Known for her relatable love songs and poignant breakup ballads, Taylor Swift emotionally pushed through her performance on Sunday evening during her Eras Tour amid her split with the lead singer of English pop rock brand The 1975, Matty Healey.
Swift appeared to be on “the verge of crying” while singing her 2017 Zayn Malik duet, “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” in videos taken by fans in the audience at Soldier Field in Chicago.
The Grammy-winner sang the lyrics, “Wondering if I dodged a bullet or just lost the love of my life,” while her voice cracked and trembled through as she played the piano.
One video posted to Instagram noted Swift’s “raw emotions,” with comments from fans pointing out, “That line is hitting a little too close to home for her.” Another said, “I was there and seeing her this emotional almost made [me] cry.”
One Twitter user wrote, “Someone tell her she doesn’t have to do it to herself if she’s not ready.” The account suggested she play happier tunes instead, like “Change,” “Superman,” “Dorothea” and “Closure.”
Another fan brought up that The 1975 performed their emotional song, “102” the next night in Vienna. They wrote on Twitter, “Between Taylor looking like she might cry during ‘I Don’t Want to Live Forever’ and Matty playing ‘102’ it’s a sad time to be a Taylor and a 1975 fan.”
someone tell her she doesn't have to do it to herself if she's not ready 💔 we can enjoy change, superman, dorothea, closure and other songs (repeats included) too, I don't like seeing her at the verge of crying 😭 pic.twitter.com/W748efedyk
— ver🪩nica⸆⸉ 💜 (@VIsOnCorneliaSt) June 4, 2023
On Monday, TMZ reported that Swift and Healy broke up after about a month of dating. According to Entertainment Tonight, an insider claimed that incompatibility and scheduling conflicts were to blame for the breakup. “Taylor and Matty broke up,” the source revealed. “They are both extremely busy and realized they’re not really compatible with each other. Taylor’s friends want what’s best for her and aren’t shocked that their relationship fizzled out since she recently got out of a long-term relationship.”
People confirmed the news with a statement from a source: “She had fun with him, but it was always casual. They are no longer romantically involved.”
The news comes just weeks after Swift opened up about her emotional state to the crowd during her concert in Massachusetts. “I’ve just never been this happy in my life, in all aspects of my, life ever,” she told the crowd. “And I just want to thank you for being a part of that. It’s not just the tour. I just sort of feel like my life finally feels like it makes sense.”
Swifties were hardly thrilled about Swift’s romance with Healy. First, the pop-rock performer appeared to do a Nazi salute onstage in January — The 1975 fans argued the motion was satire. Then, Healy appeared on Adam Friedland’s podcast in February, making misogynistic and racist comments and specifically called out rapper Ice Spice‘s ethnicity and racial identity. The episode was considered offensive enough to have been removed from Apple and Spotify.
When Swift announced her collaboration with the “Princess Diana” rapper on the song “Karma,” many considered it to be a calculated PR move on Swift’s part to make up for or distract from Healy’s words.
Swift’s fans launched a #SpeakUpNow campaign to encourage the pop star to address Healy’s comments. According to Page Six, the statement asked for him to, “use your platform responsibly and intentionally. Advocate for inclusivity, celebrate diversity and promote empathy and understanding.”
Later, Healy apologized to Ice Spice but dismissed the backlash in an interview with The New Yorker. “Nobody is sitting there at night slumped at their computer, and their boyfriend comes over and goes, ‘What’s wrong, darling?’ and they go, ‘It’s just this thing with Matty Healy,’” the musician said. “That doesn’t happen.”
Romance rumors began saturating headlines and newsfeeds in early May. By mid-month, the pair were seen kissing at Casa Cipriani in New York City. An eyewitness told Page Six, “they sat next to each other at a banquette in the lounge.” According to the source, Swift and Healy were “cuddling and kissing.” They were joined by close friend and producer to the stars, Jack Antonoff, who is said to have set them up, according to an anonymous source on Instagram gossip account Deux Moi. The pair were later photographed coming out of New York’s Electric Lady recording studio.
After Healy performed with Phoebe Bridgers during Swift’s Nashville show, Healy and Swift were photographed arriving back at her Nashville house on 12:30 a.m. that Sunday.
According to The Sun, the Midnights artist was said to be “madly in love” with Healy. The pair had maintained a close friendship since 2014. An inside source told the publication, “It’s super-early days, but it feels right. They first dated, very briefly, almost 10 years ago but timings just didn’t work out.”
Back in 2015, Healy denied romance rumors with Swift but confirmed they would text each other frequently. “Yeah, we met each other, we exchanged numbers in the same way that a lot of people in this kind of world do and we spoke occasionally,” he said on Australian radio.
As if we didn’t have enough problematic commentary from this man, he told Q magazine in 2016, “If I had gone out with Taylor Swift I would’ve been, ‘F***ing hell! I am NOT being Taylor Swift’s boyfriend.” He said,“You know, ‘F***. THAT.’ That’s also a man thing, a de-masculinating, emasculating thing.”
The relationship happened just weeks after Swift split from her boyfriend of six years, Joe Alwyn, who called it quits in March in what was allegedly an amicable split. According to a source, the relationship “had just run its course,” and was “not dramatic.”
