'I'd never cared about Taylor Swift's love life. One moment just changed my mind.'

As a lifelong Swiftie, I've cared about a lot of things. 

Snakes. Clocks. The movie Cats. The colour orange. The concept of existential dread. Running to the nearest Spotlight to secure beads for friendship bracelets.

But I've never cared about any of Taylor Swift's boyfriends.

In my world they are simply the muses of her romantic ballads and, at times, agents of her emotional destruction. Before you have a parasocial freak-out, I'm not saying they don't live interesting and vibrant lives of their own (sure!) but I am saying for me, the music fan, they've never held any great significance.

I have liked some of her boyfriends (hello, Tom Hiddleston). I have disliked some of her boyfriends (hello, 32-year-old John Mayer and his obsession with a 19-year-old country music superstar). I have been indifferent to some of her boyfriends (yes, I'm talking to you, Joe Alwyn).

Joe was a fine actor — whatever — but he was also the inspiration behind many of her happiest, and then some of her most gut-wrenching and devastating, songs. He was a musical muse! And that was enough. Joe didn't need to mean more to me and frankly, it would have been weird if he did, given we know precisely three things about him as a real person.

These men exist, and that is none of my business.

Miss Taylor Alison Swift is my favourite singer. Why would I care more about her ex-boyfriends than her music?

I've never centred my own feelings about Taylor Swift's exes when diving into the all-consuming tracklist of her life. Because she didn't do all that just for me to wonder whether Calvin Harris is a good and/or interesting person. Who cares? And also, probably not? We continue forward!

For my money — and Lord knows, I've given her enough of it — she creates art from her own personal experiences (the same as any other musician) and her lyrics and melodies are mine to hold onto for all my days. But her true life? The one behind the scenes of her work? That's actually not for me. She doesn't exist for me to dissect. That's beyond the parasocial realm of reasonable behaviour as far as I'm concerned.

But when Travis Kelce entered the scene, something changed.

I had a sudden and urgent need to uncover everything I could about this moustache-wielding NFL player who tried to give the world's biggest pop star a friendship bracelet at her own show.

He had some beads and a dream to woo Miss Swift by meeting her backstage at The Eras Tour. When that didn't work, he "made it everyone's problem" and announced his giant crush on his New Heights podcast — shooting the most public shot for his chance at love.

Two years later, and against all reasonable expectations, the pair announced that they're getting married, with a gorgeous woodland engagement scene straight out of Folklore.

The week prior, Taylor appeared on the same podcast he launched their relationship on, to launch her new era and 12th studio album, The Life Of A Showgirl.

The wide-ranging interview took place over two hours, with Jason Kelce playing the Barbara Walters of the podcast, asking all the very important questions fans would want the answers to. Somebody hand him a Peabody Award for Excellence in Journalism!

But it was the poetic glimpses into their true romance that stopped me in my tracks.

Taylor Swift announced her new album, The Life Of A Showgirl, on the New Heights podcast. Image: YouTube/New Heights.

Taylor described Travis as "a human exclamation point" and a "vibe booster". She said being around him was like "when you take a picture on your phone, and you push the 'enhance colour' button." She said he added "depth without darkness" to her life — one that had lacked colour before him.

But the moment that had me getting a little dramatic was when Taylor described her reaction to Travis' first grand gesture.

"I owe a lot to this podcast. This podcast got me a boyfriend, ever since Travis decided to use it as his personal dating app about two years ago," Taylor began. "You manifested it. You summoned me — here I am."

When Jason asked about her response to the outwardly "crazy" declaration on the podcast, Taylor likened his behaviour to something from "an '80s John Hughes movie," referencing the iconic boombox moment from Say Anything.

"It was such a romantic gesture to just be like, 'I want to date you'. He was standing outside my window with a boombox saying, 'I want to date you! Do you want to go on a date with me? I made you a friendship bracelet! Do you want to date me?'" Taylor joked.

"I was like, 'If this guy isn't crazy — which is a big if — this is sort of what I've been writing songs about wanting to happen to me since I was a teenager.'"

In turn, Travis replied: "And I was sitting at The Eras Tour listening to every single one of those songs thinking 'I know what she wants me to do.'"

This confirmed what we've long felt as fans: this was a true love story. Much like the kind she first sang about as a teenager, when she burst onto the global music scene with a little Romeo & Juliet-inspired tune.

The romance that made me — a cynic — believe in love stories. Image: Getty.

Travis and Taylor's romance has always been something of a fairytale, right down to the proposal.

The star footballer watched the pop princess perform in "his stadium" and fell so hard for her, was so enchanted by her in that moment — you can find videos on TikTok — that he made the most public romantic declaration of these modern times. And from then, he never once shied away from being her biggest fan and admirer.

The world watched as their love story — seemingly too good to be true — unfolded on the big screen through NFL games, Eras Tour appearances, and glimpses of dinner dates in New York.

We've seen the way he dances at her concerts. The kind words he speaks about her in interviews. The way he glowed and grinned like a Cheshire cat every time she spoke on the New Heights podcast. What we saw further on the podcast, was his pride. How much he rooted for her in the fight to reclaim her masters, how impressed he was by her athleticism on stage, how in awe he was of her mind.

Not only did she find someone who could love her out loud in the way she'd always dreamed, but she found a guy who would be her biggest cheerleader, best friend, and Prince Charming all at once.

From what she's been willing to share, there is a stark difference between this romance and the rest. No one is mocking her music (Jake Gyllenhaal), gaslighting her (Matty Healy) or treating her like she is simply something to be tolerated (we meet again, Joe Alwyn).

I know what I said at the top of this article, that I haven't cared about Taylor's former boyfriends. And perhaps what I meant is that I haven't cared for Taylor's boyfriends. They have existed, and I have gone about my life without thinking about them beyond the moments when I first heard a new lyric or haunting melody and wondered who might have inspired it.

But as a fan who listens to Taylor and dearly adores her — as someone whose own personal life has been soundtracked by her musical catalogue — there's a thrill to seeing her get what she wanted. What she begged for in The Prophecy, one of her most emotive songs from The Tortured Poets Department.

She pleaded for someone who could "stand her company" and in turn she met the love of her life.

It's parasocial and it's cheesy and given my own sardonic views on romance, it's perhaps unexpected. But I can't stop smiling at each clip that appears from the podcast, flooding my social media feeds with the glow of their happiness as it radiates through the screen.

Like any of my friends who I've joyfully celebrated as they met their own 'person' — I couldn't be more excited for my imaginary friend, Taylor Swift.

Watch Taylor Swift announce her new album on the New Heights podcast.

Feature Image: YouTube/New Heights.