Taylor Swift and Harry Styles's Relationship Timeline: A Look Back

Although they've moved on to other high-profile relationships, former One Direction member Harry Styles and singer-songwriter Taylor Swift were once an item. The pair met in 2012 — when Swift was 22 and Styles was 18 — and dated for few months. Despite their short-lived romance — and sans tattoo keepsakes — their romance was also fruitful, inspiring songs penned by both Grammy-winning musicians. 

Since the tone of her Styles-inspired tracks wasn't exactly apologetic (as was the case when Swift wrote "Back to December" about ex Taylor Lautner), fans knew they were never, ever, ever, getting back together. However, the internet's favorite "divorced parents" were able to shake it off and maintain a healthy and supportive relationship post-breakup.

In 2023, a source confirmed the two have remained "friendly." 

"Taylor and Harry have no issues, and they are friendly," the source told Entertainment Tonight. "Taylor thinks Harry is such a talented artist and has nothing but respect for him. Their relationship was a long time ago," before adding, "She has matured as a person, and things are peaceful and good between them." 

Here's a look back at Taylor Swift and Harry Styles's relationship.

March 31, 2012: Taylor Swift and Harry Styles first meet

As the story goes, Swift and Styles met backstage at the 2012 Kids' Choice Awards, where Taylor and her pal Selena Gomez danced and sang along as Styles and his One Direction bandmates performed their hit "What Makes You Beautiful" during the show, as reported by MTV News.

Of all people, Justin Bieber (Gomez's boyfriend at the time) seemingly confirmed that Swift had a crush on Styles. He told The Mirror shortly after the award show that he knows "one of the biggest artists in the world thinks Harry is so hot." Bieber wouldn't name names, adding that he'd been "sworn to secrecy."

November 15, 2012: Taylor Swift and Harry Styles are first spotted together

Despite meeting in March 2012, they didn't start dating until later that year. Swift was in a relationship with Conor Kennedy that summer, and Styles had a short-lived fling with English actress Emily Atack around the same time. The two finally got together in the fall and subtly confirmed their coupledom when Swift was spotted wearing a silver paper plane necklace that appeared to belong to Styles, according to BuzzFeed.

Before Thanksgiving, People reported that Styles had swung by The X Factor studio to see Swift rehearse. 

"He was smiling at her while she rehearsed. When she was done, he jumped up on stage, picked her up, put her over his shoulder and carried her off stage," a source told the outlet.

In early December 2012, the pair broke the internet with photographs from their date at the Central Park Zoo, and hashtag #Haylor began trending on Twitter, reported People. 

"When I see photos from that day [in Central Park], I think: Relationships are hard, at any age. Adding in that you don't really understand exactly how it works when you're 18, trying to navigate all that stuff didn't make it easier," he told Rolling Stone in 2017, adding that he "just wanted it to be a normal date."

December 13, 2012: Taylor Swift and Harry Styles celebrate her 23rd birthday together

According to People, the young lovebirds spent Swift's 23rd birthday in Northern England. Apart from the trip being a romantic and celebratory getaway, it appeared to be an introductory meeting, with Styles introducing his then-girlfriend to his mom.

December 31, 2012: Taylor Swift and Harry Styles spend the holidays together

Styles and Swift's whirlwind romance was in full force in December. Before Christmas, the musicians headed to a wintry wonderland, specifically Park City, Utah, for a skiing trip. Then they rang in the New Year together with a midnight kiss in Times Square following Swift's performance on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest, per People.

January 7, 2013: Taylor Swift and Harry Styles break up

By early January 2013, Haylor was, sadly, no longer. After spending the holidays together in the British Virgin Islands, the two reportedly got in a fight, and Swift left the trip early — famously, alone on a boat, Entertainment Tonight reported.

Miss Americana never said anything at the time, but years after they split, she opened up about how turbulent their relationship really was while introducing her song "Out of the Woods" at the Grammy Museum in 2015.

In a video of the performance, Swift provided some context behind the track: "The number one feeling I felt in the whole relationship was anxiety. Because it felt very fragile, it felt very tentative. And it always felt like, 'Okay, what's the next roadblock? What's the next thing that's gonna deter this? How long do we have before this turns into just an awful mess and we break up? Is it a month? Is it three days?'"

"So, you know, I think a lot of relationships can be very solid, and that's kind of what you hope for, for it to be solid and healthy, but that's not always what you get," she continued before clarifying, "It doesn't mean that it's not special and extraordinary just to have a relationship that's fragile and somehow meaningful in that fragility."

Not that we ever like to see a relationship end, but selfishly, in the case of Swift and Styles, at least fans got several amazing records out of the breakup. From Swift, there were three tracks from her 1989 album ("Out of the Woods," "Style," and "I Knew You Were Trouble") that are believed to be about Styles.

Meanwhile, Styles all but admitted that his songs "Two Ghosts" and "Ever Since New York" were inspired by his relationship with Swift. Explaining his breakup with the cultural icon and the subsequent songwriting process, he told Rolling Stone, "Certain things don't work out. There are a lot of things that can be right, and it's still wrong. In writing songs about stuff like that, I like tipping a hat to the time together. You're celebrating the fact it was powerful and made you feel something, rather than 'this didn't work out, and that's bad.'"

February 5, 2023: Taylor Swift supports Harry Styles at Grammy Awards

At the 2023 Grammy Awards, Swift was among those in the audience to show her support for Styles during his performance of the 2022 hit single, "As It Was," and when he accepted his televised awards, according to ET.

The two also reportedly hugged and talked during Steve Lacy's performance of "Bad Habit."