In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Harry Styles has talked for the first time about Taylor Swift, her music about him, and their time together.
When he looks at photos of them together himself, particularly of their second date in Central Park that the paparazzi photographed, "I think: Relationships are hard, at any age," he said. "And adding in that you don't really understand exactly how it works when you're 18, trying to navigate all that stuff didn't make it easier. I mean, you're a little bit awkward to begin with. You're on a date with someone you really like. It should be that simple, right? It was a learning experience for sure. But at the heart of it–I just wanted it to be a normal date."
With Swift's 'Out of the Woods' and 'Styles', he understands they're considered to be about him—though he'll pretend they maybe aren't. "I mean, I don't know if they're about me or not, but the issue is, she's so good, they're bloody everywhere. I write from my experiences; everyone does that," he said, addressing some of the criticism Swift receives for writing music about her exes.
"I'm lucky if everything [we went through] helped create those songs. That's what hits your heart. That's the stuff that's hardest to say, and it's the stuff I talk least about. That's the part that's about the two people. I'm never going to tell anybody everything."
Rolling Stone's Cameron Crowe asked Styles if he ever told Swift he liked the songs. "Yes and no," Styles responded. "She doesn't need me to tell her they're great. They're great songs...It's the most amazing unspoken dialogue ever."
Styles also offered this message to Swift when asked what he'd tell her today: "Certain things don't work out. There's a lot of things that can be right, and it's still wrong. In writing songs about stuff like that, I like tipping a hat to the time together. You're celebrating the fact it was powerful and made you feel something, rather than 'this didn't work out, and that's bad.' And if you run into that person, maybe it's awkward, maybe you have to get drunk...but you shared something. Meeting someone new, sharing those experiences, it's the best shit ever. So thank you."
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she's not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
