Subtle hints about Taylor Swift’s turbulent relationship with her ex Joe Alwyn have been coming to light ahead of the release of her new album.
Swifties are patiently waiting for Friday April 19 for the release of The Tortured Poets Department.
And as anticipation builds for the release fans have been sharing their theories of what lyrics and Easter Eggs could be about Joe.
Style hitmaker Taylor, 34, was in a relationship with actor, 33, for six years before their shock split in early 2023. She is now dating NFL star Travis Kelce.
Taylor is known for her honest and clever lyrics often linking to the ends of her high-profile relationships.
And some fresh hints have emerged after her pop up poetry library was set up in LA – giving fans the chance to search for clues about the content of her upcoming tracks.
Cryptic pin on globe at her pop-up library in LA
Inside the pop-up is a globe which had a pin on it marking the location of Orlando – where it has been alleged that Joe cheated on her.
The popstar’s fans have been convinced that the actor was unfaithful to her after she recently performed a mashup of three songs from Fearless (Taylor’s version) during her show on February 17 in Melbourne, Australia – which left Swifties agog at its potential meaning.
She belted out Getaway Car, August and The Other Side of the Door in the acoustic set – but some perceptive Swifties thought there may be a hidden meaning to her choice of songs.
‘So Getaway Car is from the perspective of the cheater, August is from the perspective of the other woman, and The Other Side of the Door from the perspective of the woman who was cheated on,’ one social media user theorized on X, formerly known as Twitter, after the song lineup.
Rumors about Joe allegedly cheating on his former girlfriend first swirled in April 2023 after the couple split following six years together.
Just weeks after they called it quits, Joe’s co-star Emma Laird uploaded a photo of him to her Instagram account, sending the rumor mill into overdrive about the possibility he had already moved on with the actress.
Some even hypothesized that Emma, 25, uploading a picture from the Bowery Hotel was a hint she was now dating the actor, who wrote under the pen name William Bowery on several of Taylor’s albums.
Many fans were adamant the songstress was dropping clues confirming this was the case with her poignant song choices during the Eras tour concert.
Some fans also believe the singer’s sultry black-and-white album cover on a bed for The Tortured Poets Department is a nod to Emma Laird’s Instagram picture at the Bowery.
Neither Joe nor Emma have ever confirmed a relationship with each other.
72 mailbox draws at pop-up library
Elsewhere at the pop up fans thought they had found more clues about her relationship with Joe – after part of the set featured 72 small mailbox.
Some think the 72 boxes are a reference to her six-year relationship with Joe as 72 months equate to 6 years exactly.
Some of the drawers of the 72 mail boxes were filled with veils and flowers – potentially in reference to the fact that the pair never got married despite being together for so long.
Telling heartbreak lyrics
It comes after on Sunday Taylor shared some lyrics from one of the new songs – which appeared to reference her breakup with ex boyfriend Joe.
She shared some brand new lyrics with her fans while promoting a special edition of her new record.
Taking to X Taylor penned: ‘I wish I could un-recall how we almost had it all…’
She then added: ‘Pre-order THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT on phantom clear vinyl now exclusively at Target.’
Taylor’s have been going wild predicting digs at her famous exes after the Tortured Poets Department track list was revealed in February.
She announced her 11th studio album at the Grammy Awards earlier this year after shared the track listing for the record, which includes collaborations with Post Malone and Florence + the Machine.
After the track list was revealed fans were going mad for the song names, linking some of them to her former boyfriends Joe and Harry Styles.
Song names hinting at Joe relationship
One eagle-eyed Twitter user pointed out that there is a track called So Long, London – which could refer to British-born Joe.
One penned: ‘Joe alwyn and his publicist seeing ‘so long, london’ just drop on the tracklist…’
Another referring to Joe read: ‘so long, london, the smallest man who ever lived, my boy only breaks his favorite toys, i can fix him (no really i can) BYE JOE ALWYN.’
Another fan wrote: ‘SO LONG LONDON?? I LOVE YOU ITS RUINING MY LIFE?? Joe Alwyn count your days #THETORTUEDPOETSDEPARTMENT.’
In addition some think the album title is a reference to Joe too and could be a savage nod to the group chat Joe shared with pals Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott.
Back in 2022, Joe revealed a mutual friend created a WhatsApp group with him and Paul called The Tortured Man Club.
They later explained to Variety that Andrew ‘started the group,’ with Paul saying: ‘He’s just on it every day. He’s just on it by himself.’
Joe jokingly added: ‘Just messaging himself good mornings.’
Fans went wild, with one penning on X: ‘THIS IS THE BREAKUP ALBUM’
Another wrote: ‘I hope for Joe’s sake that he still has that group chat. I feel like he’s gonna need it’
Others made the connection to singer Harry Styles, 30, after the track list was revealed.
