Taylor Swift Recalls Feeling ‘Lonely’ With Ex-Boyfriend Joe Alwyn During Quarantine

Grammy Award-winning singer Taylor Swift has opened up about the emotional journey behind her "Folklore" album during her Eras Tour stop in Melbourne.

Reminiscing on quarantine with her ex-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, she described feeling "lonely," immersing herself in Victorian-era fantasies while writing.

"Folklore" won the Grammy for Album of the Year, with Alwyn contributing as a producer under a pseudonym.

During her recent stop in Melbourne on the Eras Tour, Swift was candid about her state of mind when she created her critically acclaimed album, "Folklore." Reflecting on her creative process during quarantine with her ex, Alwyn, the 34-year-old popstar expressed feeling "lonely."

Standing on stage holding a guitar in front of a microphone, Swift painted a vivid picture for the audience, stating: "[I was] imagining that, instead of being a lonely millennial woman covered in cat hair drinking my weight in white wine, I was a ghostly Victorian lady wandering through the woods with a candle in a candlestick holder."

She added, "And I wrote only on parchment with a feathered quill. And that was in my mind, what I thought I looked like...while writing Folklore. As she began to strum her guitar, Swift reminded the crowd that sometimes, it's the "delusions all that matter."

Swift's "Folklore" was released in July 2020 and later clinched the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2021. Interestingly, her ex, Alwyn, contributed as a producer under the alias William Bowery, notably co-writing tracks like "Betty" and "Exile."

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2020, the "Out of the Woods" hitmaker reflected on her quarantine experience and confessed to unexpectedly delving into filmmaking during that period.

"I wasn't expecting to make an album," she shared. "Early on in quarantine, I started watching lots of films. We would watch a different movie every night."

Swift continued: "I'm ashamed to say I hadn't seen Pan's Labyrinth before. One night, I'd watch that, then I'd watch L.A. Confidential, then we'd watch Rear Window, then we'd watch Jane Eyre."

The singer noted that "consuming other people's art and storytelling sort of opened this portal in my imagination and made me feel like, 'Well, why have I never done this before?'"

Swift also added that she was drawn to crafting characters and "intersecting storylines."

During her appearance on "The Zane Lowe Show" for Apple Music, Swift also shared insights into her collaboration with Alwyn during their time in quarantine in London.

She described how the "Harriet" actor's constant musical experimentation sparked the idea of collaborating on songwriting.

"He's always just playing instruments, and he doesn't do it in a strategic 'I'm writing a song right now' thing," she recalled.

The "New Romantics" hitmaker emphasized that their collaboration stemmed from a natural, spontaneous process, adding: "He's always done that. But do I think we would have taken the step of, 'Hey, let's see if there's a song in here? Let's write a song together.' If we hadn't been in lockdown, I don't think that would have happened, but I'm so glad that it did."

Reflecting on their shared love for melancholic music, Swift added: "Joe and I really love sad songs. We've always bonded over music...We write the saddest. We just really love sad songs. What can I say?"

Last April, reports confirmed the end of Swift and Alwyn's six-year relationship.

At this year's Grammy Awards, Swift won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year for "Midnights."

During her acceptance speech for Best Pop Vocal Album, the "Shake It Off" singer surprised fans with the announcement of her next project, titled "The Tortured Poets Department."

After the announcement, speculation arose that the album's title might allude to Alwyn, especially considering his previous mention of a WhatsApp group named The Tortured Man Club in 2022.

Sources close to Alwyn shared their concerns over the upcoming music project with Daily Mail, hinting the actor would find it "shady" if Swift criticized him and talked about their relationship.