Joe Alwyn Explains Why He and Taylor Swift Keep Their Relationship Private: 'Something Will Be Taken' (2024)

Joe Alwyn is opening up a little more about his relationship with Taylor Swift.

While in conversation with Elle this week, the British actor, 31, explained the reasoning behind keeping details of his love life close to the chest.

"It's not really [because I] want to be guarded and private, it's more a response to something else," Alwyn told the outlet.

"We live in a culture that is so increasingly intrusive … the more you give — and frankly, even if you don't give it — something will be taken," he said.

Swift, 32, began dating the Boy Erased actor in 2016. A source previously told PEOPLE that she "is very happy" in their relationship. "He is her rock. Their relationship is mature and wonderful," the source added.

Back in December 2020, Swift told Paul McCartney during an interview for Rolling Stone that her relationship with Alwyn allows her to be in love and feel like a regular person within her superstar life.

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"I think that in knowing him and being in the relationship I am in now, I have definitely made decisions that have made my life feel more like a real-life and less like just a storyline to be commented on," she said.

Added Swift: "Whether that's deciding where to live, who to hang out with, when to not take a picture ... it's really just trying to find bits of normalcy."

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Swift previously echoed similar sentiments about keeping her relationship with Alwyn private while speaking with The Guardian in August 2019.

While defending why she doesn't talk about her relationship in interviews, the "Lover" singer shared, "I've learned that if I do, people think it's up for discussion, and our relationship isn't up for discussion."

"If you and I were having a glass of wine right now, we'd be talking about it — but it's just that it goes out into the world," she continued. "That's where the boundary is, and that's where my life has become manageable."

"I really want to keep it feeling manageable," noted Swift.