While it might be just a distant memory now, Taylor Swift’s ill-fated romance with Calvin Harris is undeniably one of the most publicized relationships in her dating history.
If you need reminding, the two were reportedly introduced by their mutual friend Ellie Goulding in February 2015, hot on the heels of Taylor’s most commercially successful year to date.
Taylor’s career had just reached new peaks following the release of her acclaimed 2014 album 1989, which subsequently cleaned up at the Grammys and established her position as one of the world’s biggest pop stars.
This era also coincided with Taylor’s infamous “girl squad” — an A-list clique of celebrity friends — who she would regularly post pictures with on social media.
In fact, before Taylor wiped her Instagram account ahead of her Reputation era in 2017, the profile was full of candid photos that offered fans an intimate glimpse into her personal life.
From cooking to partying to hanging out with everybody from Selena Gomez to Blake Lively, nothing was off limits when it came to the star’s treasure trove of social media content.
And she had a similarly no-holds-barred approach to her love life when Calvin entered the scene, with the Scottish music producer being a regular fixture on her grid throughout their 15-month relationship.
Taylor made their romance Instagram official in June 2015 when she posted a photo of herself and Calvin in a giant inflatable swan with the caption “swan goals."
And it wasn’t just on social media that Taylor was sharing her adoration for Calvin. Their first public appearance was at the Billboard Music Awards in May 2015, and Taylor didn’t hold back as she hugged and kissed Calvin in full view of the cameras each time she was announced as a winner.
During another award ceremony, Taylor name-dropped Calvin in her acceptance speech as she shared her gratitude for having "the most amazing person to come home to" for the first time in her life, and in an interview with Vogue, Taylor branded their relationship “magical.”
Unfortunately, the eventual breakdown of the relationship was just as public, with the two seemingly going to war when the romance ended abruptly in June 2016.
At the time, Taylor immediately leaped into another incredibly high profile relationship, this time with actor Tom Hiddleston. If you didn’t know, her 2017 song “Getaway Car” is largely believed to be about her purposefully trying to seduce Tom because she was looking for an excuse to end things with Calvin.
Calvin responded by unfollowing Taylor on Instagram and deleting every single photo of her from his profile. He then began to leave shady comments across social media.
When somebody criticized him for wearing a pair of trainers designed by Kanye West — who Taylor was publicly feuding with at the time — and suggested that he was jealous of her romance with Tom, Calvin replied: “Not jealous sir, FREE.”
Another social media user accused Calvin of “dumping” Taylor, and he replied: “I didn’t leave anyone and she’s def not sad. It’s all good.”
In one more comment, Calvin claimed: “She controlled the media and this situation, I had no idea what was going on. So that kind of makes it a lot worse from my perspective."
Amid the drama, and as negative stories about Calvin started to appear in the press, Taylor’s spokesperson confirmed a longstanding theory that she had written Calvin’s hit song “This Is What You Came For” under the pseudonym Nils Sjoberg.
Taylor’s fans promptly accused Calvin of unjustly taking the credit for her work, and he did not hold back as he set the record straight on Twitter, now known as X. He wrote: “I wrote the music, produced the song, arranged it and cut the vocals though. And initially she wanted it kept secret, hence the pseudonym.”
“Hurtful to me at this point that her and her team would go so far out of their way to try and make ME look bad at this stage though,” he went on. “I figure if you’re happy in your new relationship you should focus on that instead of trying to tear your ex bf down for something to do.”
Calvin then dealt a final blow as he publicly accused Taylor of trying to “bury” him “like Katy Perry,” a reference to Taylor’s well-publicized 2014 feud with her fellow pop star, which gained notoriety when Taylor made it clear that her song “Bad Blood” was about their fallout.
He tweeted: “I know you’re off tour and you need someone new to try and bury like Katy ETC but I’m not that guy, sorry. I won’t allow it.”
Fast-forward to 2024, and Taylor is loved up with NFL star Travis Kelce, who she started dating last July, and Calvin is married to British DJ Vick Hope — who made a bit of an awkward confession during her BBC radio show on Monday.
Alluding to lingering bad blood between her husband and his ex, Vick admitted that she secretly indulges in Taylor’s music whenever Calvin isn’t home.
Thankfully for Vick, while Taylor is renowned for writing songs about her personal experiences, including her love life and breakups, Calvin is one of her exes who is rarely referenced in her music.
In addition to “Getaway Car,” it is thought that Taylor briefly alludes to Calvin in her hit song “Gorgeous” when she sings: “I got a boyfriend, he's older than us / He's in the club doing, I don't know what.”
But other than that, the only song in Taylor’s discography thought to be about Calvin is the aptly named “I Forgot That You Existed,” which seemingly references the shady end to their relationship as she sings about someone close to her reveling in her downfall.
Meanwhile, Vick is far from the only one who is a fan of Taylor’s music while in a relationship with one of her exes.
Sophie Turner regularly championed Taylor while with Joe Jonas, who Taylor dated in 2008 before publicly putting him on blast for the way that he treated her. Taylor famously supported Sophie amid her and Joe’s marriage breakdown last year.
And both Taylor Lautner — who briefly dated Taylor in 2009 — and his wife, Tay Lautner, are huge fans of his ex and on good terms with her.