Tragic Details About Taylor Swift
The following article includes references to mental health struggles and an eating disorder.
Taylor Swift has taken the world by storm with her catchy tunes, relatable lyrics, and her incredible stage presence. Starting out in the country music genre, Swift's hit single "Tim McGraw" put her on the map in 2006. Four months later, she released her very first album, "Taylor Swift," which quickly climbed the charts — and the star was on her way. She inked a deal to head out on tour as the opening act for Brad Paisley in 2007. Though her country tunes would continue to gain in popularity over the next few years, and she was getting recognized for her talent by fans, critics, and the awards show circuit alike, Swift eventually tiptoed her way into the pop genre. And now? She's one of the best-selling female artists of all time. The multi-Grammy winner has long been headlining her own shows and selling out football stadiums, and she has even amassed over 270 million Instagram followers, as of this writing.
But things in Swift's life haven't always gone as planned. The "Cruel Summer" singer has experienced her fair share of tragedy and heartbreak, from dealing with online bullies to her split from longtime boyfriend Joe Alwyn in early 2023. And those things? They're unfortunately just the tip of the iceberg. Here are some tragic details about Taylor Swift.
Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn's love didn't last
Taylor Swift fell pretty hard for Joe Alwyn, a British actor whom she supposedly met at the 2016 Met Gala. The two started hanging out soon after, and seemingly quickly realized that they had a thing for one another. Although their relationship was kept fairly private, fans knew that Swift was in love because she started to write some serious love songs, like "London Boy" and, of course, "Lover." The two were together for six years, and many fans were convinced that Swift and Alwyn were end game. In fact, there were even rumors that they had secretly tied the knot. But sadly, their love didn't last.
Fans were quick to notice that Alwyn wasn't in attendance at any of Swift's concerts on her "Eras Tour" in March 2023, sparking worldwide rumors that the "Lavender Haze" singer had ended things with her beau. Sure enough, breakup reports surfaced shortly thereafter. "They've had rough patches before and always worked things out, so friends thought they would take some time apart but eventually come back together," a source told People of the split that April, adding that the two just "weren't the right fit for one another."
Despite the seemingly amicable way things ended, Swifties believed that this split was a tough one for the star, especially once she was seen crying while performing "Champagne Problems" — a song she co-wrote with Alwyn — on tour, as evidenced by a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Anti-Hero hitmaker has struggled with her mental health
It probably goes without saying that Taylor Swift's life hasn't always been rainbows and butterflies. In fact, the singer has been open about her mental health ups and downs.
"I definitely don't feel good all the time, and I don't think anybody does," she said during a 2019 interview on the "Zach Sang Show." "There have been times when I needed to take years off, because I just felt exhausted, or I felt really low or really bad." Aside from taking time away from the spotlight to focus on her mental health, Swift has also channeled some of that energy into her music, which we imagine has been nothing short of therapeutic for her — and relatable for many of her fans. Per experts interviewed by Parade, quite a few Swift songs reference depression, including "Labyrinth" and "Dear Reader."
Swift further opened up to The Guardian about a particularly tough time in her life around the 2016 election. She'd felt torn because she decided to steer clear of politics — and chose not to endorse a candidate publicly — despite being a Hillary Clinton supporter. "I was just trying to protect my mental health — not read the news very much, go cast my vote, tell people to vote. I just knew what I could handle and I knew what I couldn't. I was literally about to break," she explained. When asked if she sought help for those feelings, Swift simply said, "That stuff I just really wanna keep personal, if that's OK."
Taylor Swift has been on the losing end of social media
If anyone knows how tough social media can be, it's Taylor Swift. While she may seem like one of the most beloved people in the world (and don't get us wrong, she totally is), her fandom can't always protect her from online trolls. In a 2019 article penned for Elle, Swift shared a little bit about how she's dealt with the dark side of the internet. "Social media can be great, but it can also inundate your brain with images of what you aren't, how you're failing, or who is in a cooler locale than you at any given moment," she wrote. "One thing I do to lessen this weird insecurity laser beam is to turn off comments." Indeed, a quick look at Swift's Instagram feed shows her posts don't include any comments.
Swift also knows first-hand how isolating it is when you feel like the world has turned on you. Speaking with Vogue, the "Look What You Made Me Do" hitmaker opened up about the time Kim Kardashian referred to her as a snake on X amid Swift's feud with Kanye West. The backlash from that tweet alone was intense and almost too much for Swift to handle. "I don't think there are that many people who can actually understand what it's like to have millions of people hate you very loudly," she recalled, adding, "I knew immediately I needed to make music about it because I knew it was the only way I could survive."
Her mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor
Taylor Swift is incredibly close with her mom, Andrea Swift. In 2015, the Swift family was rocked by some scary news: Andrea had been diagnosed with cancer. Taylor informed her fans of the news in a since-deleted Tumblr post, choosing to keep the details of the specific diagnosis private. Following treatment, Andrea went into remission, but her cancer returned in 2019, which Taylor shared in her article written for Elle. While Andrea was undergoing treatment for her second bout with the disease, her doctors found a tumor on her brain. "The symptoms of what a person goes through when they have a brain tumor is nothing like what we've ever been through with her cancer before," Taylor told Variety in early 2020. "So it's just been a really hard time for us as a family."
In the wake of her mom's health struggles, Taylor leaned on her music to get her through once more. She wrote the 2019 track "Soon You'll Get Better," a ballad with candid, heartbreaking lyrics off of "Lover," as a way to express the feelings and difficult time she's gone through. "This won't go back to normal, if it ever was / It's been years of hoping, and I keep saying it because / 'Cause I have to / Ooh-ah / You'll get better," the lyrics read.
