Matty Healy, Taylor Swift. Getty Images (2)
Matty Healy is breathing a sigh of “relief” after the release of Taylor Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, a source exclusively tells Us Weekly.
“Matty still thinks very highly of Taylor but we were all nervous about what she might have said on the album,” the insider tells Us, noting that people close to The 1975 musician “couldn’t be happier” with how the record turned out.
According to the source, Healy’s family was thrilled with the way Swift, 34, sang about Healy, 35, in her highly-anticipated 11th studio album, which dropped on Friday, April 19.
“Matty’s family knew about the relationship,” the insider explains. “And they were worried that Taylor was going to rip him apart. Matty has struggled with life in the public eye, and he’s been doing really well, but the last thing that he needs is for every Swiftie in the world to think he’s a villain.”
Taylor Swift moved on with Matty Healy following her split from Joe Alwyn, but the duo’s relationship fizzled out as quickly as it began. Swift dated Alwyn for six years before Us Weekly confirmed their breakup in April 2023. One month later, the pop star was linked to Healy, the lead singer of The 1975. […]
A separate insider tells Us that Healy was “really appreciative” to receive a heads-up from Taylor’s team about TTPD. “He was worried that their story would be shed in a negative light,” the source explains, adding he had concerns “the public wouldn’t get the full story.”
Healy was “also very nervous about the Swifties,” — a notoriously devoted fanbase — but is “happy he can move on with less anxiety.”
“Their relationship was fast, but extremely passionate and real,” the insider says of Healy and Swift, sharing that although they “don’t speak anymore,” they “had a strong bond” and he will “always hold a special place for her.”
Swift and Healy were first linked in 2014, though they never publicly addressed the relationship rumors. After reconnecting professionally in 2022, they rekindled their romance during the summer of 2023 following Swift’s split from ex Joe Alwyn.
Healy and Swift’s relationship raised eyebrows among fans of the pop star as the 1975 musician has had a history of problematic behavior. Back in 2016, Healy referred to the speculation that he was dating Swift as “emasculating.” He later took a shot at rapper Ice Spice’s ethnicity, whom Swift collaborated with for a “Karma” remix. (Healy has since walked back both remarks.)
By June 2023, Us confirmed the duo had gone their separate ways. Months later, Swift moved on with now-boyfriend Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift Patrick Smith/Getty Images
After TTPD hit the airwaves, fans of Swift pointed to her track “But Daddy I Love Him” potentially rehashing her brief fling with Healy.
“I’ll tell you something right now / I’d rather burn my whole life down / than listen to one more second of all this bitching and moaning,” Swift sings on the track. “I’ll tell you something about my good name / It’s mine alone to disgrace / I don’t care to all these vipers dressed in pale dresses groaning.”
The Tortured Poets Department is out now.
