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Taylor Swift Reveals She Faces Kidnapping, Murder Threats

Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift spoke about the threats that she faces.

Taylor Swift's life is not all baked goods, cats, New York anthems, and trips to the gym. The "Welcome to New York" singer, 24, opened up in the November issue of Esquire magazine and brought some of the more serious issues she faces to light.

Speaking about her need for a constant security presence, the singer told the mag about the threats that have been made against her. 

"I fought the idea of having security for a very long time, because I really value normalcy," Swift explained. "I really do. I like to be able to take a drive by myself. Haven't done that in six years. They have to be in a car behind me. Because just the sheer number of men we have in a file who have showed up at my house, showed up at my mom's house, threatened to either kill me, kidnap me, or marry me."

Related: PHOTOS: Taylor Swift's Celebrity BFFs

Earlier this year, Swift obtained a restraining order against one such man. A stalker named Timothy Sweet reportedly believed he was married to Swift and wrote threatening messages on social media.

"This is the strange and sad part of my life that I try not to think about," the Grammy winner continued. "I try to be lighthearted about it, because I don't ever want to be scared. I don't want to be walking down the street scared. And when I have security, I don't have to be scared." 

Regarding the men she chooses to hang out with, Swift told Esquire that she didn't find her highly publicized dating habits abnormal.

Related: PHOTOS: Taylor Swift's High-Profile Flames

"I would date someone, figure out we weren't compatible or figure out we didn't work out, and then we'd break up," she said. "That seems like a very normal thing for a young 20-something to do. I think it's healthy for everyone to go a few years without dating, just because you need to get to know who you are."

Swift has been doing exactly that — taking some time off from dating and surrounding herself with friends while working on her upcoming 1989 album, which drops Oct. 27. 

"I've done more thinking and examining and figuring out how to cope with things on my own than I would have if I had been focusing on someone else's emotions and someone else's schedule," she said. "It's been really good."

The "Out of the Woods" singer went on to add that there was another benefit to her break from boys: It allowed her to shake off the image of being a serial dater. 

"I just stopped dating people, because it meant a lot to me to set the record straight — that I do not need some guy around in order to get inspiration, in order to make a great record, in order to live my life, in order to feel okay about myself," she said. "I wanted to show my fans the same thing."

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