Inside vicious fan wars that destroyed Taylor Swift & Matty Healy’s romance as she declared: ‘I’ve never been happier’
TAYLOR Swift has had enough of dating the Anti-Hero, breaking up with rocker Matty Healy after sustained pressure from her fans.
Some of the superstar’s army of Swifties — the name given to her loyal fans — were so “disappointed” by her romance with The 1975 frontman that they published an open letter listing his multiple controversies.
Now, barely a month after The Sun revealed they were dating on May 4, the pair have called it quits.
A source close to the couple explained: “They wanted to take it easy, have fun and see where it could go, but as with anything to do with pop-star romances, things run at turbo speed and it quickly became the talk of the world.”
Taylor, 33, is currently on her record-breaking global, The Eras Tour, while her tenth album, Midnights, is topping charts worldwide.
The Anti-Hero singer is renowned for using her own experience with heartbreak as inspiration for her songwriting and, in doing so, fans feel they have got to know Taylor on a deeper level.
But as these last few weeks have shown, Swifties can be very unforgiving when they feel she has let them down.
One wrote on Reddit: “I just cannot fathom why she would throw away all of her good will, all of her positive focus on her success for someone as awful as [Healy].”
The upset stems from Matty — son of Loose Women panelist Denise Welch and actor Tim Healy — appearing on The Adam Friedland Show podcast in February.
The Oh Caroline singer was dubbed “racist” and “misogynistic” by some listeners after laughing at comments about rapper Ice Spice’s appearance and recalling an evening where he was caught by friends watching hardcore porn.
‘Take a stand’
One fan wrote on social media: “This whole thing is making me lose respect for Taylor.”
Another said: “How is she OK with this?”
Matty has since apologised for his comments, but it comes after another controversy earlier this year when he appeared to do a Nazi salute on stage.
Fans are now threatening to cancel orders of Taylor’s latest album and sell their tickets to her tour. Two weeks ago, they also circulated an open letter to the singer on Twitter, pleading with her to #SpeakUpNow.
It included a series of allegations against Matty.
It read: “From engaging in racist remarks, making offensive jokes, and admitting to watching degrading pornography, his actions contribute to the perpetuation of hate, stereotypes and objectification.”
Addressing Taylor, they added: “While individuals have the right to make their own choices and form relationships, we believe that is essential for those in the public eye to take a stand against discrimination and hold themselves and their associates accountable.
“We use you to reflect on the impact of your own and your associates’ behaviour and engage in genuine self-reflection.”
While Taylor is yet to comment on the letter, she has been known to act on feedback from fans in the past. Just last week she released an extended version of her collaboration with Lana Del Rey that Swifties had been campaigning for.
Taylor tweeted of the redo: “You asked for it, we listened.”
And in what some refuse to accept is a coincidence, Taylor released a remix of her song Karma, featuring 23-year-old Ice Spice, the day after her last public outing with Matty.
Now as another of her relationships lies in tatters, fans are accusing each other of sabotaging Taylor’s happiness.
On May 21, the singer had gushed to her audience at the Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts: “I’ve just never been this happy in my life, in all aspects of my life ever. And I just want to thank you for being a part of that.
“It’s not just a tour, I just sort of feel like my life finally feels like it makes sense.”
In the days before, Taylor had had been spotted “kissing and cuddling” Matty in New York and he attended a string of her gigs, where he was filmed dancing with her friends, including supermodel Gigi Hadid.
The pair were also said to spent time “jamming together” in the studio of mutual pal and music producer Jack Antonoff.
But the couple’s love affair kicked off almost ten years ago when they first flirted with the idea of dating. A source explained: “Taylor and Matty have been friends for years as they have loads of mutual friends.
“It was never an issue until fans jumped on the romance last month.”
Sadly Taylor has had to pay a high price for her close relationship with her Swifties.
Many of the men she has been linked to, including — including actor Jake Gyllenhaal, 42, superstar Harry Styles, 29, and DJ Calvin Harris, 39 — have come under fire from her protective fans at some point.
Even after keeping a low profile during their six-year relationship, Joe Alwyn, 32, was still unable to win them over. Some even mocked the British actor, who reportedly split with Taylor in March, saying he was not “good enough”.
Tellingly, in a journal entry from January 2017, later released along with her 2019 album Lover, Taylor described keeping her romance with Joe quiet for “three months now” because she wanted to protect it.
She wrote: “I don’t want anything about this to change or become too complicated or intruded upon.”
‘Super busy’
Perhaps the intense scrutiny surrounding her short-lived relationship with Tom Hiddleston, 42, in 2016 — when the British actor was ridiculed for wearing an “I heart TS” vest — prompted Taylor to approach her love life with more caution.
But none of her exes provoked the ire that Matty did in just a few short weeks.
He appeared to address the furore for the first time on May 27, when he introduced The 1975 at Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Dundee.
Matty told the crowd: “Is it all a bit? Is it sincere? Will he ever address it? All of these questions and more will be ignored in the next hour. Ladies and gentlemen, this is The 1975.”
But he is unlikely to reveal any more about their split as sources say they may give it another go once this storm has blown over.
One said: “Friends are sure they will get back together but right now both of them are super busy.
“Taylor and Matty still care for one another but they are both in the middle of world tours so are both incredibly busy.
“They have been friends for years and are still friends. Nothing complicated happened. It’s just life.”
In the meantime, fans will be hoping Taylor channels her heartbreak into new music.
Swifties, who want to see the back of Matty, will be less than impressed to hear it could come in the form of a duet.
The source added: “They both write from the heart and use their music to talk to fans. Any track about their fling, be it good or bad, is guaranteed to set both fan bases ablaze.”
