Taylor Swift never shies away from writing songs about her love life, and fans are quick to read between the lines of her lyrics in search of hidden tea—including the identity of the girl with “blue eyes” that Styles dated after Swift.
The rerelease of her album 1989 (Taylor’s Version), included a previously vaulted song called “Is It Over Now?” and the lyrics have everyone wondering if it is about dating Harry Styles over a decade ago, and who he moved on to afterward.
A brief history of Taylor Swift and Harry Styles
Styles and Swift started dating in November 2012. Eagle-eyed fans got the first clue about this exciting duo when Swift was seen wearing a paper airplane necklace just like the one Styles wore. Styles had recently gushed about the Red singer in an interview with Seventeen, calling her “a great girl” and “extremely talented.”
A month later, fans got confirmation of their relationship when paparazzi snapped them walking through Central Park together. Sadly, their love didn’t last. By January 2013, The Daily Mail reported that the couple broke up after an “almighty row” at a New Year’s Eve party.
T-Swift processes grief through songwriting
The original 1989 album featured two songs that fans assumed were inspired by her month-long fling with Styles. “Style” obviously fits the bill with lines like, “You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye,” and “You got that long hair, slicked back, white T-shirt.” Plus, you know … the title.
In “Out of the Woods,” Swift wrote, “your necklace hanging from my neck” and “two paper airplanes flying, flying, flying,” both obvious references to the matching necklaces they were seen wearing.
The new song
The song “Is It Over Now” is all about a romance that ended badly, and there are several lines that bring us right back to that fateful month back in 2012/2013. Here’s the most telling part:
“When you lost control
Red blood, white snow
Blue dress on a boat
Your new girl is my clone”
These lines likely reference a snowmobile accident Swift had while dating the One Direction singer, along with a viral picture of her wearing a blue dress taken on a boat. She mentioned both of these instances in various interviews over the years. Then there’s “Your new girl is my clone,” and later in the same song, “If she’s got blue eyes, I will surmise you’ll probably date her.”
So who is the girl with blue eyes who is Swift’s “clone?”
After dating Swift, Styles moved on to another tall, slim blonde with blue eyes … British socialite, model, and actress Kimberly Stewart. Styles was just 19 when he dated the 33-year-old, who is the daughter of singer Rod Stewart and model Alana Stewart. Rod himself confirmed they were dating while speaking to Alan Carr on his Chatty Man program.
Huffpost shared a transcript of the show when Rod said, “His car was here in the morning. Let’s put it that way. But he may just have come round to pick something up.” Seconds later, the rock star cursed and realized, “I let the cat out of the bag!”
Now they’ve both moved on
It’s been so long since the pair dated that they’re back to being friendly, at least in public. When Swift won Album of the Year for folklore in 2021, they were seen hugging warmly at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. Styles was also a big winner that night, taking home Best Pop Solo Performance for “Watermelon Sugar.”
These days, Styles appears to be dating model Taylor Russell, and Swift is shaking up the NFL by dating Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce.
1989 (Taylor’s Version) is available in stores and on streaming sites.
(David Krieger/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
