It seems Taylor Swift is no longer in that “Lavender Haze.”
Eagle-eyed Swifties noticed something unusual on the superstar’s Instagram account this week: the explanation video for her Midnights opener “Lavender Haze” no longer appears on her page. The track is famously about the star’s relationship with Joe Alwyn, and the deleted clip follows news that the couple has split after six years of dating.
“I happened upon the phrase ‘lavender haze’ when I was watching Mad Men,” she explained in her “Midnights Mayhem With Me” video posted to Instagram back in October. “I looked it up because I thought it sounded cool, and it turns out that it’s a common phrase used in the ’50s where they would describe being in love.”
“I guess theoretically, when you’re in the lavender haze, you’ll do anything to stay there and not let people bring you down off of that cloud,” she continued. “I think a lot of people have to deal with this now, not just ‘public figures,’ because we live in the era of social media. If the world finds out that you’re in love with somebody, they’re going to weigh in on it.”
“Like, my relationship for six years, we’ve had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff — and we just ignore it,” she added. “This song is sort of about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff.”
The music video, which arrived in January, featured subtle references to Alwyn, including a “Mastermind” vinyl cover with Sagittarius and Pisces constellations, which are Swift and Alwyn’s zodiac signs, respectively.