deepdivearchives

[deepdivearchives]

Did I discover the identity of Jake’s friend from the “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” studio session?

We’ve all heard the story before, several times. x x x

So I was in the middle of a completely unrelated deep dive when I uncovered a piece of Swiftie lore that’s been unsolved for over a decade: who was the random guy that barged into Taylor’s studio session with Max Martin and Shellback to talk about Jake Gyllenhaal? I think I figured it out.. allegedly. Of course I wasn’t there so I cannot actually be sure. But let’s break it down.

Max Martin tells the story about how WANEGBT was written in this interview. (@ 52:30) He says,

“We had our first day with her at Conway Studios…and Maroon 5 was recording next door— like the next studio next door — and this guy shows up, a friend of theirs, and we literally haven’t started the session yet. He comes over there, ‘Hey, I heard Taylor Swift was here. I’ve got to say hello.’

I’m like, ‘Uh… really?’

And he goes, ‘Oh no, I totally know her. It’s fine. We’re friends.’

So he walks in—and turns out, he didn’t know her. But I’m sort of vouching for this guy, like, ‘Hey, here’s… as you know,’ [and she’s just like], ‘No, I don’t know.’

He started talking about some ex-boyfriend he wanted her to call—it was really messy. And he leaves and I apologize.”

They then work on something else and come back to the idea of WANGBT the next day.

And because we know from Taylor that “Message in a Bottle” was the first song they ever wrote together, Max’s story confirms that this was the song they worked on the day Jake and Maroon 5’s friend walked in.

While promoting the Red album, Taylor mentioned that in January 2012, she told her label and producer that she wanted to branch out and work with new people. She began reaching out and scheduling studio sessions with different producers. In one interview, she recalls emailing Max Martin with an idea for a song, even though she wasn’t scheduled to work with him for “almost six months.” If she sent that email in January, then “almost six months” later would place their first session in late May.

This is also backed up by the Lover diary entry from June 10, 2012 where she talks about spending the first week of June writing “22” and ���IKYWT” with “the guys I wrote ‘getting back together’ with”.

So I looked at Adam Levine’s tweets from that time and found a gold mine. Although Maroon 5 had finished recording the Overexposed album— entirely at Conway Studios — around April 14th, they just so happened to be in the studio on May 22nd to record a special edition deluxe track. And Adam has brought along his friend/roommate, Gene Hong.

The tweets about being in the studio and Gene messing with his computer are 5 minutes apart.

Here is Adam talking about working on this song. x

So I google Gene Hong and his wikipedia page literally identifies him as the best friend of Jake Gyllenhaal.

So it’s not like they are only friends because of Adam. Jake says he and Adam are still close because of Gene.

Here are some articles and photos of them through the years.

x x x x x

After reading through his tweets and credentials (notably, Wild ‘n Out) he seems to be the out-there, comedian type. The type of person that would be bold enough to crash his friend’s ex-girlfriend’s workplace essentially — despite never having met her before, according to Taylor.

It’s entirely possible that I’m wrong here and their first session was actually earlier in the month. But it’s worth noting that she was pretty busy for most of May. She was confirmed to have written Forever Winter, Run, Everything Has Changed and who knows what else. I once thought they had their first session around April 14th while Adam Levine was still finishing up the standard version of his album but because of Taylor specifically saying they were scheduled to write together “almost six months” after she emailed him, that just doesn’t seem likely now.

Disclaimer: This is 100% alleged. Do not take this as fact. I don’t know these people and I was not there that day. Taylor has never confirmed what day it happened or who this person was. Everything I posted was public information. 😁👍🏻

[deepdivearchives]

What happened to your Haylor deep dive? It was great work.

thank you it’s back up!

[deepdivearchives]

The Haylor Timeline

Part 1

“I can make the bad guys good for a weekend..”

March 31, 2012 — Taylor Swift and Harry Styles meet for the first time at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards in Los Angeles. During One Direction’s performance of “What Makes You Beautiful,” cameras capture Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Ashley Tisdale, and Katy Perry dancing enthusiastically in the front row. Some skeptics believe the repeated camera cuts to Taylor suggest a PR-driven moment. But the way I see it, given that there’s a group of A-list popstars jumping around together like little school girls, tell me what award show wouldn’t keep cutting to that?

