Taylor Swift's longtime ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn breaks his silence a year after their split, asks for empathy

Joe Alwyn said navigating his breakup with Taylor Swift was "hard" in an interview with The Sunday Times. The pair broke up after six years of dating.

• Joe Alwyn spoke about his relationship with Taylor Swift to The Sunday Times.
• Alwyn said the end of their relationship was a "hard thing to navigate."
• Swift and Alwyn dated for six years before breaking up in 2023.

Joe Alwyn, speaking openly about his breakup with Taylor Swift for the first time, urged fans to have some empathy.

Alwyn, 33, and Swift, 34, dated for six years before their split in April 2023. The breakup became a hot topic on social media, where Swifties shared fan theories and analyzed Swift's lyrics for subtle nods to Alwyn.

The release of Swift's latest album — "The Tortured Poets Department" — launched another round of fan speculation as some fans thought the song "So Long, London" was about Alwyn.

Alwyn, an actor, shared his thoughts on the topic for the first time in an interview with The Sunday Times on Saturday. When asked if he's listened to the album, Alwyn acknowledged the difficulties of ending a long-term relationship in the public eye.

"I would hope that anyone and everyone can empathize and understand the difficulties that come with the end of a long, loving, fully committed relationship of over six and a half years," he said.

He said the end of their relationship was a "hard thing to navigate."

"What is unusual and abnormal in this situation is that, one week later, it's suddenly in the public domain and the outside world is able to weigh in," he added.

Alwyn told the Times that he had made his "peace" with misconceptions surrounding their split, especially after the couple had gone to great lengths to keep their relationship private.

"As everyone knows, we together — both of us, mutually — decided to keep the more private details of our relationship private. It was never something to commodify and I see no reason to change that now," he said. "And, look, this is also a little over a year ago now and I feel fortunate to be in a really great place in my life, professionally and personally. I feel really good."

Representatives for Swift did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Following her split with Alwyn, Swift briefly dated 1975 frontman Matty Healy before starting a relationship with Travis Kelce, a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The 2023 announcement of her breakup with Alwyn came shortly after her renowned "Eras Tour" began, prompting heightened speculation and scrutiny of her performances by her fans.

The tour cemented her reign over the music industry while catapulting her — and practically everything she touches — to a new level of economic power.

Between her tour and her movie, she injected billions into the US economy last year, while her highly publicized relationship with Kelce caused NFL viewership to skyrocket.