It's got to be tough being the younger brother of Taylor Swift.
The 1989 singer is so successful that her latest album sold more albums in her first week than anyone has in 12 years. Still, somehow Taylor, 24, and her 22-year-old brother Austin Swift have remained close — so close that she skipped an awards show to watch him in a college play on Sunday.
Taylor, who's traveled non-stop lately to promote her record, watched Austin's final performance in a staging of Six Characters in Search of an Author at his college, the University of Notre Dame, in South Bend, Indiana, with her mother. The songstress reportedly congratulated Austin and the cast backstage before jetting back to NYC. Fans gathered outside the theater to see the pop star as she left, but she only smiled and waved at them; After all, it was Austin's day.
Taylor's family outing meant that she couldn't make it to the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards in Scotland the same day, but she probably made the right choice. She lost both awards for which she was nominated — Best Female went to Ariana Grande, Best Look went to Katy Perry — and Austin will always remember that she was there.
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This wasn't Taylor's first time visiting her younger brother at Notre Dame. In 2010, she and friend Selena Gomez were spotted on the sidelines of a Fighting Irish football game.
Austin also makes regular appearances in Taylor's Instagram photos and as a frequent sidekick at red carpet soirées.
In October 2012, Taylor explained that he was one of her most trusted friends.
"I have my girlfriends and we talk about everything," she told Australian radio hosts Kyle and Jackie O. "But one person who I go to for advice, who is a guy, is my brother. He gives me really straightforward advice. Nine times out of 10, when I say, 'What should I do?' he says, 'Well, what do you want to do?' That answer is always really easy; what you want to do is what you should do. He's younger. It's so weird, he's so wise!"
