Taylor Swift’s ‘Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus’ Could Be About Joe or Matty or Harry or Anyone

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When Taylor Swift wants to make herself clear, that’s exactly what she does. (Case in point: Her Tortured Poets Department track “thanK you aIMee” is about as obvious a swat at Kim Kardashian as it gets.) But the pop sensation similarly relishes her mysticism; an unavoidable component of Swiftiehood is decoding the artist’s numerous Easter eggs. Swift takes wicked delight in cryptic lyrics, and her TPD surprise song “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” teases several lines that appear directed at one of her exes, only to flip the script and seemingly reference another.

Take the line “You saw my bones out with somebody new / who seemed like he would’ve bullied you in school.” Swift ended her relationship with ex Joe Alwyn in 2023, and soon after briefly dated The 1975 frontman Matty Healy. Both Alwyn and Healy are British, and it’s certainly not a stretch to imagine someone like the unfiltered Healy bullying the far quieter Alwyn, had the two shared classes in their youth. But some fans think the line might instead reference Swift’s current boyfriend Travis Kelce, a football player and former high school jock who—if the stereotype bears weight—could theoretically have teased the “uncool” kids.

But that’s only one such puzzler in “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus.” Another is “You needed me, but you needed drugs more,” which most Swifties have interpreted as a reference to Healy’s publicly confirmed heroin addiction. But “drugs” could mean anything from marijuana to prescription pills, and Healy’s not the only partner in Swift’s life to have experimented with self-medicating. Some fans think the lyric is about ex Harry Styles, who has also discussed his drug use openly.

What about “I changed into goddesses, villains, and fools / changed plans and lovers and outfits and rules / all to outrun my desertion of you”? All the referenced “changes” seem a reference to Swift’s ongoing Eras tour, and the personal and professional shapeshifting necessary within. But “my desertion of you” feels aimed specifically at Alwyn; reports claim that Swift “didn’t see them working out in the long run,” thus catalyzing their breakup.

Yet the line “So if I sell my apartment / and you have some kids with an internet starlet” doesn’t seem about Alwyn at all. Since the actor’s breakup with Swift last year, he hasn’t been publicly connected with any romantic partners, let alone an “internet starlet.” Healy, on the other hand, is in a relationship with model and influencer Gabbriette Bechtel.

So is “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” ultimately about Alwyn or Healy or Styles or Kelce? Or none of the above? Swift isn’t sure she wants you to know. But if you’re keen to try and figure it out anyway, read the full lyrics to “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” below:

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s Full Relationship Timeline

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Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn’s Complete Relationship Timeline

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