It’s been eight years since the ties were black and the lies were white — a.k.a. the alleged moment that helped inspire Taylor Swift’s song “Getaway Car.”
The song, which appears on Swift’s album Reputation, is rumored to be inspired by her three-month relationship with Tom Hiddleston. The pair met while attending a dinner at Anna Wintour’s house in New York City before the 2016 Met Gala and were caught in a flirty dance battle at the ball — while Swift was still dating Calvin Harris.
A fan shared a clip of that encounter via social media on Thursday, May 2, in celebration of its anniversary, writing, “8 years ago today, getaway car was born.”
Fellow Swifties reminisced on the short-lived relationship in the comments section. “Oh bleachella, what an iconic era,” one user wrote, referring to Swift’s bleached blonde hair at the time. “My Roman Empire,” another added.
“Getaway Car,” which was released in 2017, seemingly draws a comparison between leaving a failed relationship to fleeing a crime scene. “I knew it from the first Old Fashioned we were cursed /We never had a shotgun shot in the dark,” Swift sings. “You were drivin’ the getaway car / We were flyin’, but we’d never get far / Don’t pretend it’s such a mystery / Think about the place where you first met me.”
Taylor Swift. Rabbani and Solimene Photography/Getty Images
Swift and Harris called it quits two months after she met Hiddleston. Though short-lived, the relationship dubbed “Hiddleswift” caused a frenzy, with photos circulating of the pair kissing in Westerly, Rhode Island, and traveling to Rome together. By September 2016, however, they had split.
“Taylor knew the backlash that comes with public displays of affection,” an insider exclusively told Us Weekly at the time. “But Tom didn’t listen to her concerns when she brought them up.”
Looking back on the relationship, Hiddleston told The New York Times that his short time with Swift taught him a lot about dating in the public eye. “It’s not possible, and nor should it be possible, to control what anyone thinks about you,” he said in 2019. “Especially if it’s not based … in any reality.”
He added, “And yes, I’m protective about my internal world now in probably a different way. That’s because I didn’t realize it needed protecting before.”
Hiddleston moved on with Marvel costar Zawe Ashton, and Us confirmed in October 2022 that the couple welcomed their first baby. Swift, for her part, has been dating Travis Kelce since summer 2023.
