Less than four days before Midnights’ outing, Taylor Swift and her partner of six years, Joe Alwyn, have signaled to paparazzi and fans that their romance is still ongoing. Swift and Alwyn were photographed walking in New York on Monday with their fall fashion on display. Swift wore a plaid miniskirt, long dark sweater and dark tights with earrings. Alwyn, meanwhile, wore a green sweater, jeans and black-rimmed glasses. He also carried a notebook because why not?
It’s not often that Swift and Alwyn are photographed together in public. The last time paps captured the couple was in London in July. Swift notably shut down engagement rumors at the time — or at least didn’t confirm them visually — because she wasn’t wearing a ring on her left ring finger.
Earlier this month, Swift talked about Midnights the track “Lavender Haze”, revealing her relationship with Alwyn – and navigating them in the public eye while keeping their romance as private as possible – served as inspiration.
“Lavender Haze is track 1 on Midnights“, she said in a video shared on her Instagram. “I came across the phrase ‘lavender haze’ when I was watching Mad Men. I watched it because I thought it sounded good. And it turns out it’s a common phrase used in the ’50s when they described being in love. If you are in the “lavender mist,” it means you were in that all-encompassing glow of love. And I thought that was really beautiful.
“I guess theoretically when you’re in the ‘lavender haze,’ you’ll do anything to stay there,” she continued. “And don’t let people knock you off that cloud. I think a lot of people have to deal with that now, not just as “public figures”, because we live in the age of social media, and if the world finds out that you’re in love with someone, it’s go to weigh in on it. Like my relationship, for six years we had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff, and ignore them. So this song is about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff.
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at In the style and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running in Central Park, getting people to #ootd pictures of her, and exploring New York.
