CULTURE

Joe Alwyn Rejects Labeling His and Taylor Swift’s Relationship as “Strangely Private,” Continues to Keep It Extremely Private

He, for one, doesn't think their obsession with privacy is "strange."

Jan. 17, 2019

Photograph by Paul Wetherell; Styled by Tom Guinness.

The lengths to which Joe Alwyn and Taylor Swift have gone to keep their relationship under wraps for more than two years now could be described as intense, obsessive, and even strange, though Alwyn would very much prefer you didn’t use that last one. In a new interview with Mr. Porter’s The Look magazine, he discussed the effect (or lack thereof) that dating the pop superstar has had on his privacy.

After admitting that the attention he’s received while starring in a total of four Oscars contenders in the past few months has only required some small “readjustments,” Alwyn was asked whether he’s had to “fight” for his right to privacy since beginning to date Swift. “I don’t think more than anyone else. I don’t think anyone you meet on the streets would just spill their guts out to you, therefore why should I?” he said. “And then that is defined as being ‘strangely private.’ Fine. But I don’t think it is. I think it’s normal.”

Still, Alwyn has been less than forthcoming every time he’s asked about Swift, she who allegedly contorts her body to fit in suitcases to protect her own privacy—if he even agrees to comment on the relationship at all. When asked how he’s navigated the intense scrutiny that comes with dating Swift, all Alwyn would tell Esquire was, “I didn’t seek out advice on that. Because I know what I feel about it. I think there’s a very clear line as to what somebody should share, or feel like they have to share, and what they don’t want to and shouldn’t have to.”

When British GQ recently asked the 27-year-old about his personal life, he replied, “Someone’s private life is, by definition, private. No one is obliged to share their personal life.” And in response to British Vogue‘s own query about his life with Swift, Alwyn quipped, “I’m aware people want to know about that side of things…I think we have been successfully very private, and that has now sunk in for people,” then added, “But I really prefer to talk about work.”

Every time he’s asked about Swift, Alwyn chooses instead to discuss the concept of privacy—which is completely his right, to be sure, but is also a single-minded focus that could almost be described as…strange.