Taylor allegedly introduces herself backstage later that night according to the The Daily Mirror. (posted April 11, now deleted)

After the awards, Harry follows Taylor on twitter then tweets at 9:20pm (LA time) about meeting some “amazing people”..

Taylor was also at Dianna Agron’s house at some point this day, most likely after the KCA’s. (I don’t believe Taylor and Harry hung out this night anyway.)

April 1, 2012 — Apparently, when asked by a fan if they could see Taylor and Selena dancing from the stage, Liam says,

"It's hard to see from up on stage but we got a chance to meet and talk with Taylor Swift. Of course we are big fans. I thought Harry might have went to the bathroom just a little bit when we met her."

I’ve seen this quote circulating for years, particularly in Haylor timelines, but I’ve never come across a source. There are a bunch of tweets quoting it on this day and it sounds like something Liam might say, but it’s interesting that no one ever mentioned where the quote came from. I can’t confirm its authenticity either.

Also, One Direction perform a private gig in LA while Taylor is in Las Vegas at the ACMs. This is where Taylor meets Pat Monahan from Train (co-writer of Babe) for the first time (confirmed by Train’s instagram) and tells him that “Drive By” is her favorite song right now.

Interestingly, “Drive By” shares co-writers with “The Very First Night,” and the same producer as “Everything Has Changed”. This leads me to believe that whichever collaboration came first led her to the next then the next. Meaning that Babe, The Very First Night, and Everything Has Changed are most likely written close to the same time, presumably the summer of 2012.

April 2, 2012 — Harry is seen by the hotel pool in LA; Taylor’s location is unknown. That night, Justin tweets about being in the studio/hanging with “good people,” and Scooter Braun tweets—then deletes—about the studio being “Popstar Hangout Central,” referring to them as the “next generation”. This alludes to a group of young pop stars rather than the older artists/rappers Justin was collaborating with at that time. While we know at least three members of One Direction were there the following night, Scooter’s tweet makes me wonder if Taylor was actually there this night. A room with Justin Bieber, One Direction, Selena Gomez, and Taylor Swift would certainly be “Popstar Hangout Central.”

April 3, 2012 — One Direction (3/5 members confirmed) spent time at Justin Bieber’s mansion in Los Angeles, as shown by their posts the following day. It is rumored that both Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift were also there. While I cannot confirm it, it is highly possible that Taylor and Harry spent time together this night or the night before.. or both. Later on June 10, 2012, Justin talks with BBC Radio 2 while in London about the time the boys came over to his house, swam, and hung out. From April 4th-June 10th, One Direction and Justin Bieber were never in the same place at the same time which would mean this pool party would have had to have taken place on April 3rd or before.

April 4, 2012 — One Direction are seen greeting fans outside their hotel around 10 a.m., then at LAX between 4–5 p.m., before landing in New York City close to midnight (NY time). Given the tight travel schedule, there was likely no opportunity for Taylor and Harry to spend time together that day. Side note: Justin tweets about doing radio interviews over the phone all morning which is when I believe he gives the quote about Taylor liking Harry.

April 5, 2012 — The Daily Mirror — a popular British tabloid —posts a statement from Justin Bieber in which he commented on One Direction’s rapid rise in the U.S. He also mentioned that one of the biggest artists in the world had a crush on Harry but that he was “sworn to secrecy.”

A follow-up article from a source close to Justin was published to The Mirror a week later, confirming the artist was Taylor—likely because no one was catching on quickly enough. It’s worth noting that the only two articles during this time even hinting at a connection between Harry and Taylor came from Justin himself or a “source” in his circle, and both given to The Mirror. To me, this reads like a business strategy between Justin and 1D’s management. What stands out is how the article is essentially a professionally worded puff piece on One Direction from.. Justin Bieber? Well, Scooter Braun and Justin had previously tweeted in support of 1D and were reportedly in business talks with them as early as January. Tweets and interviews from this time period suggested Justin was exploring a potential collaboration with the band. I don’t know exactly what Scooter stood to gain from promoting the direct competition of his own clients—Justin and The Wanted—but there was clearly something in it for them. I initially wondered if Simon Cowell had paid Scooter and Justin to generate buzz ahead of One Direction’s U.S. push—but if that were the case, why not leak the story to a major American outlet? One Direction already had the UK. They needed the U.S. My current theory is that Scooter was either trying to buy the band or broker a mutually beneficial partnership. Whatever the plan was, One Direction (or Simon) ultimately chose a different path. And sure enough, by the end of April and onward, the boys are suddenly denying any plans for collaboration, the “Haylor” chatter disappears, and the vibe between Justin and 1D shifts—just slightly from Justin’s side —into something more competitive.

