Taylor Swift‘s ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn was swept up in romance rumors after one eagle-eyed fan recently took notice of his social media activity.
As the 35-year-old pop superstar has been celebrating the blockbuster release of her critically divisive new album, The Life Of A Showgirl, one poster on X noticed that Alwyn had liked a post from an actress who bears a striking resemblance to his ex.
‘can i start a rumor,’ the user wrote playfully before suggesting a connection between Alwyn, 34, and his former costar Hunter Schafer, 26.
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Alwyn and Schafer, but hasn’t yet received a response.
Their post included a photo of Alwyn — who was allegedly the subject of a brutal dig on his ex’s new album — and Schafer grinning jubilantly as they stepped onto the red carpet at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
Another image was more central to the concocted rumor: a screenshot of Schafer’s May 7 Instagram post, which featured behind-the-scenes photos of her getting ready for a Met Gala afterparty.
Taylor Swift’s ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn, 34, was swept up in romance rumors after one eagle-eyed fan recently took notice of his social media activity; pictured in Cannes, France, in May 2024
As the 35-year-old pop superstar has been celebrating the release of her new album, The Life Of A Showgirl, one poster on X noticed that Alwyn had liked a post from an actress who bears a striking resemblance to his ex; pictured in Beverly Hills in 2020
‘can i start a rumor,’ the user wrote playfully before suggesting a connection between Alwyn, 34, and his former costar Hunter Schafer, 26; pictured together in Cannes, France, in May 2024
Notably, Alwyn was listed among the people who had liked the photo.
The post also got hearts from several other stars and more than a million fans.
It featured photos of Schafer in a busty beige satin corset that put her prominent bust on full display.
Schafer’s long blond locks and sculpted physique bore a striking resemblance to Alwyn’s ex-girlfriend Swift, whom he dated from 2016 to 2023.
‘She reminds him of Taylor,’ suggested a fan.
‘I mean Hunter is his exact type,’ claimed one user in the comments on the original romance theory post.
Another person suggested they could be a new ‘It couple.’
‘i LOVEEEE this rumour,’ enthused one commenter.
The post featured a photo of Alwyn and Schafter grinning at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, as well as Schafer’s Instagram post from May that showed Alwyn had given it a ‘like’
Schafer’s long blond locks and sculpted physique bore a striking resemblance to Alwyn’s ex-girlfriend Swift, whom he dated from 2016 to 2023
‘i LOVEEEE this rumour,’ enthused another commenter. But another user claimed that ‘Hunter deserves someone w/o commitment issues’
But other fans were seemingly all in on the apparently manufactured rumor. ‘You know what? hell yeah,’ wrote a fan. Another declared that they ‘would not be normal abt this’
But another reply claimed that ‘Hunter deserves someone w/o commitment issues.’
But other fans were seemingly all in on the apparently manufactured rumor. ‘You know what? hell yeah,’ wrote a fan.
Another declared that they ‘would not be normal abt this’
Alwyn and Schafer were both featured in Yorgos Lanthimos’ black comedy Kinds Of Kindess, which was released in June 2024.
The movie, a triptych comprised of three short films starring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley, featured Hunter in the final segment, in which she played a woman who is inspected as a possible messiah-like spiritual figure for a disturbing sex cult.
Alwyn was featured in all three segments of the film in small supporting parts, though he didn’t share any scenes with Hunter in the segment she was featured in.
Despite both only having small roles in the film, they lived it up at the Cannes Film Festival last year, along with the film’s leads.
Alwyn had previously worked with Lanthimos and his regular star Emma Stone in the the Oscar-winning period comedy The Favourite.
Alwyn and Schafer were both featured in Yorgos Lanthimos’ black comedy Kinds Of Kindness (pictured), which was released in June 2024
Alwyn was featured in all three segments of the film in small supporting parts, though he didn’t share any scenes with Hunter in the single segment she was featured in
Despite both only having small roles in the film, they lived it up at the Cannes Film Festival last year, along with the film’s leads
The ensemble film also featured Lanthimos regulars Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley; pictured in Cannes, France, in May 2024
Schafer’s most high-profile coupling was with her Euphoria costar Dominic Fike, whom she was in a relationship with from 2022 to 2023
She also confirmed in 2023 that she had dated the Spanish singer Rosalía for around five months in 2019, which had not been confirmed at the time; Schafer and Rosalía (center-right) pictured with Brent Faiyaz (L) and Dua Lipa (R) in 2019 in London
It’s not clear if Schafer is dating anyone at the moment, and she has been fairly quiet about her past relationships.
Her most high-profile coupling was with her Euphoria costar Dominic Fike, whom she was in a relationship with from 2022 to 2023.
She also confirmed in 2023 that she had dated the Spanish singer Rosalía for around five months in 2019, which had not been confirmed at the time.
Fans have lately speculated that Swift may have taken a dig at her ex Alwyn in The Life Of A Showgirl’s lead single, The Fate of Ophelia.
The song, which references the tragic figure from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, was also believed to have a connection to Alwyn, as he stars as Ophelia’s brother Laertes in an upcoming film adaptation of Hamlet.
Fans also interpreted the song as unfavorably comparing Alwyn to Swift’s fiancé Travis Kelce.