Signs Taylor Swift's Split From Matty Healy Was Messier Than We Realized
Once upon a time, Taylor Swift was a huge fan of The 1975. So, in November 2014, she attended their concert and supposedly met Matty Healy, and a few days later, both musicians sported each other's merch. Naturally, rumors of the two being an item started swirling, but Healy swiftly denied the rumors in a 2DayFM interview. The "Chocolate" singer later shared his sentiments about joining Swift's complex dating history in a Q Magazine interview, asserting, "If I had gone out with Taylor Swift I would've been, 'F**** hell! I am NOT being Taylor Swift's boyfriend.' You know, 'F*** THAT.'"
"That's also a man thing, a de-masculinating, emasculating thing," he added (via NME). Furthermore, he dubbed their relationship a "flirtation." The pair seemed to have gone their separate ways afterward. However, when Healy appeared on Audacy's KROQ's Klein/Ally Show, he confirmed that he worked on Swift's 2022 album "Midnights," but their collaboration didn't make it to the final cut. Then, in May 2023, about a month after Swift and Joe Alwyn's 6-year relationship ended, The Sun reported that Healy and Swift had found their way back to each other.
Their reconciliation was met with tons of backlash because of The 1975's frontman's controversial statements through the years. Nonetheless, the "Robbers" singers showed up to a few Eras Tour stops to cheer his partner on. The pair ultimately went on to end things in June 2023, People confirmed. However, in April 2024, Swift released "The Tortured Poets Department," and made us all realize their short-lived relationship may not have had a clean break.
Taylor Swift may not have painted the whole picture of their split
Speaking to The Daily Mail, Matty Healy's aunt, Debbie Dedes, shared her thoughts on Taylor Swift's "The Tortured Poets Department," saying, "[Swift] writes about all her relationships, doesn't she? I don't think it will come as a shock to [Healy] at all." Furthermore, she believed that the "Chocolate" singer wasn't losing sleep over his ex's harsh words because he was devoting his energy towards his thriving relationship with Gabbriette Bechtel.
Dedes also seemed to think that Swift hadn't painted an entirely accurate picture of their breakup, as she asserted, "As my nephew, we know a bit more about what went on than has been in the press." A few days before the chat, a source told Us Weekly that the Healy family felt on edge as Swift's album release drew closer because they were unsure how she would portray her ex. The Healys were reportedly anxious that the "Blank Space" hitmaker would tear into the singer and open him up to hate from millions of her devoted fans.
Meanwhile, another confidant told the publication that Swift's team had reached out to the 1975 frontman before the album's release. The source explained that Healy was anxious to see what Swift would say about him and hoped to see a fairer picture of the relationship. After the EP's release, the insider noted that Healy is "happy he can move on with less anxiety." However, the seemingly simple remark could imply that Swift may have held back from revealing more shocking details of their love.
Matty Healy seemingly ghosted her
Out of all the songs on Taylor Swift's "The Tortured Poets Department" that could be about Matty Healy, "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" stands out as one of the most brutal. The Grammy winner starts the song by questioning if any part of their relationship was real. Then, she recalls how her former flame (presumably Healy) tried to buy drugs from a mutual friend, later singing, "They just ghosted you. Now you know what it feels like."
In the explosive bridge, Swift tries to guess Healy's intentions behind leaving her out in the cold, but her mind can only seem to conjure up the most far-fetched theories to make any sense of his actions. The pop star guesses that her ex must have been a spy or an author who wanted to profit off their relationship by releasing a book. As the bridge draws to a close, she expresses her frustrations by singing, "You said normal girls were boring. But you were gone by the morning."
Interestingly, when Swift delivers that line during the Eras Tour, the visuals make it seem like she's getting shot as the lights flash red and she falls to the floor. It's almost as if Healy delivered the final blow to her (and their relationship) with those words. We saw similar visuals play out moments prior as Swift sings about how her former partner will never pay the price of his crimes and swiftly move on to a new person (via YouTube).
She may not have wanted to break up at all
Based on the lyrics of "But Daddy I Love Him," Taylor Swift seemed greatly frustrated by all the criticism she got for dating Matty Healy, but she wanted to stand strong in the face of it. The singer-songwriter compares their coupling to that of star-crossed lovers in a small town that wants to drive them apart. Throughout the track, the "August" songstress sings about how the critics' harsh words are taking away the only person she wants in the world.
In the chorus, Swift expresses her annoyance about the messy situation, singing, "I'd rather burn my whole life down than listen to one more second of all this b*****' and moanin.'" Furthermore, she unapologetically sings that her reputation is hers to destroy as she pleases. In the third verse, Swift seems to be holding out hope for a reconciliation, as she imagines a happy future where everyone joins in on their happiness instead of criticizing her.
Despite all of Swift's resilience, it appears that Healy was the one who couldn't take the heat anymore. In the bridge for "Smallest Man Who Ever Lived," Swift sings, "I would've died for your sins, instead, I just died inside," to share another reason why the breakup hurt terribly. Similarly, in "Down Bad," the pop titan criticizes her former flame for ending their relationship to seemingly protect her with the lyrics, "How dare you think it's romantic? Leaving me safe and stranded."
Matty Healy may have set Taylor Swift's expectations too high
Taylor Swift's breakup with Matty Healy may have inspired her to write "Down Bad." Speaking about the inspiration behind the track in an iHeart (via CapitalFM) clip, Swift explained, "The metaphor in 'Down Bad' is that I was comparing sort of the idea of being love bombed. Where someone...rocks your world and dazzles you and then just kind of abandons you." The "Fortnight" singer shared that she used that concept to craft a story about a girl who had been abducted by aliens.
She detailed how the alien abductee could never go back to the life she used to have after seeing the world through a whole new lens, and wished her captors would take her away again. To some, it may seem strange that Swift would yearn so badly for someone she only dated for about two months. However, she may not just be longing for their past romance, but also mourning the bright future Healy seemingly made her hope for.
In the title track, the "Shake It Off" hitmaker recalls how her then-beau made her heart flutter by moving one of her rings onto her ring finger. Similarly, in "loml" Swift seemingly sings about how the "Robbers" singer told her she was the love of his life countless times. Swift further shares her high hopes for the relationship with the heartbreaking line, "What we thought was for all time was momentary."
Their first split was also hard-hitting for her
"Peter" off "The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology" seemingly references how Taylor Swift longed to reconnect with Matty Healy following their 2014 fling. Based on the lyrics, the "Somebody Else" singer didn't feel mature enough to get into a serious relationship with her back then, so he promised to return when he was a changed man. The Grammy winner seemingly waited for Healy to return as Wendy did for Peter Pan.
In the meantime, several men vied for her attention, but she only longed to see him again. While Swift's "Peter" did return, it seems like she grew tired of waiting for him to grow up as she sang, "And the shelf life of those fantasies has expired. Lost to the lost boys chapter of your life." We saw Swift express similar feelings of longing for Healy in "Fresh Out The Slammer." Throughout the track, she explains how she always knew that he would be the person she would run to as soon as her relationship with Joe Alwyn ended.
Likewise, in "Guilty As Sin," Swift uses the lyrics, "I keep these longings locked, in lowercase inside a vault" to hint that she may have written songs about Healy while she was with Alwyn. Ultimately, in "Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus," Swift seemingly admits that her fantasies of Healy were better than the real deal, singing, "Can we watch our phantoms like watching wild horses? Cooler in theory, but not if you force it to be. It just didn't happen."