When Taylor Swift was first asked to present an award at the Golden Globes – on the night her actor boyfriend Joe Alwyn was due to attend with the cast of The Favourite – many assumed the pair would finally make their red-carpet debut together, after almost two years of dating.
Not so. According to eyewitnesses at last week’s LA ceremony, the couple arrived separately, with the singer using a side entrance. Once inside, they are said to have largely remained apart, with Joe, 27, choosing to sit with his Favourite co-stars.
Later, at an after-party hosted by Fox, the couple took things even further. As one source told Grazia, ‘People were getting kicked out for trying to take pictures of Taylor and Joe, including where the couple just happened to be in the background. They had their phones taken off them by Taylor’s security and were asked to delete the photos. Inevitably, some pictures slipped through the net, but Taylor was flanked by security all night to limit the chances.’
So why the secrecy? According to another source, ‘This is coming from Joe’s side rather than Taylor’s.’ Having secured roles in Boy Erased and Mary Queen Of Scots, as well as The Favourite, his career is on the cusp of taking off (one magazine last year hailed him as ‘Hollywood’s next great leading man’). ‘Joe feels he has more to lose. He doesn’t want his relationship to overshadow his career as he’s yet to make his mark. His agents are encouraging him to keep it low-key.’ And judging by Taylor’s previous very high-profile relationships, that may be a good move. Her romance with Tom Hiddleston took an embarrassing turn when, in the space of only three months, they were pictured on a private jet to Rome, strolling on a beach in Suffolk with Tom’s mum, going on a ‘holidate’ to Australia and celebrating 4 July with Taylor’s squad, when Tom wore that ‘I ♥ TS’ T-shirt. It ended amid reports she’d started to question his intentions and multiple accusations that the whole thing was a showmance.
‘Joe is a very private person,’ said another source. ‘Until recently, his Instagram profile was closed – he only opened it to promote The Favourite. He has no interest in letting his relationship become a spectacle or eclipsing his career just as he’s doing so well. They’re happiest hanging out away from the cameras, with his friends or family in North London, and they’re determined to keep it that way. Neither wants to become a big celebrity duo and risk ruining what they’ve built.