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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Lizzie Edmonds

Taylor Swift opens up about feeling 'shamed' over dating history in prologue to re-release of 1989

Taylor Swift has opened up about her dating history and rumours the singer was bisexual in a vulnerable prologue to her album, 1898 (Taylor’s Version).

Swift, 33, has re-released her 2014 smash hit record - which was arguably Taylor's biggest commercial success selling 10 million copies worldwide.

The singer has been rerecording her entire back catalogue in a bid to gain control of her master recordings. It comes after famed talent manager Scooter Braun bought the masters to her first six records when he bought out the star's former label.

The new 1989 album includes five brand new songs, titled: Slut!, Is It Over Now?,·Now That We Don't Talk; Say Don't Go and Suburban Legends.

It also includes a vulnerable prologue, in which the star discusses her dating history and how she felt shamed for “dating like a normal young woman.”

The star claims she was a victim of “slut shaming” and constant jokes about the “amount of boyfriends” she has had, adding that being painted as a “boy crazy psychopath” throughout her career has been “hurtful.” 

“It became clear to me that for me there was no such thing as casual dating, or even having a male friend who you platonically hang out with,” she writes. 

The 12-time Grammy winner added: “'If I was seen with him, it was assumed I was sleeping with him. And so, I swore off hanging out with guys. Dating, flirting, or anything that could be weaponized against me by a culture that claimed to believe in liberating women but consistently treated me with the harsh moral codes of the Victorian era.”

“I swore off dating and decided to focus only on myself, my music, my growth, and my female friendships,” she continued. “If I only hung out with my female friends, people couldn't sensationalize or sexualize that right? I would learn later on that people could and people would.”

The statement appears to be in reference to speculation that Swift was dating her friend, the supermodel Karlie Kloss after a grainy picture emerged on social media apparently showing them kissing while at a 1975 concert back in 2014.

Swift has also been linked to actress and singer Dianna Agron in the past.

Swift’s romantic life has long been the focus of gossip sites - with the star linked to the likes of Harry Styles, Joe Jonas, John Mayer, Matty Healy and Joe Alwyn over her almost two-decade career.

Swift is currently dating NFL star Travis Kelce, with the singer recently planting a kiss on the cheek of her new boyfriend marking the couple’s first major PDA.

The singer has been linked to the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 34, for the past month. 

She has attended almost all of the star's games since they have been linked - and was back in the crowd at the Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday to watch the Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers 31-17.

Chariah Gordon, girlfriend of Kelce’s teammate Mecole Hardman Jr, gave fans a sneak peak behind the scenes of the team's celebration on her Instagram. 

In her pictures, Grammy-winner Swift can be seen kissing her boyfriend while decked out in the team’s kit colours. 

Earlier this month, Swift broke Vue International’s record for the most tickets sold during the UK pre-sale opening week for a music event when tickets for her Eras Tour film went on sale.

The title was previously held by BTS’ Permission To Dance film, which was released last year.

Earlier in October, Swift took to the red carpet in Los Angeles for the world premiere of the film, where she was joined by fellow superstar Beyonce.

Swift sported a pale blue Oscar de la Renta gown with cut-out flowers, with her hair styled in a bob.

The singer will start the UK and Ireland leg of the tour next June in Edinburgh before she heads to cities including Liverpool, Cardiff, London and Dublin.

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