In conclusion, no one would have known about Taylor crushing on Harry if it weren’t for Justin.

Meanwhile, One Direction attend Saturday Night Live rehearsals from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m and get interviewed by MTV (now deleted), during which they were asked about the female celebrities seen dancing to their performance at the Kids’ Choice Awards. The other members playfully teased Harry, prompting a mention of Taylor.

“Oh yeah! That’s the one. Jackpot!” – Louis

At 8:01 p.m. (NY time), Harry tweeted lyrics from “Sweet Disposition” by The Temper Trap—a song that will continue to carry significance throughout their relationship. The very next line is literally the secret message of Treacherous. A potential hangout on this night cannot be ruled out.

April 6, 2012 — The day before Saturday Night Live, Harry is stopped by fans walking by the Imperial Theatre near Broadway and then spotted entering the back of his hotel around 2 p.m. where he takes pictures with a few lucky fans. He is later pictured outside of SIR Studios with the rest of the boys that evening for music rehearsal. All pics here. Since Harry had most of the day off, and it’s later revealed that there was a “weekend where they got really close,” it’s possible this was the start of that time. Even though there are never any confirmed sightings of Harry and Taylor together, I’m noting any longer stretches where they were both off the radar, as those could line up with when their relationship began to develop.

April 7, 2012 — One Direction leave their hotel at 3:30 p.m. for SNL final rehearsals, with the live show airing at 11:30 p.m. and ending around 1 a.m.

After five days out of the public eye, Taylor is spotted in the streets of NYC..

..then at Otto, having dinner with Emma Stone and Dianna Agron at 11:22 p.m.—just 2.4 miles from the SNL studio.

Following the taping, Harry’s whereabouts are unknown, and he does not return to his hotel that night. If there’s one night I’d place a strong bet on them spending together, it would be this one.

Photos began circulating on Twitter claiming Harry was at a gay bar called Le Bain following his Saturday Night Live appearance. I investigated the claim, and while I can confirm the photos were indeed taken at Le Bain — a regular, all inclusive nightclub in NYC — they are not from that night.

Harry spent the majority of March in New York City, making it harder to pinpoint the exact night he was actually there (though I found an update account that claims the picture is from March 22nd). However, I can prove it wasn’t taken after SNL. First, the red-haired woman pictured is Aimee Phillips, a DJ and mutual friend of Harry and Nick Grimshaw. I identified the man beside Harry as Jonny Pierce, a friend of Aimee’s who frequently appears on her Instagram.

On the morning of April 7, Jonny tweeted about flying from Rome to meet Nick Grimshaw, who was in London at the time. Meanwhile, Aimee tweeted that she would be attending the taping of SNL that night.

At approximately 9 PM (NY time), she tweeted that she missed both Jonny and Nick, confirming that Jonny was not in New York with her that evening. The following morning, both Jonny and Nick were documented spending Easter with Sadie Frost and other friends in London—consistent with Sadie’s location per her Twitter bio.

By April 10, Aimee had returned to London and was reunited with Jonny, further confirming the timeline.

So there you have it. As I stated before, Harry’s whereabouts that night remain unknown but I believe he was with Taylor.

April 8, 2012 — Taylor is allegedly spotted at the “Russian Military Museum” with her “boyfriend”. However, the original tweet that made this claim is no longer accessible, as the account has been deleted. Without a confirmed time zone from the person who took this screenshot, the timestamp here is unreliable. Personally, I believe this was a troll post—not only is there no known “Russian Military Museum” in the area, it is also a random obscure place for a new couple to be seen publicly.

