'1989' puts a spotlight on Taylor Swift and Harry Styles’ relationship timeline
With the release of Taylor Swift’s “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” fans are remembering that the “Anti-Hero” singer had a romantic life before her rumored relationship with NFL star Travis Kelce.
Swift’s “1989” album was originally released two years after her rumored romance with fellow pop star Harry Styles. The former couple, who fans dubbed “Haylor,” dated from late 2012 until early 2013, and appear to have remained friendly over the years.
Some “1989” songs, both in the original release and the re-release, appear to hint at the relationship, with specific references in lyrics.
Swift has never confirmed who the songs are about, and in fact has declined to share. When asked during a December 2014 interview with Global's "The Morning Show" about whether the person she was singing about is also a singer, Swift replied, “One of the things about writing music and to be this vulnerable is to never name names.”
“Style” seems to be a reference to the former One Direction singer’s last name, and a new song from the vault, “Is It Over Now?” seems to contain overt references to a snowmobile accident the two were reportedly involved in. (She addressed the accident in a 2014 Rolling Stone interview, without naming which "ex" she was with at the time).
Let’s take a look back at Swift and Styles’ relationship timeline, and what we know. TODAY.com has reached out to both Swift and Styles for comment.
March 2012: Taylor Swift and Harry Styles attend the Kids Choice Awards
Viewers of the 2012 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards learned that Swift and close pal Selena Gomez were major One Direction fans. The pair were caught on camera dancing and singing in the audience as the band performed its mega-hit “What Makes You Beautiful.”
November 2012: Styles calls Swift 'lovely' as romance rumors escalate
As rumors about the pair escalated, Styles, who was 18 at the time, spoke about Swift, then 22, to Seventeen for a One Direction profile published in November 2012.
Styles called the “You Belong With Me” singer a “real lovely girl.”
“Honestly, she couldn’t be a sweeter person,” he said, adding, “She’s a great girl and she’s extremely talented.”
Styles also said the singer is “one of those people you meet (who’s) genuinely a nice person. Some people you meet and they are not as nice as you make them out to be, but she’s one of those people who’s really just amazing.”
November 2012: Taylor wears Harry's necklace (or one just like it)
Around the same time of the Seventeen article, eagle-eyed fans noticed that Swift began wearing a necklace that's identical to Styles' paper airplane necklace. (She later seemingly referenced the symbol in her "1989" hit "Out of the Woods" with the lyrics, "Two paper airplanes flying, flying, flying.")
December 2012: They're photographed walking together in Central Park
On Dec. 2, 2012, a day before One Direction performed at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Swift and Styles were photographed walking together in Central Park.
January 2013: They're spotted sharing a kiss on New Year's Eve
The couple were photographed kissing as the clock struck 12 a.m. during “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” in New York’s Times Square, according to People.
Swift was one of the night's performers.
January 2013: The Virgin Islands breakup
The two were photographed in St. John together, per E!, in early January. Swift appeared to leave the Virgin Islands alone. A photo of her on the back of a boat, wearing a blue dress by herself, went viral.
In her new vault track "Is It Over Now?" Swift seemingly addressed the photo with the lyric, "Blue dress on a boat." The song reflects on heartbreak and the uncertain end of a relationship due to betrayal.
February 2013: Taylor fakes an English accent while performing at the Grammys
A month after the breakup, Swift broke into a mock English accent while performing “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” when she opened for the 2013 Grammys, per videos.
“Ugh, so he calls me up and he’s like, ‘I still love you,’” she said, feigning a British twang, before switching back to an American accent to respond, “This is just exhausting, you know? We are never, ever getting back together. Ever.”
October 2014: Taylor releases '1989'
On Oct. 27, 2014, Swift released her album “1989.” Of the songs, fans identify “Style” and “Out of the Woods” as possibly being about Styles.
Swift, in 2023, said “Is It Over Now?” is a “sister song” to “Out of the Woods,” and fans also saw “Is It Over Now?” as a song about the One Directioner.
“Style” finds Swift’s narrator singing passionately about a James Dean type who wears white T-shirts and his long hair “slicked back,” a look Styles made popular at the time.
