Taylor Swift knows "All Too Well" the perils of dating in the public eye. And though her romantic trials and tribulations make for great songs, they don't necessarily make for a great life — which is why she's focusing her energy elsewhere for the time being. To hear her tell it, she hasn't been on a single date since she and One Direction boybander Harry Styles split in January 2013.
"I feel like watching my dating life has become a bit of national pastime. And I'm just not comfortable providing that kind of entertainment anymore," the "Shake It Off" songstress told Rolling Stone in an interview about her upcoming album, 1989, which she described to the mag as considerably less "boy-centric" than past records. (The pop record is also a very conscious departure from Swift's country roots.)
"I don't like seeing slide shows of guys I've apparently dated. I don't like giving comedians the opportunity to make jokes about me at awards shows," she elaborated. "I don't like it when headlines read 'Careful, Bro, She'll Write a Song About You,' because it trivializes my work. And most of all," she said, "I don't like how all these factors add up to build the pressure so high in a new relationship that it gets snuffed out before it even has a chance to start. And so I just don't date."
Swift — whose exes include Styles, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Mayer, Taylor Lautner, and Joe Jonas — is not into casual hookups, either. "I just think it's pointless if you're not in love," the "Red" chanteuse mused. "And I don't have the energy to be in love right now. So no."
That's not to say she's done with romantic relationships forever, though. "It's not like I've sworn off love," she told Rolling Stone. "My life is just not conducive to bringing other people into it right now. I'm very childlike and romantic about lots of things, but I'm realistic about this."
To illustrate her point, she brings up the so-called "Loneliest Whale," a solitary, unidentified whale that has a unique, high-pitched call and "doesn't have anyone to swim with" in the ocean. "And everybody feels so sorry for this whale — but what if this whale is having a great time?" she reasoned. "Because it's not bad that I'm not hopelessly in love with someone. It's not a tragedy, and it's not me giving up and being a spinster."
Indeed, Swift is far from alone. Though she hasn't had a boyfriend in her life for a while, she has plenty of great girlfriends, including fellow stars Selena Gomez and Lorde. And for the moment, at least, that's all she needs.
"I really like my life right now," she told Rolling Stone. "I have friends around me all the time. I've started painting more. I've been working out a lot. I've started to really take pride in being strong. I love the album I made. I love that I moved to New York. So in terms of being happy, I've never been closer to that."
