Taylor Swift was missing from the Met Gala, and we have some theories.

Last year, Taylor Swift was easily the biggest story to come out of the Met Gala.

For one thing, the pop superstar was named the event’s co-chair, a significant honour in the fashion world. She promoted it enthusiastically on social media and starred on the cover of the corresponding edition of Vogue magazine.

On the night, Taylor’s silver Louis Vuitton dress and brand new punky, platinum blonde hair quickly dominated the Met Gala media coverage — only to be usurped by footage of her dancing with actor Tom Hiddleston, who would later become her boyfriend.

All this considered, the 27-year-old’s absence from Tuesday’s gala was conspicuous. Though it wasn’t overly surprising; Taylor hasn’t been seen in public since February and her last Instagram was posted eight weeks ago (an eternity in Hollywood).

So where in the world is Taylor Alison Swift?

In the absence of any factual information, we've come up with a few theories as to why she was missing in action at today's Met Gala.

1. She had to take one of her cats to the vet.

Maybe Meredith Grey or Olivia Benson came down with something at the last minute, prompting a mad dash to the nearest New York vet.

Look, every fur-parent has been there.

Meredith is allergic to joy.

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Oct 4, 2015 at 12:34pm PDT

2. She's halfway through a really good Netflix show.

Who hasn't turned down invitations to, you know, leave the house and be social in favour of a night with a glass of wine and your new favourite show?

Maybe Taylor was a little late on the 13 Reasons Why bandwagon and knew she couldn't properly enjoy chatting with Rihanna at the Met Gala if she didn't find out what was on Clay's tape first.

Listen: The rule that'll rescue you from awkward small talk at big events. (Post continues after audio.)

3. She's haunted by the memory of her dancing with Tom Hiddleston.

Following a breakup, it's only natural to want to avoid places of significance to that relationship.

The venue where you had your first public dance-off with your future boyfriend, not long after meeting for the first time, surely counts.

4. She couldn't find her keys on her way out the door and had a bit of a meltdown.

Pitcture this: you're all dressed up with somewhere fancy to go, but the moment you head for the door you have a cursory rummage around your clutch and realise your keys aren't in there.

Fast forward half an hour and you've turned your couch cushions/entire house inside out and have collapsed into a pile of tears and curse words, with no keys in sight. It happens to the best of us.

Maybe Taylor's still searching for hers. (Post continues after gallery.)

5. She didn't sleep so well the night before.

We can all agree this is a valid justification for bailing on a social event.

6. She thought it was tomorrow.

Perhaps Taylor gleefully ripped open the thick, calligraphy-laden envelope from Anna Wintour (somehow I can't imagine the Met Gala invitations are digital), and got so caught up in pondering how she would interpret the theme and channel Rei Kawakubo that she accidentally marked the wrong date in her Google Calendar.

As a result, she thought it was tomorrow and gave herself a digital detox day in preparation — or worse, she turned up yesterday all dressed up and is so mortified by her faux pas she refuses to be seen in public.

Last night was SO much fun! Shout out to my fellow co-chairs Idris Elba Jony Ive, Nicolas Ghesquière, and Miuccia Prada who I had the best time with. And a huge thank you to Anna Wintour for throwing a party for the ages! @voguemagazine @gettyentertainment @iamjmccarthy

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on May 3, 2016 at 3:38pm PDT

7. She was stalking an ex's new girlfriend on Instagram and lost track of the time.

The Instagram stalking black hole doesn't discriminate, you know.

Once you get 73 weeks deep, it's hard to drag yourself back out — even for the Met Gala.

8. She was actually there, but disguised as Katy Perry under that red sheet-dress thing.

You ALMOST HAD US, Tay Tay.