In sad celebrity news, Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston have reportedly split after a whirlwind three-month romance.
However, they've been at the centre of ~conspiracy rumours~ from the very beginning of their relationship.
People were shocked at the romance, which appeared to come completely out of the blue and progressed at an alarming rate. So much so that conspiracy rumours sprung up all over the place, in order to explain the relationship. Now that it's over (sob) let's take a look back at those theories – and where everything stands now.
1. The theory: Taylor wants album six to be about love
But if she’s going to write an album about love, she needs to be in love, right? And although she was with Calvin Harris for over a year, things turned pretty sour.
Before they broke up, he was criticised for snapping a photo of a woman with the caption: “Is it hunting season yet?”
Then came the social media shading, with Calvin unfollowing Taylor, deleting every trace of her from his Instagram, replying to comments saying he "wasn't sad" over their breakup, that he felt "free", and that she "controlled the media".
On top of that came their spat when her team revealed that Taylor had written Calvin’s chart-topping single, “This Is What You Came For” under a pseudonym. He then embarked on a tweetstorm, saying he didn’t know why she and her team wanted to make him look bad.
It’s arguable an album about their love affair wouldn’t ring true after things have turned so sour.
Enter Tom Hiddleston.
What do we think now? 👍
Their relationship had all the makings of an epic romance – travelling the world, meeting each other’s families, declaring their love for each other on shirts – and would give Taylor plenty of material for album six.
Even though they’ve now broken up, it was an amicable split, and is likely to remain that way (not least because Tom isn’t particularly active on social media and has no songs that Taylor can take credit for).
Therefore, this theory could definitely stack up. Let’s watch out for lyrics about walks on the beach, romantic trips to Rome, and hearts on T-shirts on album six.
2. The theory: Tom Hiddleston wanted to become world-famous.
One of the earliest theories stemmed from stories that claimed Tom Hiddleston wanted to ~break America~. Although he is well known in the UK and has the role of Loki under his belt, reports suggested that he wanted to bag some big roles in Hollywood and become a globally recognised name. The prevailing theory is that Tom wanted the role of James Bond after Daniel Craig decided to step down, and needed a high-profile relationship to raise his profile.
What do we think now? 👋
But while there’s no doubt Tom has now become a globally recognised name, the means to getting there go against what he previously believed in.
Speaking in 2015, he said:
I would never be so bold as to make a big public statement without making sure I fully believed in it. I have tried with all of my power for there not to be any inauthenticity. There is no version of me presented to you that’s been created or is artificial.
So would he really jeopardise his entire career to wear a shirt expressing his love for Taylor if he didn’t really feel that way?
3. The theory: Taylor needed to detract from Kim Kardashian suggesting she knew about Kanye West's "Famous" lyrics.
Kim’s interview was pretty damning:
She totally approved that. She totally knew that that was coming out. She wanted to all of a sudden act like she didn't. It was funny because [on the call with Kanye, Taylor] said, ‘When I get on the Grammy red carpet, all the media is going to think that I'm so against this, and I'll just laugh and say, ‘The joke's on you, guys. I was in on it the whole time.’ And I'm like, wait, but [in] your Grammy speech, you completely dissed my husband just to play the victim again.
Some people have speculated that Taylor would have likely had prior warning from GQ that the interview would include this reference, and that her relationship with Tom was a ploy to detract attention from the claims in Kim’s interview.
And if that was the case, it worked. Because Hiddleswift dominated the headlines while Kim’s quotes went relatively under the radar. However, this is purely speculation and we'll probably never know for sure.
What do we think now? 👎
4. The theory: It was all for a music video
There were several elements to this theory – not least the fact that Taylor appeared to be re-enacting previous relationships.
It was suggested that the video could be a comment on fame, or the lack of privacy when it comes to celebrity relationships, or, most interesting of all, the media and the world’s obsession with her relationships.
What do we think now? 👍
Added to this was the theory that the new single or video would appear around the time of the Emmys on 17 September.
5. The theory: That there is no conspiracy theory, that they were together because they were happy and in love and now it's over.
CORRECTION
News of Taylor and Tom’s relationship broke in June. A previous version of this post said it was September.