Around 4 p.m. (NY time), Harry pops back up at JFK Airport with One Direction. From there, they fly to Los Angeles for a layover before heading to Australia. (Fun fact: because of the drastic time zone difference, they land in Australia on April 10th, effectively skipping April 9th altogether.)

That evening, around 7 p.m., Taylor is spotted at the Bowery Hotel with Dianna Agron. According to the source, Taylor was not a guest there and reportedly stays only for a couple of hours. (This is where I lean towards Harry being the reason Taylor is in NYC rather than Dianna. If it was Dianna, then why didn’t Taylor just stay at the Bowery Hotel with her? We know Dianna was staying there the entire trip based on photos and multiple sightings from someone who was admittedly “celebrity stalking” the lobby that weekend. But Taylor only shows up once—after Harry had already left New York—and leaves shortly after.)

Some Haylor timelines speculate that Harry met up with Taylor at the Bowery, but based on flight records and sightings, he had already left New York by then. Still, it’s possible the two spent time together in the hours leading up to his departure. (I also find it interesting that the only times Taylor is seen out in public, Harry is busy and accounted for elsewhere.)

April 9, 2012 — Page Six breaks a story linking Harry Styles to singer Lily Halpern, alleging she was seen leaving his hotel room in New York City. Following the leak, Lily begins capitalizing on this five minutes of fame, offering quotes to several outlets. She gives an official interview on April 12, and claims they first met nearly two months earlier, when One Direction opened for Big Time Rush in Albany, NY—a group she had also previously worked with. According to Lily, they have spent time together everytime Harry was in New York, including this recent visit where they watched Flubber in his hotel room. This detail aligns with a tweet Harry posted about the film on April 5th, just hours after arriving in NYC. Lily retweeted this and posted about watching Flubber herself, effectively connecting the dots for fans and gaining brief media attention. Despite Harry’s rep stating that they’ve never heard of her, they never said Harry didn’t know her. I could believe her story although I’m sure her eagerness to spill private details and get her name out there cut whatever they had short. The timeline still suggests this took place prior to Harry and Taylor growing closer that weekend, and therefore wouldn’t have overlapped with the beginnings of “Haylor”.

April 11, 2012 — The Daily Mirror leaks the story about Taylor and Harry’s first meeting at the KCAs—the same article I referenced earlier. Do I believe it actually happened? Honestly, yes. The quote about her “dramatically fanning herself” is what sold it for me. She’s done that so much that I could present several examples lol. x x x x x x

That said, someone in that circle clearly betrayed Taylor by giving this information and I suspect the source was Scooter Braun. He was not only present that night, but also spoke to the boys.

Interestingly, the original article has since been deleted. I genuinely believe Taylor’s publicist stepped in to scrub it from circulation. This was a brand new connection she was actively pursuing and it was too early to let the public get ahold of it just yet. It also painted her as desperate and intense — not the image she’d want Harry to see while trying to come off as the nonchalant cool girl. And really, what other reason would The Mirror have for pulling such a buzzworthy story?

On the same day, The Daily Mail reports another alleged romantic connection for Harry Styles—this time with New York-based photographer Sarah-Louise Colivet. Her account bears striking similarities to Lily Halpern’s. According to the report, Sarah and Harry also met in NYC back in March where they reportedly shared a kiss. When a friend mentioned Harry on Facebook, Sarah responded that they would be “reunited this Wednesday”—which happened to be the exact day Harry arrived in New York City, and the same morning he was allegedly with Lily. Her accurate knowledge of his travel schedule—information typically known only to deeply involved fan accounts—lends her some credibility. We don’t know if they ever met up.

So basically it seems Harry spent the month of March bouncing around New York, hitting up nightclubs, and racking up bodies.

Also on their first day in Australia while being interviewed by NovaFM, Harry inquires about the receptionist, saying she’s lovely and has “GREAT..manners”. The receptionist later reveals that Zayn actually asked for her number and texted her, so maybe Harry was just teasing Zayn here. (x)

That night, Harry and Zayn go clubbing together for 3 hours until about 2am their time. They were extremely drunk and rambunctious. And Harry allegedly rejected a girl that came onto him.

Meanwhile, Taylor is back in L.A. to write and record the first demo of “Treacherous” with Dan Wilson. (I was able to confirm it was his California studio based on his Instagram posts.) Taylor shares a photo on her own Instagram with the caption, “Recording the next album. So happy.”

