She doesn’t want to stay in that lavender haze. Taylor Swift deleted her explanation of the first Midnights track in the wake of her split from Joe Alwyn.
Over the weekend, eagle-eyed Swifties noticed that the Instagram reel — in which the Grammy winner, 33, gave fans the backstory of the song — was missing from Swift’s account.
In breaking down the track’s meaning for fans, the “Anti-Hero” artist revealed in the since-deleted clip that “Lavender Haze” was about her and Alwyn’s love for each other — and how they attempted to protect their relationship from any outside drama. (Swift dropped the “Lavender Haze” explainer around the time of Midnights‘ October 2022 release.)
“I happened upon the phrase ‘lavender haze’ when I was watching Mad Men. I looked it up because I thought it sounded cool. And it turns out that it’s a common phrase used in the ’50s where they would describe being in love,” Swift noted in the video. “If you’re in the ‘lavender haze,’ then that meant you were in that all-encompassing love glow. And I thought that was really beautiful.”
The “All Too Well” singer continued: “I guess, theoretically, when you’re in the ‘lavender haze,’ you’ll do anything to stay there. And not let people bring you down off of that cloud. I think that a lot of people have to deal with this now, not just like ‘public figures,’ because in the era of social media, and if the world finds out you’re in love with somebody they’re gonna weigh in on it.”
“Like, my relationship for six years,” she sighed. “We’ve have to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff, and we just ignore it. And so this song is about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff.”
Us Weekly confirmed Swift and Alwyn’s surprising breakup in April.
“Fame factored into their split. Joe is very shy and never liked all of the attention that came with dating one of the most popular singers in the world,” a source exclusively told Us at the time, noting that the Harriet actor, 32, never “blamed” Swift for her popularity.
The “Shake It Off” artist, for her part, “is handling the breakup really well,” a second source exclusively told Us, noting, ”She’s feeling very optimistic about her future.”
The Pennsylvania native — who has been leaning on her famous pals since the breakup and is in the midst of her wildly successful Eras tour — “truly believes whatever is meant to be, will be, and knows everything happens for a reason.”
Swift has been spotted out and about with pals since her split, dining with close friends Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds in New York City on April 19. The next day, the “Enchanted” songstress was photographed with Gigi Hadid and the HAIM sisters while in the Big Apple.
Moreover, Swift replied to a fan who held up a “You OK?” sign at one of the singer’s recent tour stops, a reference to her “You Belong With Me” music video. The “Cardigan” artist gave a thumbs-up to the crowd before contiuing with her choreography.
