Joe Alwyn says breakup with Taylor Swift was 'a hard thing to navigate'

Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn are seen here at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills. (Christopher Polk/NBC/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

Joe Alwyn is speaking publicly for the first time about the end of his years-long relationship with Taylor Swift.

In a new interview with the Sunday Times, Alwyn said that he understands “people’s curiosity” about his life but hopes that “anyone and everyone can (empathize) and understand the difficulties that come with the end of a long, loving, fully committed relationship of over six-and-a-half years.”

“That is a hard thing to navigate,” he added. “What is unusual and abnormal in this situation is that, one week later, it’s suddenly in the public domain and the outside world is able to weigh in.”

Swift and Alwyn were first linked romantically in 2016 and broke up in April 2023.

Swift has been dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce since September.

In April, Swift released “The Tortured Poets Department,” an album that includes a number of songs that listeners suspect reference her relationship with Alwyn.

The “Kinds of Kindess” actor did not say in the interview whether he has listened to the album, but said, “There is always going to be a gap between what is known and what is said. I have made my peace with that.”

The former couple kept their relationship mostly under wraps but Swift had previously dropped some Easter Eggs about Alwyn through her music. The pair also collaborated on a number of songs featured on her 2020 Grammy-winning album “Folklore.”

A little over a year after their split, Alwyn said he’s found some peace.

“I feel fortunate to be in a really great place in my life, professionally and personally,” he said. “I feel really good.”