One noted a song called ‘loml’ which could be a reference to one of Harry’s songs called Love of My Life.
A fan shared a screenshot of the songs next to each other and wrote on Twitter: ‘No im sorry…’
Another fan pointed out that one of Taylor’s new tracks is called But Daddy I Love Him – after Harry was once seen wearing a T-shirt with the logo But Daddy I Love Him on it.
The fan shared the snap of Harry in the outfit alongside the track name and excitedly wrote: ‘EXCUSE ME ?!?!!!!!!!’
Taylor and Harry dated from late 2012 until early 2013, and the star has penned several songs about him in the past.
Meanwhile insiders for Joe say he will be ‘shocked’ if Taylor divulges negative details about their relationship in her new album The Tortured Poets Department – and feels it would be ‘shady’ for her to ‘diss’ him in any way given that he’s remained so stoically silent about their split.
While the popstar has formed a reputation for divulging details about her love life in her albums, sources close to Joe say the actor would be very surprised if her latest release featured any intimate information about their split – although they noted that he does feel the title is in fact a direct reference to their time together.
Taylor announced the title of her new album on-stage at The Grammys in February and soon after ‘broke the internet’ when she revealed the cover art on her Instagram – sparking a slew of comments from fans speculating that the record could feature one or more brutal digs at Joe.
Although the actor is confident that this won’t happen, the name of the album is said to have raised alarm bells for Joe, who reportedly believes that it is an ‘undeniable’ reference to the WhatsApp group he shares with pals Paul and Andrew.
‘Joe has not said one word about Taylor or their breakup and has been completely respectful of her,’ an insider told DailyMail.com exclusively at the time.
‘It’s undeniable that the name of her upcoming album is in reference to Joe’s WhatsApp group chat.
‘Taylor knocked him for the name of this when they were together. She didn’t want people to think that it had anything to do with her, so when he spoke out about it, she was, of course, bothered.’
The insider continued: ‘Joe has no reason to believe yet that she is going to diss him or their relationship.
‘She writes about her past using code and points of reference. It may just be that she is reflecting on their time together and he is hoping it is nothing more.
‘If it is a diss album, that is shady. He helped her with song writing on her past album so it will really come as a shock to him if she talks about their breakup, as it is something he has not spoken of at all.’
Joe worked with the Blank Space singer on ten of her songs, including Exile from her eighth studio album, Folklore, which won him Album of the Year at the 2021 Grammys. He was also nominated for Evermore.
The source finished: ‘Regardless of what she does, he will still not respond because he has removed himself from her narrative and is very glad, he did.’
Taylor and Joe were in a relationship for six years before their shock split in early 2023.
Back in 2022, he revealed Fleabag star Andrew, 47, created The Tortured Man Club with him and actor Paul, 28.
‘He’s just on it every day. He’s just on it by himself,’ Paul said of Andrew during an interview with Variety.
Joe jokingly added: ‘Just messaging himself good mornings.’
Taylor announced her album news as she picked up Best Pop Vocal Album at Sunday’s ceremony.
Addressing the audience, she said: ‘Okay, this is my 13th Grammy. Which is my lucky number. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you that.
‘I want to say thank you to the members of the Recording Academy for voting this way, but I know that the way that the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion of the fans.’
She continued: ‘I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I have been keeping from you for the last two years, which is that my brand-new album comes out April 19.
‘It’s called The Tortured Poet’s Department. I’m going to go and post the cover right now backstage.’
Minutes after she left the stage, the artwork for the new album was shared to her Instagram, with the caption: ‘All’s fair in love and poetry… New album THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. Out April 19 [white heart emoji].’
Joe and Taylor were initially romantically linked in 2016, but famously kept details of their relationship out of the spotlight.
In October 2018, Joe told British Vogue that the secrecy around their relationship was intentional.
‘I’m aware people want to know about that side of things. I think we have been successfully private,’ he said.
Rumors about the couple’s long term plans together were frequent, with sources telling outlets Taylor thought she’d found her soulmate and that she was hoping they would get engaged.
That speculation soared in January 2020 with the release of Netflix’s documentary Miss. Americana, in which she could be seen wearing a large diamond on her ring finger during an interview.
Many thought it was a sure-sign the engagement had finally come to pass, with some even suggesting they had secretly tied the knot.
Three months later Joe addressed the rumors in an interview with WSJ Magazine, saying he wouldn’t confirm them even if they were true.
‘If I had a pound for every time I think I’ve been told I’ve been engaged, then I’d have a lot of pound coins,’ he said. ‘I mean, the truth is, if the answer was yes, I wouldn’t say, and if the answer was no, I wouldn’t say.’
