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If we are being entirely honest, it is easy to dismiss the cringeworthy blur that was Hiddleswift in the summer of 2016 as nothing more than a bizarre fever dream, but, I’d like to remind you, that it actually did happen: Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston really did date, and Tom has the “I [heart] T.S.” tank top to prove it.
The timeline of Taylor and Tom’s relationship is pretty murky, to say the least, with the British actor right in the middle of two of Taylor’s other relationships: her 15-month romance with Scottish DJ Calvin Harris, and her six-year relationship with Joe Alwyn.
Tay and Tom first met at the 2016 Met Gala, where they were spotted having a playful dance-off. Incidentally, this was the first time that Taylor met Joe, too. She was officially still with Calvin at this point, with the two not splitting until June 1.
Then, just two weeks after the breakup, Taylor was pictured kissing Tom on a beach close to her Rhode Island home, and within the same month, she had flown to England to meet Tom’s mom, Diana.
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What followed was a relationship that was so unbelievably performative, people genuinely struggled to believe it was real. In fact, many — including the most hardcore of Swifties — truly believed that Taylor and Tom were actually filming a music video together, and the whole romance was just an elaborate piece of performance art.
Over the summer, the couple were relentlessly photographed by the paparazzi, and their every move was documented in leaked source quotes attributed to Taylor’s inner circle. And in July 2016, Tom proudly wore the now-infamous “I [heart] T.S.” tank top as he frolicked in the sea with Taylor, and — of course — the paparazzi were on hand to capture photos of the PDA.
They then embarked on somewhat of a world tour, and were pictured going on dates in various different countries before ultimately splitting in September 2016. Taylor was dating Joe by that October.
The brief nature of Taylor and Tom’s relationship, coupled with the fact that it was followed by Tay’s longest romance to date, makes it pretty understandable that some may have forgotten it entirely.
And that certainly seemed to be the case when Tom appeared on a British radio station on Thursday, and seemingly had his life flash before his eyes when the host brought his famous ex up.
Tom was on Heart FM with his The Life of Chuck co-star Karen Gillan when presenter Dev Griffin randomly mentioned Taylor’s love of making sourdough bread. Tom looked uncomfortable when Taylor’s name was first mentioned, evidently unsure of where the question was going, and then simply looked perplexed as he hesitated to answer.
Thankfully, Karen ended up taking the reins, telling Dev that she is on board with the theory that Taylor’s comments about sourdough bread during her recent appearance on the New Heights podcast were actually an Easter egg teasing that she will be taking on the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show.
Tom laughed as Karen enthusiastically recounted the theory, and told her: “You’ve got a deep knowledge of the NFL.” He appeared jovial throughout the rest of the clip, but got away without mentioning Taylor himself.
While Tom managed to play it pretty cool, all things considered, viewers still reckon they can pinpoint the moment that his heart dropped to his stomach when Taylor’s name came up. Commenting on a TikTok video of the moment, one person wrote: “You can literally see him die on the inside in the first few seconds.”
As you may know, Tom is now engaged to British actor Zawe Ashton, who is currently pregnant with their second child. Meanwhile, Taylor has been dating NFL star Travis Kelce since the summer of 2023.
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