In her Elle piece, Taylor also mentioned that her dad, Scott Swift, had had cancer, as well, though she didn't provide any additional details.
Taylor Swift has cried while performing some of her music
Taylor Swift's music has clearly been a major outlet for her over the years, and while she loves to write and perform, her songs even make her cry sometimes. If you're a dedicated Swiftie, you know that the singer always saves Track 5 on each of her albums for a sad song, including "All Too Well" on "Red," "All You Had to Do Was Stay" off of "1989," and "You're on Your Own, Kid" from her "Midnights" album. In a prologue to "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" that was shared on Reddit in July 2023, Swift admitted that revisiting these songs can sometimes remain really emotional for her.
"When I look back at the 'Speak Now' album, I get a lump in my throat. I have a feeling it will always be this way, because this period of time is so violently aglow with the last light of the setting sun of my childhood," she wrote. And while "Dear John" is that album's infamous Track 5 (which Swift dubbed her "most scathing"), the singer-songwriter added, "In my mind, the saddest song I've ever written is 'Last Kiss.'"
Indeed, it's songs like "Last Kiss" that even get Swift in the feels whenever she performs them. Over the course of her record-breaking "Eras Tour" in 2023, for example, Swift was visibly emotional while performing a number of her tunes, from the aforementioned teary-eyed performance of "Champagne Problems" to her voice breaking during a solo rendition of "I Don't Wanna Live Forever."
She lost the rights to her masters in a feud with Scooter Braun
In June 2019, a company owned by music executive Scooter Braun bought Big Machine Label Group — which owned the rights to many of Taylor Swift's studio albums. That meant that Braun's company took on those rights after the deal was closed, and that left Swift in a real tough position. "Scooter has stripped me of my life's work, that I wasn't given an opportunity to buy. Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it. This is my worst case scenario. ... Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine the buyer would be Scooter," Swift wrote in a Tumblr post, according to Us Weekly.
In an effort to regain the rights to her music, Swift decided to re-record several of her albums. By early 2021, Swift was determined to right what she felt was a major wrong. And so, she released "Fearless (Taylor's Version)" in April 2021, followed by "Red (Taylor's Version)" in November 2021, and "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" in July 2023. "1989 (Taylor's Version)" is set for an October 2023 release. The songs on each of the "Taylor's Version" albums are a bit different than the original recordings, which has thrilled fans, many of whom feel like they're getting totally new music. It's really a "lemons into lemonade" situation for Swift, whose record sales are totally dominating. We wouldn't expect anything less.
Taylor Swift was embarrassed by Kanye West at the VMAs
Taylor Swift fans remember it all too well. In 2009, Swift won the MTV Video Music Award for video of the year, only for Kanye West to commandeer her acceptance speech moment. He made his way to the stage, grabbed the mic, and said, "Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'mma let you finish. But Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all-time!" The video was, of course, Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)." After leaving the stage with her award, Swift told reporters, "I was really excited because I had just won the award and then I was really excited because Kanye West was on the stage. And then, I wasn't so excited anymore after that."
West eventually apologized to Swift and the two even seemed friendly in the years that followed, but that didn't last. In 2016, West released a song called "Famous," on which he rapped, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that b**ch famous." After West received backlash for this lyric, then-wife Kim Kardashian uploaded a clip of a phone call between Swift and West made it seem like Swift was on board. Four years later, the phone call in its entirety was leaked. The unedited conversation suggested Swift wasn't as on board as West and Kardashian argued.
It's been quite a whirlwind, but it's clear that Swift is leaving all of that noise in the past.
The Grammy winner has struggled with an eating disorder
Taylor Swift has struggled with body image over the years, and she has even opened up about dealing with an eating disorder. "I didn't know if I was going to feel comfortable with talking about body image and talking about the stuff I've gone through in terms of how unhealthy that's been for me — my relationship with food and all that over the years," she candidly told Variety in 2020. During the interview, Swift went on to talk about how various headlines or comments made by stylists have affected her over the years, creating an unhealthy relationship between her and her body. In her "Miss Americana" documentary, Swift also talked about the struggles she's had over the years, revealing that she's suffered from body dysmorphia.
In the aforementioned Elle piece, Swift also shared that the journey has been a tough one, but she seems to be on top of it these days. "I worked hard to retrain my brain that a little extra weight means curves, shinier hair, and more energy. I think a lot of us push the boundaries of dieting, but taking it too far can be really dangerous. There is no quick fix. I work on accepting my body every day," she wrote.
Taylor Swift has faced misogyny throughout her career
Taylor Swift's lyrics have been harshly criticized by people who don't think that she should say the things that she says. The reason? Because she's a woman. She opened up a bit about this during NPR's "Tiny Desk Concert" in 2019. "Over the course of my life, it has occurred to me that we have a bit of a double standard issue in our society. It's something I've thought about 700 million times a day for the last 10 years of my life. And I was always just wondering, like, 'can I write a song about this? Is there a concise and catchy way to write a song about this?'" Swift wondered. She went on to explain that she thought about how she would approach it, if she "was a man." That, of course, was the beginning stages of her song, "The Man."
Over the years, Swift hasn't been shy when it comes to speaking up when she thinks that she's asked something that toes the sexism line. For example, whenever she's been questioned about writing her own music, Swift doesn't hesitate to say that her male pals in the industry aren't asked the same things. "We all know it's a feminist issue," she told Time in 2014, adding, "It's a little discouraging that females have to work so much harder to prove that they do their own things."
If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who does, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).