42. A Change For the Better
Since 2017, Swift has been in a relationship with the British actor Joe Alwyn. In many ways, their partnership is unlike Swift's previous relationships. While Swift could usually be seen out on the town with her man, snapped either by the paparazzi or posted by Swift herself on Instagram, Swift and Alwyn are notoriously private. They've never appeared together on a red carpet or explicitly acknowledged their relationship on social media (the closest fans have got? Swift praising one of Alwyn's movies, The Favourite).
Another curious difference? Swift usually dates older men (Gyllenhaal, Hiddleston, Mayer) while Alwyn is two years her junior. Whatever they're doing, it seems to be working. This is Swift's longest relationship to date.
43. The Track 5 Theory
Over the years, Swift's fans have consistently gravitated to the fifth song on each of the singer's albums. Noticing that Swift tends to put a more sombre, reflective, personal track in the fifth slot of each record ("White Horse," "Dear John," "All Too Well," and "Delicate"), fans have called the phenomenon "Track 5" and eagerly awaited the next lovelorn ballad.
According to Swift, she didn't even realize that she had this pattern but once it was pointed out, she saw the light. She admitted that she had indeed been putting "very vulnerable, personal, emotional, song[s] as Track 5" on her albums and chose to continue the tradition. She even released the fifth track of her newest album Lover ahead of schedule as a special treat to fans. It's called "The Archer" and guys, it delivers.
44. Kid Wonder
When Swift was in fourth grade, she won a national poetry contest for an adorably weird piece titled "The Monster In My Closet."
Everett Collection, Shutterstock
45. Lucky Number 13
For most people, 13 is an unlucky number. Swift would disagree: it's her personal lucky number. Her Twitter account is @taylorswift13, two of her albums have 13 tracks each, and eagle-eyed viewers will spot the number in several music videos like "...Ready For It" and "You Need To Calm Down." It's also a mainstay in Swift's album and single release dates.
Fans have made much of the fact that Lover's release date is August 23, 2019 or numerically, 8/23. Add 8 + 2 + 3 and what do you get? Lucky number 13.
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46. #HerToo
In 2013, Swift attended a meet-and-greet event in Denver. It should have been like any other day for Swift, but things took a dark turn when a local radio host named David Mueller groped the pop star. Swift took Mueller to court where he proceeded to counter-sue her for defamation, requesting $3 million dollars of damages. Swift requested the symbolic amount of $1 for her own damages.
In the end, a jury unanimously declared that Mueller was guilty. When Swift spoke about her experiences in the courtroom, she reflected on "all the people that weren't believed" and wondered "what turn my life would have taken if people hadn't believed me." Swift believes that "we have so, so, so much further to go" and is grateful to her fans "for being there for [her] during what was a really, really horrible part of my life."
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