Taylor Swift’s fierce response to Joe Alwyn marriage rumor sparks questions about her future with Travis Kelce

As Taylor Swift’s romance with Travis Kelce appears to grow ever more serious, her longtime publicist Tree Paine made what’s been called an unusual move Thursday to fiercely denounce one of the many online rumors that tend to percolate about the singer — this one alleging that she had a secret “marriage”-like ceremony with her last serious boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, before their shock split earlier this year.

The secret ceremony claim was made by a writer on the infamous gossip account Deuxmoi, and it was vehemently slammed by Paine on Thursday. The rep no doubt was speaking on Swift’s behalf when she said on social media, “Enough is enough with these fabricated lies.”

“There was NEVER a marriage ceremony of ANY kind. This is an insane thing to post,” Paine said before accusing Deuxmoi of causing “pain and trauma” with such claims.

While Deuxmoi promptly apologized to Swift, the site’s writer wasn’t so contrite in other ways. Actually, Deuxmoi expressed curiosity in her Instagram Story about this strong reaction from Swift’s publicist. Earlier Thursday, the Deuxmoi writer claimed that the singer and Alwyn held some kind of ceremony in 2020 or 2021 in the U.K. The Deuxmoi writer said the ceremony was “described to me as a ‘marriage’ by more than one person,” though she also said the union “was never made legal.” Swift and the British actor dated for nearly six years before they reportedly split last April.

Paine’s strong and direct response to this particular rumor is “so out of character,” the Deuxmoi writer argued. “There are so many rumors always circling Taylor. The potential of Taylor and Joe having some (kind) of commitment ceremony is not bad publicity.”

Deuxmoi’s writer said she could understand that Paine — and Swift herself — were “bothered” by this rumor, out of so many others about her. Yet, they are “livid,” she said. She also was taken aback by some of Paine’s wording. “‘Pain and trauma’ are very strong words,” she said, adding that she makes “zero dollars from lying” and that Paine’s strong reaction “is all very strange.”

“So there has to be reason why Tree would say this now,” Deuxmoi’s writer continued, before wondering if Paine’s response actually signals some good news in the Swift universe. Perhaps, the writer said, Swift and Kelce are about to take next step in their relationship and a “Taylor and Travis engagement announcement (is) coming soon.”

“And Taylor doesn’t want anything diluting that,” Deuxmoi said. This engagement speculation comes as Swift and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end are “playing house” at his home in Kansas City for a few weeks, Life & Style reported. Swift flew into Kansas City from Brazil earlier this week, where she had been performing for her Eras tour.

“Taylor and Travis are playing house,” a source told Life & Style. “They already know they’re compatible, but living together for an extended period will be the ultimate test.” TMZ and other outlets previously reported that Swift and Kelce hoped to spend the holidays together, while she’s on break from her Eras tour.

On her “Deux/U” podcast earlier Thursday, Deuxmoi’s writer floated the idea that the two-time Super Bowl winner would soon propose to the pop star, though he’s not likely to make that move until after the Super Bowl, of which the Chiefs are defending champions.

On the other hand, if a Swift-Kelce engagement isn’t imminent, Deuxmoi wondered on Instagram Story if “evidence” of other big news about Swift will soon “be leaked.”

The secret ceremony claim popped up on Deuxmoi’s Instagram account earlier Thursday, in a response to a reader’s comment about the timeline of Swift’s relationship with Alwyn. Apparently, Deuxmoi’s anonymous writer had stated before that she believed that Swift and the British actor had secretly wed before their breakup. So, she clarified her understanding of the situation and said she had “no reason to lie” about a secret ceremony. “I will die on this hill,” she said.

All this scuttlebutt about a secret marriage rumor blew up after Swift’s longtime producer, Jack Antonoff, commented Wednesday on her breakup ballad “You’re Losing Me.” The song, from her “Midnights” album, was released on streaming this week, and Antonoff created a stir by saying that the song was written and recorded in December 2021, Us Weekly reported.

Fans were thrown into a tizzy, according to Us Weekly, as they wondered if the song was referring to the end of her relationship with Alwyn, given such lines as: “I wouldn’t marry me either / A pathological people pleaser / Who only wanted you to see her.”

The bridge continues: “And I’m fading thinking / Do something, babe, say something / Lose something, babe, risk something / Choose something, babe, I got nothing to believe, unless you’re choosing me.”

For some fans, Antonoff confused the known timeline of the end of Swift and Alwyn’s relationship, Us Weekly said. It prompted them to wonder if Swift and Alwyn’s relationship had privately ended more than a year before their announced split in 2023. Or, they expressed fear that Swift had been suffering “for years” in an unhappy relationship. “Insane how she still tried to make it with him for a whole year after writing this devastating song,” one fan wrote on X, according to Us Weekly.

Certainly, these lyrics, which refer to a lover refusing to marry their “pathological people pleaser” partner, undermines Deuxmoi’s claim about a secret Swift-Alwyn marriage. But Deuxmoi’s writer said she didn’t intentionally fabricate anything about Swift and Alwyn’s relationship, saying she makes “zero dollars from lying.” She then took a swipe at Paine by asking, “Can  publicists say the same?”