Everything we know about Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn's famously private relationship

The actor provided a rare glimpse into his and Swift's private life by sharing photos of Benjamin Button, one of the pop star's three cats, on his Instagram story. In the pictures, the cat lays in a paper bag, hides under a rug, and pokes his head out of a cardboard box.

Although the "Clean" singer didn't appear in his story, fans recognized Benjamin from her own social media activity and realized that Alwyn was self-isolating with Swift during the coronavirus pandemic.

The two didn't walk the 2020 NME Awards carpet together, but they did sit next to each other at the show, which took place at the O2 Academy Brixton in London.

A fan seated above Swift and Alwyn recorded several videos of the couple kissing and hugging. When the pop star won the award for best solo act in the world, she embraced the actor and kissed him once again.

The pop star's Netflix documentary "Taylor Swift: Miss Americana" doesn't focus on her relationship, however Alwyn does appear briefly. At one point, she opens up about falling in love with him.

"I also was falling in love with someone who had a really wonderfully normal, balanced, grounded life and we decided together that we wanted our relationship to be private," she says.

The actor is also featured when Swift runs backstage to hug him after a concert on her Reputation Stadium Tour.

The couple walked the red carpet separately but sat together at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards on Sunday. Swift presented the award for best animated feature film and was nominated for best original song for her song "Beautiful Ghosts," which was featured in the movie "Cats."

Photos of the duo surfaced from inside of the event and the after-party, and they appeared smitten.

Swift steered clear of addressing her relationship with Alwyn during an August 2019 interview with The Guardian.

"I've learned that if I do, people think it's up for discussion, and our relationship isn't up for discussion," she said.

The singer continued, "If you and I were having a glass of wine right now, we'd be talking about it – but it's just that it goes out into the world. That's where the boundary is, and that's where my life has become manageable. I really want to keep it feeling manageable."

The singer skipped the 2019 Grammys, despite receiving a nomination for best pop vocal album for her album "Reputation," to attend a BAFTA after-party with Alwyn. "The Favourite" garnered seven BAFTA wins.

Swift congratulated the film's cast, which included Olivia Colman and Emma Stone, in an Instagram post, but Alwyn wasn't pictured.

The singer included photocopied pages of her journal entries in deluxe versions of her 2019 album "Lover." One excerpt emphasized the importance of privacy to her and Alwyn.

Dated January 3, 2017, Swift wrote, "I'm essentially based in London, hiding out trying to protect us from the nasty world that just wants to ruin things."

She also divulged that they had been successful in keeping their relationship a secret and continued, "We have been together and no one has found out for 3 months now. I want it to stay that way because I don't want anything about this to change."

Swift's 2019 song "Cruel Summer" hinted that the singer had feelings for Alwyn the summer before they started dating, when she was still seeing Hiddleston.

"I don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you / And I snuck in through the garden gate / Every night that summer just to seal my fate," the lyrics read.

Swift has drawn lyrical inspiration from her romantic relationships in the past, and her recent work has followed suit. Fans speculated that tracks on albums such as "Reputation" and "Lover" were coded with messaging about Alwyn. However, Swift hasn't confirmed that the songs are about her current partner.

In a December 2018 interview with The Sunday Times, the actor was asked if being the subject of his girlfriend's songs bothered him.

"No, not at all. No. It's flattering," he replied, which was more than he had said in past interviews about the singer.

Earlier that month, he defended his stance on privacy in an interview with Esquire. When asked if he was aware of the challenges that come with dating the superstar, Alwyn said the following:

"I didn't seek out advice on that. Because I know what I feel about it. I think there's a very clear line as to what somebody should share, or feel like they have to share, and what they don't want to and shouldn't have to."

Alwyn played the role of Baron Masham in the 2018 period piece drama "The Favourite," and Swift called the film "absolutely phenomenal" the day before its release.

She also supported Alwyn leading up to the premiere and accompanied him to the showing at the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center in September 2018.

Fans got the closest thing to a couple photo thus far in May 2018: identical solo shots from Swift and Alwyn posted to Instagram one day apart.

Swift performed a cover of Earth, Wind & Fire's classic song "September" in April 2018. However, she changed the lyrics from "September 21" to "September 28," and fans speculated that the new date was the day Alwyn professed his love to Swift.

Swift endorsed a Tumblr post explaining the theory.

The "Shape of You" singer called the fellow Brit a "really, really friendly, really good dude" on Capital London's Breakfast Show in October 2017. "They are very much in love, they have quite a low-key relationship, which Taylor likes. It's normal, and no one really knows about it right now."

Alwyn and Swift then watched Sheeran perform at London's Jingle Bell Ball the next month, and fans captured videos of the couple dancing and kissing to the song "Perfect."

Fans have continuously picked up on small details that Swift included in her work that have potentially alluded to her boyfriend.

For example, the number "91" appeared in the "...Ready For It?" music video. Speculations arose that the number stood for 1991, which is the year Alwyn was born. She also types "21" into the keypad, and many viewers pointed out that her boyfriend's birthday is February 21.

Swift has also appeared to express her admiration for Alwyn in the lyrics of multiple songs.

In her track "Gorgeous," the singer wrote about falling in love with someone while already in a relationship. She sings, "You should take it as a compliment / That I got drunk and made fun of the way you talk," potentially referring to the British actor's accent.

She also gave rise to allegations that the song was about the blue-eyed "Harriet" actor, singing, "Ocean-blue eyes lookin' in mine / I feel like I might sink and drown and die."

In May 2017, The Sun reported that Swift and Alwyn had been secretly dating for months.

A source told The Sun that the singer flew to see her British beau in London "via private jets and her security has made it a military-like mission to prevent her from being seen."

The outlet also reported that, "She's been walking around with Joe in London using disguises, like scarves and hats, to keep her identity under wraps."

One month after her breakup with Hiddleston, Swift and her friends attended a private Kings of Leon concert at The Bowery Hotel in New York. A fan website released a video revealing that Alwyn was at the concert as well, although it remains unclear if the pair interacted inside the closed-door event.

Both Alwyn and Swift attended the 2016 Met Gala, which was themed "Manus X Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology."

She was in a relationship with Calvin Harris, who wasn't at the event, however fans speculated that the British actor and singer met at the gala based on the lyrics to Swift's song, "Dress."

"Flashback when you met me / Your buzzcut and my hair bleached," she sings. Alwyn showed up to the Met Gala with a shaved head, and Swift donned a bleached blonde bob with her Louis Vuitton dress.

Swift hasn't confirmed that the lyrics are about Alwyn.