According to Wilson, Taylor came in with the first four lines already written—an idea she’d come up with in the car on the way over. They finished the song together and recorded the demo.

Here is Taylor explaining the inspiration for Treacherous in her own words. (x) (x)

Now here’s where I want to offer my own rebuttal to arguments I’ve seen for other potential muses

1. Jake Gyllenhaal doesn’t make sense as the subject. The timeline doesn’t align. Why would Taylor write a song about falling in love with Jake over a year after their breakup—especially while she’s seemingly experiencing those emotions with someone new?

Furthermore, Taylor says “Treacherous” and “I Knew You Were Trouble” were written about the same person. (the interview is no longer online but it was with Brian Mansfield. here is his tweet about it with the link and here is the quote.) This debunks either song being about Jake since we know most of the Red album is. She separates these two songs to be about someone completely different.

2. Harry Styles: The secret message in the liner notes is “Won’t stop ’til it’s over,” a lyric from The Temper Trap’s Sweet Disposition. That same song was tweeted about by Harry earlier that month, and he later got a tattoo of the lyrics (albeit slightly wrong). Over time, this song becomes part of the lore between them and they even have a disagreement about the correct lyrics later. Taylor choosing the correct lyric as the hidden message feels deliberate, like a subtle nod or inside joke.

As for the argument that “they had just met” and she wouldn’t write something this emotional for Harry after only a couple of weeks—have we all forgotten who we’re talking about? This is Taylor Swift. (Enchanted? Matty Healy? She’s kinda insane and falls too hard, too fast but that’s our girl) Whatever they had in April clearly made an impact—so much so that by the time they reconnected in October, she’s writing lines like “this love came back to me.”

3. Dianna Agron is the only other potential muse that makes any sense, in my opinion. But given the secret message and the connection to IKYWT, this one is clearly about Harry.

April 12, 2012 — Taylor and Dan Wilson also write “Come Back.. Be Here” during their 2 day session.

Here are a few quotes from Taylor explaining the meaning of this song. I want you to read closely before we go further.

“Come Back Be Here is a song that I wrote with Dan Wilson about somebody I just met and it's about the feeling of just meeting someone and having all these sparks and all this and then they leave and they have to go somewhere else, you know, and the anxiety and wondering, "Is this ... How am I gonna see you again? Like, I want to. How's that gonna happen?" So, there's a lot of fear that's involved with falling in love, especially when you're dealing with distance.“ (x)

"I wrote about falling for someone and they have to go away for work. They're traveling, you're traveling, and you think about them, but you're wondering how it's going to work when there's so much distance between you." (x)

“It's a song that I wrote about a guy that I met. You know, you meet someone, and they just kinda happen to go away and it's like.. Long distance all the sudden and you're like… But.. But.. But but.. Come back! Be Here!” (x)

Why I think it’s about Harry:

The timing, first of all. That fact that it’s written just days after meeting Harry, having a special weekend together, then him leaving for tour. and one day after Treacherous is written.

The London/NYC debate is often the main reason people dismiss the idea that this song is about Harry—mainly because, technically, he left for Australia, not London. However, I believe the choice of “London” was intentional on Taylor’s part. Mentioning Australia would’ve been too specific and directly tied to Harry, making it easy to fact-check. However, London — along with LA and NYC — is one of the key cities associated with celebrity press and events, which makes the reference feel more universal and keeps the muse harder to pin down. (And clearly it worked—I’ve seen at least four different people theorized to be the subject of this song.) That said, if you look at the timeline and consider who she was involved with at the time, the connection becomes more straightforward. Plus, Harry lives in London, and One Direction was based there—they were constantly in and out of the city.

Based on the timeline I outlined from the first week of April, Harry and Taylor could have only spent three or four times together at most before he left—and realistically, they barely knew each other. They meet in LA. He goes to New York for work (“I guess you’re in New York today”), so Taylor goes to see him. They have the weekend together then he leaves the country to resume touring, leaving Taylor in NYC (“New York, be here.. but you’re in London”). Based on the reports suggesting Harry didn’t return to his hotel the night before he left the city, I believe the emotional goodbye and kiss actually happened. The lyric “you catch your flight right when I was just about to fall” and “4am, the second day. how strange that I don’t know you at all..” perfectly capture how brief and fleeting but impactful their time together was before he left.

