrageously enough, the fans hardly knew and have seldom seen them together. The couple has reportedly been laying low on Rhode Island.
Yes, you heard that right: Taylor Swift and her boyfriend are laying low. It is summertime, Swift has a new romance, and they don’t even have an awkwardly mashed-up couple name. (Tay-Joe? Al-swift? Never mind.)
Of course, this new turn toward—ugh—privacy is a shocking departure from the Swift of yore, the queen of the Instagram romance, the virtual IRL rom-com star who gave us greatest hits like frolicking at Watch Hill with Tom Hiddleston in an “I <3 T.S.” tank, euphoric floating trampoline jumps with Calvin Harris, tiptoeing through Central Park with Harry Styles, and giggling in the autumn leaves with Jake Gyllenhaal. Suddenly, the rug has been ripped from beneath us. What painfully boring alternate universe is this?
Of course, it’s probably smart for Swift to start to dial back her go-big-or-go-home style of public dating; after all, she is one of the most formidable and highest-earning pop stars in music, who’d probably like to be known for that, not her romantic travails. (Then again, J.Lo . . . ) For now, we may have to rely on Taylor’s next album for clues about how Alswift (sorry, old habits die hard) is going; only time will tell if it’s a breakup album or filled with bubbly love songs.
Watch Taylor Swift Talk Googling Herself, Which Celebrity's Closet She'd Raid, and the Bravest Thing She's Ever Done: