All the Conspiracies About Joe Alwyn and The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift

If there’s one thing you can trust a poet to do, it is to use their pain to fuel their art. Often hailed our modern Shakespeare, Taylor Swift has long channeled the pain of heartbreak in writing, resulting in some of the greatest and most heart-rending love songs of our time. And if there’s one thing her exes should know, it is this: Beware the consequences of breaking her heart. With the fresh release of Swift’s 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, we look at her most recent ex-boyfriend actor Joe Alwyn and all the controversy and conspiracies surrounding his role in inspiring it. 

Somewhere in the world, Jake Gyllenhaal is heaving a huge sigh of relief. The release of The Tortured Poets Department on April 19 is a momentous occasion worthy of celebration — for more reasons than one. Known for her uncanny ability to weave stories and narratives into beautiful melodies and heart-wrenching lyrics, Taylor Swift has proven that only the staunchest and sturdiest of hearts (and suitors) are worthy of her attention. And when Red (Taylor’s Version) was released in 2021, Swifties turned their collective attention to Gyllenhaal, who allegedly inspired the gutting lyrics of All Too Well.  

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While Gyllenhaal bore his time in the hot seat with remarkable poise, a fresh contender has now arrived to claim the throne — actor Joe Alwyn, with whom Swift shared a bittersweet six years and three cats. And for all the love songs Swift has written for Alwyn in their time together (the singer released five albums during their relationship), it is evident from the track list of The Tortured Poets Department that the breakup songs are ready to go. 

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What’s in a name? 

When Taylor Swift first announced the name of her upcoming album The Tortured Poets Department, Swifties flew into a panicked frenzy. In anticipation of the album and desperate to learn more about it, the masses rushed to crack the code and decipher the easter eggs and clues that the singer is known to drop. The first revelation to emerge: The name of the album itself, which many hypothesised was a jab at Alwyn who is widely believed to be its purported inspiration. 

Joe Alwyn and Paul Mescal have a WhatsApp group with Andrew Scott called “The Tortured Man Club.”

“It hasn’t had much use recently,” Alwyn says.
“I feel like we’re less tortured now,” Mescal quips. https://t.co/CSai4ScQpz pic.twitter.com/veCp1ZdFsD

— Variety (@Variety) December 15, 2022

Swifties uncovered that Alwyn was part of a group chat started by actor Andrew Scott; the same group chat also featured his friend, Paul Mescal. While the trio have not worked together on films, they are linked by the Sally Rooney extended universe — and as fate would have it, the group chat, ‘The Tortured Man Club’. If that name sounds familiar, it’s probably because it’s very close to a certain upcoming album. And while it may be pure coincidence, Swifties know better than to question the Mastermind that is Taylor, who has time and time again displayed incredible foresight and genius in both songwriting and marketing. 

How The Tortured Poets Department has affected Joe Alwyn 

On February 6 2024, Taylor Swift released the long-awaited track list for The Tortured Poets Department. In an Instagram post, the songstress shared the list alongside seemingly damning lyrics that read, ‘I love you. It’s ruining my life’ — hinting at the demise of her relationship with Alwyn. In addition to the lyrics, Swift’s track names also appeared to be a glaringly obvious jab at Alwyn, pointing at a world of hurt to come for the actor. 

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While Alwyn has made no public response to the release and hype surrounding The Tortured Poets Department, a source close to the actor has provided some insight into his thoughts. In a Daily Mail article, the source claimed that Alwyn considered that it would be ‘shady’ if Swift wrote a ‘diss album’ about him and their time together, though he acknowledged that the album title directly referenced their relationship. 

The article went on to add that Alwyn, who is a famously private person, harboured concerns that intimate details of their relationship would come to light in the wake of their split. And considering the all-consuming nature of Swifties, who are prone to declare war against those who have wronged their idol, Alwyn would not be wrong to be concerned. 

While Swift herself has called for her fans to exercise restraint, repudiating online hate and bullying with a firm hand, it has done little to help the situation. Thankfully, Swifties at large do not claim these extremist renegades; yet, many have flooded Alwyn with online hate in the weeks leading up to the album’s release. And with the album officially out, it’s anybody’s guess as to what actions Alwyn might take in response.

As Swift’s most beloved ex-boyfriend and the inspiration behind Back To December Taylor Lautner might say: “Thoughts and prayers.”

Conspiracies surrounding The Tortured Poets Department release date, track names, and song lengths 

Beyond Joe Alwyn’s actions, the album’s release date, track list, and song lengths of the have also undergone the extreme scrutiny of eagle-eyed Swifties. Most notably, the album’s release date, April 19, is the anniversary of the date in which a freshly-single Swift was photographed out at dinner with longtime besties Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. 

Following the group’s night out, the duo swiftly unfollowed Alwyn on Instagram, leading to speculations that Swift had spilled all the tea on their relationship. Whatever the truth may be, it was clear to fans that Alwyn must have done something to warrant the couple’s reactions, particularly in the realm of celebrities where a simple Instagram unfollow carries deeper meaning. 

April 19 is also famously the date the American Revolution began, marking the United States’ fight for freedom from Great Britain. Enter Taylor Swift, Miss Americana herself, declaring her independence and emancipation from her London Boy. If you need more, here’s an additional nugget of curious information: Within The Tortured Poets Department, Swift has cleverly included a song titled, So Long, London, which is set to be 9:28 minutes long. The kicker is this: September 28 (9/28) is rumoured to be the date the duo first began dating. 

SO LONG LONDON?? I LOVE YOU ITS RUINING MY LIFE?? Joe Alwyn count your days #THETORTUEDPOETSDEPARTMENT pic.twitter.com/2Fsbhq7u6C

— lyss♛ 5/12 the eras tour (@lyssmadison13) February 6, 2024

On February 16, while on tour in Melbourne, Australia, Swift set off yet another bout of Swiftie frenzy when she announced The Bolter edition of The Tortured Poets Department. Fans were quick to point out that the song could be a reference to an old video in which Swift and Alwyn were shown literally bolting to a car together to avoid public attention. The accompanying album art likewise featured heart-rending text that read, ‘You don’t get to tell me about sad’. 

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Swift followed up the announcement with yet another surprise edition: The Albatross. Swifties once again dug into the source material, unearthing hypotheses that painted an uNFLattering picture of how Alwyn’s discomfort with Swift’s Celebrity created a rift in their relationship. The lyrics accompanying the album art also pointed at turbulent times, reading, ‘Am I allowed to cry?’, hinting that Swift had been forced to repress her feelings all in the name of keeping the peace. 

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To further fuel the speculations, fans pointed out that an albatross is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as ‘something that causes persistent deep concern or anxiety’, and ‘something that greatly hinders accomplishment’. Given the prosaic nature of coincidence, it’s entirely possible that Swift was merely writing about the avian species — but considering her incredible talent for storytelling, we think not.  

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Joe Alwyn conspiracies and everything we should have seen coming in The Tortured Poets Department 

As Swift has expressed in the gutting ballad that is Folklore’s Exile, featuring Bon Iver, ‘I gave so many signs’. The Shakespearean musician has never shied away from using her real-life heartbreaks as fodder for her musical ventures. Understandably, fans have since become accustomed to the little peeks and hints into the state of her personal relationships, with details carefully intertwined into her lyrics and music for the ultimate heart-wrenching listening experience.  

In homage to Swift’s excellent songwriting — and yes, to all the signs she gave that all was not quite well on Cornelia Street, here are all the conspiracies that point to Joe Alwyn as the source of inspiration for The Tortured Poets Department. Jump right in on all the signs we may have missed that the Alwyn years were Swiftly coming to an end. 

Midnights was a breakup album 

Midnights was released on October 21 2022, a full six months before Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn allegedly split. While Entertainment Tonight broke the news of their split on April 8 2023, reports suggested that the pair had actually broken up about two weeks prior, near the end of March. 

The timeline for the split matches up with several Eras Tour events leading up to the announcement; most notably on March 31, Swift swapped out her love song Invisible String, replacing it on the Eras tour setlist with The 1, which is a breakup song. This switcheroo followed yet another sign: Eleven days prior on March 20, a visibly emotional Swift had performed Champagne Problems whilst holding back tears. 

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Fans concluded that Midnights was written as a breakup album while the couple were still together. This makes sense considering the lyrics to many of the songs, which harboured hopeful, and yet hopeless undertones. From Anti-Hero‘s ‘Sometimes, I feel like everybody is a sexy baby / And I’m a monster on the hill / Too big to hang out, slowly lurching toward your favorite city / Pierced through the heart, but never killed’ depicting feelings of being ‘too much’ for Alwyn to handle, to Snow On The Beach’s ‘And it’s fine to fake it ’til you make it / ‘Til you do, ’til it’s true’ that hints at Swift faking the perfect relationship in the hopes it would come to fruition, Midnights turned out to be a ticking time bomb full of easter eggs. 

And that’s not all. Swift also brought her emotions to Bejewelled with lyrics that imply she was made to feel unimportant: ‘Familiarity breeds contempt / Don’t put mе in the basement / Whеn I want the penthouse of your heart’. Midnight Rain provided yet more insight into the ongoings of Swift’s mind, throwing into sharp comparison Alwyn’s preference for a quieter life versus Swift’s eternal spotlight.  

You’re Losing Me paints a devastating picture 

With Midnights well and truly confirmed as a breakup album, the release of You’re Losing Me left little room for interpretation. Further locking in the song’s place in Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn lore, Swift’s constant collaborator and friend Jack Antonoff spilled the beans, sharing in an Instagram story that the song was written as early as December 2021, a full two years before the pair eventually split.

insane how she still tried to make it with him for a whole year after writing this devastating song https://t.co/4MzvPdx8Ke

— alli (@daisyedgarjnes) November 29, 2023

Widely hailed as the most heartbreaking breakup song Swift has ever released, You’re Losing Me provides a confronting view of her relationship with Alwyn. 

From, ‘Do I throw out everything we built or keep it? / I’m getting tired even for a phoenix / Always risin’ from the ashes / Mendin’ all her gashes / You might just have dealt the final blow’ to ‘And all I did was bleed as I tried to be the bravest soldier / Fighting in only your army / Frontlines, don’t you ignore me / I’m the best thing at this party / And I wouldn’t marry me either / A pathological people pleaser / Who only wanted you to see her’, You’re Losing Me well and truly cemented Joe Alwyn’s role in inspiring The Tortured Poets Department.

Allegations of cheating? 

In the days leading up to the release of The Tortured Poets Department, news emerged that Alwyn had allegedly cheated on Swift with his Conversations With Friends (2022) co-star Allison Oliver. While rumours of Alwyn’s cheating had begun circulating as early as 2022 while he and Swift were still together, they have since resurfaced following a leaked clip from the set of the movie. The clip portrays Alwyn and Oliver in the throes of an intimate scene, but there’s just one problem.

Alwyn allegedly moans Oliver’s real name, Allison. Her character’s name, however, is Frances. 

The great unfollowing 

Well well the new person who unfollowed joe alwyn is Ashley Avignon. 👀

she just had dinner with taylor swift. pic.twitter.com/pwr8vJp0vm

— daisy 🌼 (@Scarletismaroon) April 20, 2023

After the news broke of the couple’s split, fans noticed that friends and family of Swift had begun to unfollow Alwyn en-masse. This included Swift’s brother Austin, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Este, Alana, and Danielle Haim, and Ashley Avignone — all of whom made the cut after public dinner dates with Swift herself. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that tea!

Joe Alwyn vs Travis Kelce: The way they were 

While Joe Alwyn has always been prone to seclusion, it seemed to fans that it was with current boyfriend Travis Kelce that Taylor Swift was able to be her most vivacious and exuberant self. Alwyn has famously refused to speak on Swift’s Celebrity and music, even going so far as to refuse to name his favourite Swift song by saying, “I’m just not even going to go into that side of the world.” 

In stark contrast, Kelce, who has worn his heart openly on his sleeve for all to see, has been public about his favourite Taylor Swift tunes, including Midnights’ Anti-Hero and 1989’s Blank Space. Speaking to WSJ Magazine, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end shared that, while he had never been a man of words, being around Swift has been the experience of a lifetime. “Being around her, seeing how smart Taylor is, has been f–ing mind-blowing. I’m learning every day.” 

If reports are to be believed, Kelce is also fully prepared to face the media onslaught that comes with dating one of the most famous people in the world. The duo have frequently stolen the spotlight when out and about, at the Super Bowl, at Swift’s Eras Tour concert legs, and even at Ice Spice’s Coachella Weekend 1 set this past Saturday. In stark contrast, Alwyn and Swift’s relationship had been shrouded in mystery, with the duo famously never arriving on any red carpet together. For Swift, whose life in the spotlight has long been integrated into who she is, Alwyn’s refusal to be seen with her must have struck a chord, leaving a bitter taste in fans’ mouths. 

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Taylor Swift and the Apple Music Playlists (Oh no, Lover is sadder than we thought) 

On April 5, Taylor Swift unveiled five playlists on Apple Music inspired by the five stages of grief, paving the way to the inevitable heartbreak of The Tortured Poets Department. The quintet of playlists was composed of 10 songs each from her previous albums, with some surprises in the mix. 

The first of the playlists, ‘I Love You, It’s Ruining My Life’, centres the Denial stage of grief. Said Swift, “This is a list of songs about getting so caught up in the idea of something that you have a hard time seeing the red flags, possibly resulting in moments of denial and maybe a little bit of delusion.” Shockingly, the playlist includes Swift’s notable love songs, which fans have jokingly said were now ruined for them — from Lover, which has been played at many a wedding, to Sweet Nothing, Superman, Willow, Cruel Summer, and Ours. 

Enter the Anger stage of grief and the second of Swift’s playlists, ‘You Don’t Get To Tell Me About Sad’, Of this playlist, Swift said, “These songs all have one thing in common: I wrote them while feeling anger. Over the years, I’ve learned that anger can manifest itself in a lot of different ways, but the Healthiest way that it manifests itself in my life is when I can write a song about it, and then oftentimes, that helps me get past it.” The playlist includes Vigilante Sh–t, Exile, Forever & Always — as well as The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, from The Tortured Poets Department. 

Third up on the playlists is ‘Am I Allowed To Cry?’, which corresponds to the Bargaining stage of grief. Speaking on the act of bargaining in relationships, Swift shared, “This playlist takes you through the songs that I’ve written when I was in the bargaining stage, times when you’re trying to make deals with yourself or someone that you care abou. You’re trying to make things better, you’re oftentimes feeling really desperate, because oftentimes we have a gut intuition that tells us things are not going to go the way that we hope, which makes us more desperate, which makes us bargain more.” The title track of her 11th album The Tortured Poets Department features on this playlist, alongside others: The Great War, This Is Me Trying, Cornelia Street, Come Back… Be Here, The Story Of Us, and more. 

The Depression stage of grief is marked by ‘Old Habits Die Screaming’, of which Swift said, “We’re going to be exploring the feelings of depression that often lace their way through my songs. While these things are really, really, hard to go through, I often feel like when I’m either listening to songs or writing songs that deal with this intensity of loss and hopelessness, usually that’s in the phase where I’m close to getting past that feeling.” The songs on this playlist, which is certain to accompany many a broken-hearted Swiftie, include: Bigger Than The Whole Sky, You’re Losing Me, My Tears Ricochet, Champagne Problems, All Too Well, Castles Crumbling, and White Horse among others. 

And finally, the Acceptance stage of grief is accompanied by the last of Swift’s playlists: ‘I Can Do It With A Broken Heart’. “Here we finally find acceptance and can start moving forward from loss or heartbreak. These songs represent making room for more good in your life, making that choice because a lot of time when we lose things, we gain things too,” Swift shared. 

Rounding off the experience of heartbreak, this playlist understandably includes So Long, London and Fresh Out Of The Slammer from The Tortured Poets Department. Additionally, it also includes You’re On Your Own, Kid, Midnight Rain, The 1, August, Invisible String, Evermore, This Love, and Daylight — yes, the same Daylight that goes, ‘I don’t wanna look at anything else now that I saw you / I don’t wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you / I’ve been sleeping so long in a 20-year dark night / And now I see daylight, I only see daylight.’ 

The Tortured Poets Department was released at 12PM local time on April 19 2024. Here’s to heartbreak, healing, and to Joe Alwyn: The man who inspired the breakup album of the century. 

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(Main images: Dave Benett/Getty Images for dunhill, Taylor Swift/Instagram; featured image: Jackson Lee/GC Images)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

– What is tortured poets department a reference to? 

It has been hypothesised that Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department references a group chat ‘The Tortured Man Club’ that ex boyfriend Joe Alwyn is in with actors Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal. 

– Why is Taylor Swift naming her new album Tortured Poets Department? 

Taylor Swift allegedly named The Tortured Poets Department for a group chat that her ex boyfriend Joe Alwyn is a part of. 

– How many variants of The Tortured Poets Department will there be? 

There are four announced variants of The Tortured Poets Department: The Bolter, The Albatross, The Black Dog, and The Manuscript.