Some skeptics like to point out that Jake was in New York and later traveled to London for work during his relationship with Taylor —and that’s true. However, it’s important to note that the majority of their time together was spent in New York, and it wasn’t a long-distance relationship. By the time he went to London (which was only for a few days), they were already two to three months into dating and had just spent Thanksgiving together with his family. At that point, Taylor wasn’t in the early, tentative stage of “just about to fall.” This song is clearly about someone she has just met—the relationship is not even official yet.

For those who believe this song was about Zac Efron because he happened to be in New York then London when it was written—I’d argue that theory doesn’t hold much weight. Taylor and Zac were likely nothing more than co-stars. They were never once seen together before or after their contractually obligated promo appearances for The Lorax in February 2012.

And finally—Swiftgron. While I do consider that something may have happened between Taylor and Dianna in late spring or early summer, this song doesn’t fit that timeline. By the time Taylor wrote it, she and Dianna had been in each other’s orbit for a while and had spent most of the last month together. There was never a period where Dianna was constantly leaving for long periods of time, as the song suggests. Taylor emphasizes in both the lyrics and her comments that the song is about meeting someone, immediately forming a connection, and then quickly being separated with no clear answer to when they’d be together again. She describes being “worlds away” with “so much distance” between them. That simply doesn’t reflect her dynamic with Dianna during this time.

Harry references Come Back.. Be Here in a song he wrote in 2014 “I didn’t come back and I wasn’t there” basically claiming himself as the inspiration for it. I think he knows better than us who it’s about.

April 16, 2012 — While being interviewed in Australia, Harry is asked if he and Taylor have been texting. After taking a suspiciously long pause, he seems to confirm with a smirk, saying “Ummm.. we met in America. And she’s very nice, yeah.”

Next >> Part 2 coming soon

[deepdivearchives]

The Haylor Timeline

Introduction

Hi! This is my unhinged deep dive into Haylor history. Before we dive in, I want to offer some background information. Feel free to skip ahead if you're here just for the timeline. Warning: this is a DEEP dive. To get the full lore of Haylor and the music it inspired, we have to talk about every piece of content containing their relationship as well as the flings and relationships they had during their time apart. If you’re looking for a surface level, to the point, outline of Haylor interactions, this will not be that.

Just incase it matters to you, the reader, to know a little about where I'm coming from. I'm approaching this purely from an informational and “investigative” standpoint, for fun of course. I’m not here to persuade anyone. I don’t care what you believe in. Haylor is not a ship I ride for. I only believe in it because of everything I found when I went digging.

I'm currently a Taylor Swift fan and a casual Harry Styles listener—formerly a stan of both. I witnessed their relationship unfold in real time and, as a 13 year old, I didn't like it. I owned every Taylor Swift album and followed her career casually since her debut. But by 2012, I was also a dedicated, jealous Directioner who followed Harry's every move through One Direction update accounts. It's those fan-run archives and their boots on the ground real time updates that now help me piece together a more accurate timeline of events. (it’s also scary how much information they would have ahead of time and be right like flight and hotel info) Throughout the years following Haylor’s breakup, I found myself reconnecting more deeply with Taylor’s music than Harry’s, especially around the release of Folklore. Like many during the pandemic, her music became a hyperfixation. I began exploring her discography with fresh eyes and found myself wanting to understand the stories behind the songs. I also stopped considering myself to be a Harry Styles fan in 2022 and that helped really see him without any bias in this timeline. It only solidified for me that he is not the best boyfriend — as his music tells us.

There was speculation that "the 1" might be about Harry, which initially reignited my curiosity (I don't believe that theory anymore). But that curiosity led me down a rabbit hole—reading old tweets, interviews, and posts to piece together what actually happened. If we set aside fan biases, speculation, and conspiracy theories, what can we learn from what's publicly documented? I apply this same lens to all of Taylor's relationships, but I'm starting with Haylor because my memory serves me with knowing what to research.

