Taylor Swift Was Harry Styles' Most Supportive Ex at the 2023 Grammys and Snuck Over to Talk to Him
Two years after their reunion at the 2021 Grammys, exes Taylor Swift and Harry Styles gave the world another rare display of their post-relationship dynamic at the 2023 Grammys.
First, Swift appeared as the most supportive ex for Styles, dancing during his performance and applauding for him when he won the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album and after he finished performing. Fans shared footage of the moments on Twitter:
Then, she and Styles were filmed talking during their ceremony and ultimately photographed. At one point, Swift put a hand on Styles’ back, further marking how friendly they are now.
The Hollywood Reporter‘s Chris Gardner reported that Swift was seen sneaking “over to talk to Harry Styles. They hug and talk for a long time over his table.”
The two broke up in early 2013 after dating for a couple months in late 2012.
Both Styles and Swift are competing in the Song of the Year category (Swift for “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” and Styles for “As It Was”) and Best Music Video category (Swift for All Too Well: The Short Film and Styles for “As It Was”).
While Swift is believed to have written several tracks on her 2014 album 1989 about Styles, Styles himself has only ever praised her songwriting and is flattered to be a subject of her work.
In March 2020, he told Howard Stern, via E! and Just Jared, “I think about what it means to me to write a song about somebody else and for somebody else to do that, it’s like flattering, even if the song isn’t that flattering, you still spent time on it and ultimately, using Taylor as an example, she’s a great songwriter. So at least they’re good songs.”
“The only time you really think, ‘is this song too personal?’ is if you think about, ‘is this going to be really annoying for the other person?’ Because I do [care],” he finished.
Swift hasn’t said too much about their relationship since it ended, although she did appear to reflect on its uncertainty when discussing “Out of the Woods,” believed to be about their romance, in October 2015.
“The number one feeling I felt in the whole relationship was anxiety,” she recalled then. “Because it felt very fragile, it felt very tentative. And it always felt like, ‘Okay, what’s the next road block? What’s the next thing that’s gonna deter this? How long do we have before this turns into just an awful mess and we break up? Is it a month? Is it three days?’ And so, you know, I think a lot of relationships can be very solid and that’s kind of what you hope for, for it to be solid and healthy but that’s not always what you get. And it doesn’t mean that it’s not special and extraordinary just to have a relationship that’s fragile and somehow meaningful in that fragility.”
Senior News and Strategy Editor
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
