Taylor Swift now regrets publicly dragging Joe Jonas after their messy breakup, and that’s what we call... growth.
A bit of background, here: The year was 2008 and Sen. Barack Obama was on the presidential campaign trail, the stock market was crashing harder than a Katy Perry single on today’s Billboard charts, and Jonas was dating an 18-year-old Swift.
The relationship was the first of what would be Swift’s many celebrity romances. But it remains the only one she’s spoken about publicly, since she later established what amounts to a pop-music gag order about the inspiration behind her songs.
So when she blew up Jonas’ spot during a 2008 appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” while promoting her album “Fearless,” it was a moment that remains fresh in the minds of Swifties even today.
At the time, Swift’s bad blood was clearly still boiling, and she readily revealed the now-infamous way Jonas pulled the plug.
“There’s one [song] that’s about that guy, but that guy’s not in my life anymore, unfortunately. That’s ouch,” she told DeGeneres. “We haven’t talked since, but you know what, some day I’m gonna find someone really, really great who’s right for me... When I look at that person, I’m not even going to remember the boy who broke up with me over the phone in 25 seconds when I was 18.”
In the decade since, much has changed for Swift and Jonas. They’ve buried the hatchet and cemented their status as friendly exes who sometimes dance to each other’s music at award shows.
The “Sucker” singer is now married to “Game of Thrones” star Sophie Turner, while Swift has been quietly dating actor Joe Alwyn for at least two years.
So with the benefit of hindsight, Swift returned to “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” this week, her first appearance in four years, to reveal that disclosing the details about her relationship with Jonas now ranks high on her list of teenage regrets.
When DeGeneres asked what’s the most rebellious thing Swift did when she was younger, the pop star didn’t even hesitate.
“Probably when I, like, put Joe Jonas on blast on your show,” she said. “That was too much, that was too much. I was 18, yeah,” she said. “We laugh about it now, but that was mouthy, yeah, some teenage stuff there.”
“That’s held on to you, because I don’t remember that at all,” DeGeneres replied.
Now, if only we could get Swift to spill the tea about a certain Oscar-nominated actor who may or may not have the scarf she left at his equally famous sister’s house...