Taylor Swift’s Ex Joe Alwyn Is a Member of a “Tortured Man Club Group Chat”

His friend Paul Mescal revealed the tidbit back in May of 2022.

Joe Alwyn Taylor Swift
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Moments after Taylor Swift announced her latest upcoming album during the 2024 Grammys, fans and viewers alike noticed some not-so-subtle connections between the title of the album and one of her exes.

After taking home her 13th Grammy for best pop vocal album for her album Midnights, Swift announced that she will be releasing a new album titled The Tortured Poets Department on April 19.

"I want to say thank you to the members of the Recording Academy for voting this way. But I know that the way that the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion of the fans," Swift said while accepting her award. "So I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I've been keeping from you for the last two years, which is that my brand new album comes out on April 19."

Taylor Swift attends the 66th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

Taylor Swift attends the 66th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Shortly after, die-hard Swiftie fans and Grammy viewers alike recalled a fun little fact about Swift's ex, Joe Alwyn: He is a member of a so-called "tortured man club group chat."

Coincidence? I think not, Swiftie fans. We know better. As reported by People, after Alwyn opened up about his "special" group chat on WhatsApp in May, 2022, friend Paul Mescal said that a "third member" of the chat, Andrew Scott, actually "started the group."

"He's just on it every day. He's just on it by himself," Mescal said at the time.

"Just messaging himself good mornings," Alwyn quipped, before adding that they were "both in the Sally Rooney universe and crossed over with Lenny Abrahamson. We were so lucky to have that experience."

77th ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS -- Pictured: (l-r) Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn at the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 5, 2020.

Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn at the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 5, 2020.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

I case it wasn't obvious enough, in Swift's song "The Lakes" she writes some hardly subtle lines about her former boyfriend:

"Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die.
I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you.
Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry.
I'm setting off, but not without my muse."

These poignant lyrics took on a new meaning after Swift announced the album first on the Grammys stage and then via instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter.

In both posts, Swift shares what are presumably lyrics to her soon-to-be-released songs, including one eyebrow-raising line in particular: "Muses acquired like bruises."

A post shared by Taylor Swift

A photo posted by taylorswift on

Swift and Alwyn broke up in early 2023 after six years of dating, according to Entertainment Tonight who was the first to report the former couple's split.

A source later told People at the time that Swift and Alwyn ultimately split due to "differences in their personalities."

Danielle Campoamor
Weekend Editor

Danielle Campoamor is Marie Claire's weekend editor covering all things news, celebrity, politics, culture, live events, and more. In addition, she is an award-winning freelance writer and former NBC journalist with over a decade of digital media experience covering mental health, reproductive justice, abortion access, maternal mortality, gun violence, climate change, politics, celebrity news, culture, online trends, wellness, gender-based violence and other feminist issues. You can find her work in The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, New York Magazine, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, TODAY, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, InStyle, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Glamour, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, Prism, Newsweek, Slate, HuffPost and more. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and their two feral sons. When she is not writing, editing or doom scrolling she enjoys reading, cooking, debating current events and politics, traveling to Seattle to see her dear friends and losing Pokémon battles against her ruthless offspring. You can find her on X, Instagram, Threads, Facebook and all the places.