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Here Are All The Joe Alwyn References In Taylor Swift's "ME!" Video That You Might Have Missed
Taylor Swift's new single and music video with Brendon Urie of Panic! At the Disco is all about self-love and individuality. But that doesn't mean that there aren't at least one or two Joe Alwyn references in Swift's "ME!" The American singer has been publicly linked to the British actor since 2017 and Swift and Alwyn have seemingly only gotten more serious over the years. So while the new single doesn't contain "Gorgeous" levels of love for Alwyn, fans are still piecing together some details of their private relationship thanks to these references in the "ME!" music video.
When Swift released Reputation in 2017, it was exciting, not only because it was her first album since 2014's 1989, but also because it contained the first song lyrics about her new boyfriend. Fast-forward to April 2019 and they're still going strong. And Alwyn's profile has increased significantly due to his work in films like The Favourite and Mary Queen of Scots, so when Swift sings in "ME!" that, "You're the kind of guy the ladies want," she could be recognizing Alwyn's "gorgeous" looks, growing star power, or even how he was the love interest of Emma Stone in The Favourite and Margot Robbie in Mary Queen of Scots.
If the fact that his two biggest 2018 films are about British royalty wasn't enough to tip you off, Alwyn is English. As of June 2018, he was living in Crouch End in North London, according to Elle, and Business Insider reported that Swift owns properties in Nashville, New York City, Beverly Hills, and Rhode Island. But to make their cross-Atlantic relationship work, British Vogue reported in September 2018 in an interview with Alwyn that the couple had been "living together on-and-off for a while now." And London plays a big part of the candy-coated "ME!" music video.
While Swift speaks French at the beginning of the video, the "ME!" video actually appears to be set in London. Urie does his best Mary Poppins impression by floating down using an umbrella, which should tip fans off to the London setting, but you can also spot U.K. landmarks like the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and St. Paul's Cathedral. St. Paul has a connection to Mary Poppins too since it's where the "Feed the Birds" scene takes place. But the main reason people think these iconic London buildings are included is because they belong to Swift's British beau's hometown.
It's sweet that Swift wants to rep Alwyn in "ME!," but the landmarks she included may hold even more significance. St. Paul's was notably the location of Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding. With Urie proposing to Swift in the music video, "ME!" has people talking about the possibility that Swift and Alwyn are engaged. So maybe the inclusion of a royal wedding location is no coincidence. Bustle reached out to Taylor Swift's rep for comment on engagement speculation.
Before the song and video dropped, Swift told fans during a YouTube chat, "There's a secret in the video I've been keeping for months — let's see who can guess it." In the video, Urie gets down on one knee and presents her with first flowers and then a ring, both of which Swift is unimpressed by. Then, he moves on to giving her a cat, which melts Swift's feline-loving heart. So the leading theories are that Swift is either engaged to Alwyn, or that he gave her a third cat to join sisters Olivia Benson and Meredith Grey (who have their own cameos in the vid). Or, better still, that Swift got the best of both worlds and Alwyn proposed with a cat instead of a diamond.
Time will tell what Swift really meant by this cat proposal montage. And until then, fans can wonder what incidents occurred between Swift and Alwyn that inspired lyrics like "I know that I went psycho on the phone," or, "And when we had that fight out in the rain, you ran after me and called my name." But even with the hinted-at disputes, the takeaway of "ME!" is that these two individuals love each other for who they are. And that's really the best thing anyone can have out of a relationship, whether they are as famous as Swift and Alwyn or not.