We’re less than 12 hours away from hearing The Tortured Poets Department, and to say I am counting down the seconds would be a good way to understand how I’m passing the time until I can listen. To pass the time, I’ve been on X/Twitter ~a lot~ looking at fan theories about who these tracks could be about, and it’s looking like TTPD isn’t about Joe Alwyn, but rather, Matty Healy. I’m speechless.
TTPD was leaked on/around April 17, two days before its official release and it seems like, for those who listened to the leak, most of the tracks on the album are about Swift’s short-lived situationship/relationship (TBH, I have no clue what they were) with The 1975’s frontman Matty Healy.
Fans thought that TTPD was for sure going to be about Swift’s long-term ex-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, and there was a lot of evidence to support this. There was a rumor that Track 5 which is titled “So Long London” would be 9 minutes and 28 seconds long, which happened to be the date (9/28) that Joe and Tay (allegedly) started dating. However, the track lengths for TTPD were revealed on Spotify, and “So Long London” is only 4 minutes and 22 seconds long, which means it’s not the next ATWTMVTVFTV (yes, that is a real title).
Another theory that has been circulating since Swift announced the album during the 2024 Grammy Awards is that there are similarities between The Tortured Poets Department title and Joe Alwyn’s group chat with cast members of Conversations With Friends, which is named “The Tortured Man Club.”
However, according to those who listened to the leaks, most of the tracks on TTPD aren’t about Alwyn at all and instead give off clues that Healy was the one who inspired the album.
ICYMI, Swift and Healy (allegedly) dated for a couple of months during the summer of 2023. This news dropped a few weeks after Swift and Alwyn broke up, and people were shocked. Healy attended a couple of Swift’s Eras Tour shows, and even joined Phoebe Bridgers with Boygenius to perform during the May 6 show in Nashville. But, things between Swift and Healy quickly ended. On June 5, the pair allegedly called it quits, marking the end of their reported fling.
Despite TTPD not officially out yet, the leaks are allegedly proving that this album is about Healy, and X/Twitter is losing it.
I can’t wait to hear TTPD for myself, because if Swift was able to create an entire album dedicated to a brief situationship, it shows that she is truly so relatable.