Taylor Swift took a poignant pause during her Eras Tour stop at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, on Saturday, February 17, opening up about her emotional state during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 34-year-old pop sensation reflected on the solitude she experienced while writing her 2020 album, Folklore, amidst lockdown measures.

Image Source: Getty Images | Photo By Kevin Kane

In a fan-shared clip from the concert, Swift shared her imaginative process during the creation of Folklore, revealing, “[I was] imagining that, instead of being a lonely millennial woman covered in cat hair drinking my weight in white wine, I was a ghostly Victorian lady wandering through the woods with a candle in a candlestick holder, and I wrote only on parchment with a feathered quill.” However, Swift humorously admitted that her reality during the writing process was far from her Victorian-inspired fantasy, stating, “That is not what I looked like … So that’s all that matters — the delusion.”

During the creation of Folklore, Swift was in a relationship with actor Joe Alwyn, 32, who even contributed to the album by co-writing tracks such as Exile and Betty. She revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the album’s inception was unexpected, spurred by her consumption of various films during quarantine, including Pan’s Labyrinth and L.A. Confidential. Their relationship, which began in 2016, concluded in early 2023 after six years together, described by sources as an amicable separation that ran its course. Despite the breakup, Swift’s outlook on life has evolved and matured.

“Life is short. Have adventures. Me locking myself away in my house for a lot of years — I’ll never get that time back,” she reflected during her 2023 Person of the Year profile last December. “I’m more trusting now than I was six years ago,” she added while speaking to Time. Sharing about her current relationship she revealed, “When you say a relationship is public, that means I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there and we don’t care.” She added, “The opposite of that is you have to go to an extreme amount of effort to make sure no one knows that you’re seeing someone. And we’re just proud of each other.”

Amidst a season brimming with touchdowns, tackles, and triumphs, Swift didn’t merely observe from afar; she actively engaged in the NFL, captivating not only ardent football enthusiasts but also music fans. Swift, celebrated for her recent Grammy successes, made multiple appearances within the league to support her boyfriend, Kelce, the tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, according to Parade. Renowned for her chart-topping hits and dedicated fanbase known as Swifties, Swift seamlessly integrated herself into the NFL community, largely due to her relationship with the All-Pro tight end of the Kansas City Chiefs.