“Out of the Woods” mentions a couple needing emergency treatment after an accident, with the lyrics, “Remember when you hit the brakes too soon / Twenty stitches in a hospital room.” Swift has confirmed she got into a snowmobile accident with an "ex," who is reportedly Styles.
Performing an acoustic version of “Out of the Woods” at the opening of the Grammy Museum in 2015, Swift spoke about the relationship that inspired the song.
“The number one feeling I felt in the whole relationship was anxiety. Because it felt very fragile, it felt very tentative. And it always felt like, ‘Okay, what’s the next road block? What’s the next thing that’s gonna deter this? How long do we have before this turns into just an awful mess and we break up? Is it a month? Is it three days? And so, you know, I think a lot of relationships can be very solid and that’s kind of what you hope for, for it to be solid and healthy but that’s not always what you get. And it doesn’t mean that it’s not special and extraordinary just to have a relationship that’s fragile and somehow meaningful in that fragility,” she said.
October and December 2014: Swift addresses ‘Style,’ including how it got its title
Swift told Ryan Seacrest on “On Air with Ryan Seacrest” that “Style” was the last song she wrote on “1989.” When asked why she named the song “Style,” Swift dodged the question: “‘Cause the hook is ‘we never go out of style.’ And I thought ‘we never go out of style’ was a long title."
She also broke down the lyrics about both individuals seeing other people: “I heard that you’ve been out and about with some other girl, some other girl / He says, ‘What you heard is true, but I can’t stop thinkin’ ‘bout you’ and I / I said, ‘I’ve been there too a few times.’”
“It’s one of those relationships that’s always a bit off … it’s never quite synced up right. The two people are trying to forget each other. They’ve both been out with other people and try to forget the other. It’s like, ‘I heard you went off with her and you came back. Well, I’ve done that too.’ That’s what that line means,” Swift said.
Later on in the interview she declined to say who the song was about, but she continued to say what the song was about.
In December, Swift revealed on Global's “The Morning Show“ that “Style” is about a romance that never quite ends.
“‘Style’ is actually about those relationships that are never really done,” she explained. “You always kind of have that one person who you feel like might interrupt your wedding and be like, ‘Don’t do it, we’re not over yet.’ I think everybody has that one person who kind of floats in and out of their life and the narrative is never truly over.”
October 2015: One Direction releases 'Perfect,' which fans believe is about Taylor Swift
One Direction released their song “Perfect,” which Styles co-wrote with band member Louis Tomlinson and other collaborators.
“If you like flashing cameras every time we go out / If you’re looking for someone to write your breakup songs about / Baby we’re perfect,” Styles sings on one verse, prompting fans to believe the song is at least partly about Swift.
March 2021: The exes reunite at the 2021 Grammys
Styles and Swift chatted with each other in the audience of the 2021 Grammys, according to a video posted by the Recording Academy.
Both performers were honored for the work that night, with Swift winning the award for album of the year for "Folklore," and Styles winning a best pop solo performance Grammy for "Watermelon Sugar."
May 2022: Styles sings some of Swift's lyrics during a concert
Styles sang a line from Swift’s song “22” while celebrating a fan’s birthday during a live performance in London. In a fan video posted on Twitter, Styles is seen singing “I’m feeling 22” after reading a sign about an audience member's 22nd birthday.
October 2022: Swift releases 'Midnights' with one song reminding fans of Styles
Swift released her 10th studio album, "Midnights," on Oct. 21, 2022.
The song "Question …?" reminded fans of "Out of the Woods" because it features the same opening melody and samples, with voice modulation, some of the lyrics, including the very first line: "I remember."
February 2023: Taylor and Harry share a hug at the Grammys
Swift showed her support for Styles at the 2023 Grammys when she gave him a standing ovation after he won the album of the year award for "Harry's House."
The sweet moment was caught on camera by Entertainment Weekly.
The "Shake it Off" singer, who took home the best music video award for “All Too Well: The Short Film,” also stood to dance while Styles performed his hit "As It Was" and stopped by Styles' table to give him a hug.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