It's worth noting that there's a popular theory that Haylor was a mutually beneficial PR/bearding arrangement. I personally don't believe that, although I do suspect both of them may be queer to some degree. I'm also aware that my timeline may conflict with the widely shared Swiftgron Masterpost (Cam, big fan of the pod!) However, I listened to her Haylor episode and felt the hosts approached it with a strong bias toward debunking and not giving it a fair shot. In their defense, the timeline they read was a surface level basic intro Haylor so that’s fine. But I was inspired to share my own research. So at times I may reference comments made in that episode to offer up a counter point or explanation. But this is all in good fun!

A few quick FAQ-style answers to end off on:

Do I believe in Larry?

Short answer: no. I think Harry and Louis were both bi-curious teens. Their friendship may have blurred boundaries—what started as joking around may have evolved into something more complex. It’s not unusual for teenagers navigating friendship, identity, and sexuality. I believe whatever they shared ended when Louis began dating Eleanor, his REAL girlfriend. As for Harry, I think he eventually embraced his attraction to both men and women.

Do I think Taylor is gay?

If I had to guess, I’d say Taylor might be bisexual. I’m not fully convinced, but I’ve seen enough to keep my mind open to the possibility. While many Gaylors view her as openly queer—someone whose close circle is aware of her relationships with women—I don’t necessarily get that impression myself. To me, she reads more like a heteronormative bisexual woman: someone who may generally present as straight but carries deeper, more complicated feelings beneath the surface. I’m more inclined to believe that while she may have had girl crushes or gay experiences in her earlier years, that may not be what she identifies with now.

I think she’s someone who’s generally struggled with internal conflict all her life, perhaps shaped by religious guilt or cultural expectations—conflict that could extend into her understanding of her own sexuality. I could see her letting curiosity intrude on friendships with queer women, or unintentionally leading them on before turning her attention back to men. (And I do think she looooves men)

My perspective is shaped by her lyrics, background, personality, and how the women around her have seemed to respond over the years. There’s something there—something hard to define. Sexuality is fluid, and discovering it can be happy, free, confusing, and lonely at the same time. I think it’s a little naive to claim she’s either 100% straight or that all her hetero relationships were fake. The truth likely lives somewhere in between.

Do I believe in any Gaylor ships?

I'd love to create a full timeline on this someday. I'll be the first to admit I'm relatively new to the Gaylor space, but here recently I've been reading blogs and listening to podcasts like Fluently Forward and What I Will Say that discuss the subject. At this point, Swiftgron and Kaylor are the only ones that are worth looking into for me — not necessarily as monogamous relationships, but again; friendships crossing boundaries, conflicting feelings, hooking up, etc. Every other ship feels like a reach. I’m also not someone that thinks Taylor has ever had a beard or fake relationship. Now do I think Taylor has ever had ulterior motives when getting into a relationship? YES. But that’s a different beast.

What about Harry and Nick Grimshaw?

Honestly, I will not even be entertaining Gryles in this timeline. Sure I could believe that they’ve had a drunken hook up here and there. But if you’re going to tell me that Haylor can’t be real because Harry was dating Nick Grimshaw at that time and then your only receipts are the fact they hang out all the time, I can’t take that seriously. Sometimes people are just best friends.

Do I think Haylor was PR?

In a way, I think it was both. I believe they met and started seeing each other organically, but when they decided to go public on that fateful day in Central Park, it was a calculated move. And they full sent it until the end. It felt like Taylor (a business woman and hopeless romantic) was more eager to flaunt the relationship and profit off the publicity, while Harry valued privacy. Their body language screamed it. I think they tried to have it both ways and failed. Their current public personas reflect that: Taylor thrives on visible praise and being "loved loudly," while Harry prefers to disappear when he's not on stage. So, no—I don't believe the relationship was fake. I believe their connection was genuine, even if it was complicated.

Thanks for sticking with me if you made it this far! Just a final reminder—I don't claim to have all the answers. I don't know these people. I am always open to being wrong or hearing out other theories. While a little speculation is inevitable with these things, I do try to keep it grounded in more solid facts. If we're going to fill in the blanks, we must make sure the foundation is backed by way more evidence than assumption. And always keep it kind! Alright let’s open the case! - B

Continue to Part 1 >>

[deepdivearchives]

The Haylor Timeline

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Part 1

Part 2: coming soon