Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner’s Relationship Timeline: From ‘Valentine’s Day’ to ‘Back to December’

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Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner’s Relationship Timeline: From ‘Valentine’s Day’ to ‘Back to December’

It’s unclear when Taylor Swift will rerelease Speak Now, but Us is going “Back to December” early in honor of the Grammy winner’s rerecordings. When Swift was working on her third studio album, she had been linked to Joe Jonas, Taylor Lautner and John Mayer. Her relationship with her Valentine’s Day costar has been long rumored to be the inspiration behind the album’s second single. Swift and Lautner dated for several months in the fall of 2009, calling it quits that December. “He liked her more than she liked him. He went everywhere he could to see her, but she didn't travel much to see him,” a source told Us Weekly at the time. “They decided they were better as friends.” When the musician released Speak Now in October 2010, she explained to Yahoo! Music that “Back to December” had a different message than her other breakup anthems. "Up until now, I haven't really felt like I really needed to apologize to someone,” she admitted at the time. “It’s just necessary.” In the track, Swift sings, “You gave me roses and I left them there to die / So this is me swallowin' my pride / Standin' in front of you sayin' I'm sorry for that night / And I go back to December all the time.” [jwplayer ItYdfyx8-zhNYySv2] The lyrics also address Lautner’s “tan skin” and “sweet smile,” their “beautiful times” in the summer of 2009 and realizing she “loved” him that fall. "It's almost word-for-word. It is a song and a conversation that needed to happen because I don't want to hurt people. If you unintentionally do so, you've got to make that better,” Swift told USA Today at the time of the track. “I feel so comfortable singing about these details and these relationships and listing times, dates, details, names. But when it comes to an interview and they say, 'Are you dating this person?' or 'Did you date this person?' or 'What's your current relationship status?' I suddenly feel very shy.” Lautner, for his part, was forced to address the song when his Scream Queens costar Lea Michele brought it up during a Facebook Live. “Didn’t she write a song about you?” the Glee alum asked in August 2016. “That’s what she does,” he replied. “She writes songs.” Michele pushed harder, asking, “I think it’s something about a sweater and a hat, right? … It’s like, your hat in December!” Lautner gave in and said, “It’s called ‘Back to December.’” Years later, the Abduction actor got engaged to another Taylor — Tay Dome — in November 2021. Swift, for her part, has been dating Joe Alwyn since 2017. Scroll through to revisit Swift and Lautner’s timeline:

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Meeting on ‘Valentine’s Day’

In one of Swift’s first acting gigs, she and Lautner played high school love interests in the 2010 movie, which was filmed the year prior.

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Sparking a Summer Romance

Rumors that Swift and Lautner were dating started swirling in late summer 2009.

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Swift’s ‘SNL’ Monologue

The “Fearless” singer’s “musical monologue” confirmed reports that the costars were an item.

“If you're wondering if I might be dating the werewolf from Twilight,” she sang in October 2009 before blowing a kiss, waving, winking and mouthing, "Hi Taylor!" After applause, she continued: “I’m not gonna comment on that In my monologue.”

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Spending the Fall Together

From September through November, Swift and Lautner were often spotted together, embracing at the 2009 VMAs and attending hockey games. The actor was also seen hugging Swift during an October 2009 stop on her Fearless tour in Chicago.

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Lautner’s ‘SNL’ Monologue

During his December 2009 SNL appearance, the actor joked about how he didn’t defend Swift when Kanye West stormed the stage during her VMAs acceptance speech two months prior. "What I really wanted to do was this," Lautner said before fighting a cardboard cut-out of the rapper.

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December Split

Us reported in late December 2009 that their three-month romance was over. Swift seemingly confirmed the timing of the breakup through “Back to December.”

“Wishin' I'd realized what I had when you were mine / I’d go back to December, turn around and make it alright / I go back to December all the time,” she sings, later admitting, “You gave me all your love and all I gave you was goodbye.”

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‘Speak Now’ Release

While promoting her third studio album in October 2010, Swift referred to Lautner as “one of my best friends,” telling Glamour, “He's wonderful, and we'll always be close. I'm so thankful for that."

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Remembering the VMAs Drama

“[I] was unaware that the Kanye thing was not a skit,” Lautner recalled of Kanye West interrupting Swift at the 2009 VMAs during an episode of his wife Taylor Dome’s “The Squeeze” podcast. “I presented the award to her, so I gave her the award [and] I took five steps back and was standing five feet behind her. In the middle of giving her thank you speech, Kanye jumps up onto the stage.”

He added: “I can barely hear it. I can’t see them. I’m just assuming that this whole thing was a practiced and rehearsed skit because why else would Kanye West be jumping up on the stage, interrupting Taylor Swift? It just didn’t make sense. He jumped off, she finished [and] the second she turned back around and I saw her face for the first time, I was like, ‘Oh. No, that wasn’t good.’”