Taylor Swift is notorious for dropping hints about her famous exes in the lines of her songs — and John Mayer easily picked up on the clues.
The songwriters were linked in 2009 and 2010 after collaborating on Mayer’s single “Half of My Heart.” At the time, Swift told Elle that she’d “been such a big fan of John for such a long time” and was “really excited” about teaming up with the critically acclaimed artist.
Their duet was part of Mayer’s 2009 record, Battle Studies. By the following year, however, things appeared to turn sour.
In 2010, Swift penned “Dear John,” a not-so-subtle breakup anthem detailing a romance with an older man. (When they were rumored to be dating, the Pennsylvania native was 19 and Mayer was 32.)
Two years later, Mayer admitted that he felt “humiliated” by the song’s lyrics in an interview with Rolling Stone, calling it “cheap songwriting” for Swift to reference an ex.
Swift, for her part, doesn’t particularly care how her music makes her former flames feel. While promoting Red (Taylor’s Version) in November 2021, she told Seth Meyers, “I haven’t thought about their experience, to be honest.”
Scroll down for a look back at the musicians’ messy history:
