Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris' Breakup: A Look Back

Mar. 15, 2025

Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris.Photo: Karwai Tang/WireImage; Samir Hussein/WireImage

After dating for 15 months, musiciansTaylor Swiftand Calvin Harris broke up on June 1, 2016. Yet like many other celebrity couples, the story didn’t end there. In the following months, Swift started dating actorTom Hiddleston. Harris, for his part, went from praising his ex on social media to going on a Twitter spree regarding their former song collaboration.

The drama continued when two other celebrities (known for feuding with Swift) — singerKaty Perryand reality television starKim Kardashian— got involved in the fallout between Swift and Harris.

From Swift quicklymoving on to another relationshipto Harris publicly feuding with the singer, here’s a look back atTaylor Swiftand Calvin Harris' breakup.

June 1, 2016: Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris break up

About a week after Harris was hospitalized following a car accident, PEOPLE exclusively confirmed that his and Swift’s romance had come to an end after 15 months. A source close to the couple told PEOPLE “there was no drama” surrounding the breakup and “things just don’t work out sometimes. No one cheated.”

Harris was indeed absent from the Grammys, BMI Pop Awards and the Met Gala, which Swift co-chaired.

A source close to Harris — whom insiders confirm ultimately ended the relationship — told PEOPLE the breakup “wasn’t a shock” for Swift because the couple had ongoing issues. “They come from very different worlds,” the source said. “Taylor is used to being treated a certain way.”

The source also mentioned the pair’s age difference was part of the problem, as Harris is five years older than Swift. “Taylor somewhat lacks real-life experience,” the source concluded. “They will not be getting back together.”

June 2, 2016: Calvin Harris tweets that he has “a huge amount of love and respect” for Taylor Swift

Things were over, but there was no bad blood — yet. In a week filled with various reports on the breakup,Harris tweeted, “The only truth here is that a relationship came to an end & what remains is a huge amount of love and respect.” Swift also retweeted.

A Harris insider told PEOPLE he still has high praise for Swift and “very much admires her as a person and what she has been able to do with her career. This is what drew him to her in the first place.”

“She works incredibly hard for things that she believes in,” the source said. “He always saw that as an amazing quality. They are still friendly.”

June 8, 2016: Taylor Swift is doing “just fine” after her breakup with Calvin Harris

Swift wasphotographed leaving an N.Y.C. gymwith a smile on her face a few days later. “Of course, she’s sad about the breakup, but she’s leaning on her family and friends and looking forward,” said a Swift source. “She’ll be just fine.”

Squad memberCamila Cabelloalso commented on Swift post-breakup at the CMT Music Awards in Nashville, tellingE! News, “She’s good. She was just in Nashville.”

Childhood BFF Abigail Anderson also shared a sweet sentiment with Swift, with an Instagram photo of a card with the words, “My weird heart loves your weird heart.”

June 15, 2016: Taylor Swift begins dating Tom Hiddleston after her breakup with Calvin Harris

Swift fans freaked out when she andThorstar Hiddleston were photographed kissing, holding hands and cuddling in Rhode Island just two weeks after her split from Harris was confirmed. Thetwo had a dance-offthe previous month at the 2016 Met Gala while Swift was still dating Harris.

The relationship wasn’t just news to the fans. “He did not know Taylor and Tom were together,” a Harris source told PEOPLE. However, a friend added that Harris “has moved on and is happy.”

While fans were busy looking into everything there is to know about Swift’s new romance with Hiddleston, both Swift and Harris wiped their social media accounts clean of one another.

Nearly all evidence of theirbeautiful vacations, romantic anniversary gifts and cute double dates were deleted.

June 21, 2016: Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston go public with their relationship after her breakup with Calvin Harris

Public sightings of the new couple of Swift and Hiddleston soon became a regular occurrence. Fans would be bombarded with sightings of “Hiddleswift” in the United States, Europe and Australia over the summer of 2016.

Their first stop was the singer’s home in Nashville to support BFFSelena Gomezon her Revival tour. The twodanced in the crowd with friends, including Anderson, Swift’s brother Austin and country singer Kelsey Ballerini.

Over the next week, Swift and Hiddleston would travel to Nashville, England andRome.

June 24, 2016: Calvin Harris hits the gym after breakup with Taylor Swift

June 24, 2016: Calvin Harris feels “free” after his breakup with Taylor Swift

When a commenter asked if he was sad, he allegedly replied, “I’ve reached a point of genuine curiosity; I’m not sad at all. I feel amazing right now.”

“I cared too much, and then I didn’t care at all,” Harris reportedly told one fan when asked why he followed Swift on social media again. “I am a real person, remember.”

As for a reason behind their breakup, Harris reportedly claimed Swift “controlled the media and this situation,” and he “had no idea what was going on.”

The “My Way” singer added, “So that kind of makes it a lot worse from my perspective.”

June 28, 2016: A photographer asks Calvin Harris about his relationship status after his breakup with Taylor Swift

While leaving a Beverly Hills gym, Harris was noticeably disgruntled walking through the parking lot as photographers peppered him with questions about his love life post-Swift. One photographer was heard shouting, “Who are you dating now?”

Harris didn’t seem to be in any mood to answer and hurried into his car. When he put the vehicle into reverse for a swift departure, he neglected to realize his rear door was still open, slamming it into a cement wall and banging up the door of his SUV as he struggled to escape from the paparazzi.

June 29, 2016: Calvin Harris takes a trip to Mexico after his breakup with Taylor Swift

Things picked up later that week for Harris when he traveled on a private yacht with a group of beautiful women in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. He shared his day on Snapchat, posing with the girls in a photo captioned, “I write songs.”

July 3, 2016: Taylor Swift celebrates 4th of July with Tom Hiddleston after her breakup with Calvin Harris

Swift held her annual 4th of July party at her Rhode Island home. However, in 2016, Harris wasn’t invited. Instead, Hiddleston showed up and seemed to have a blast with Swift and her friends,cuddling up to the star in the waterand sliding down a giant water slide.

And they foundtwo other couplesto stare into the sunset with — including A-listersBlake LivelyandRyan Reynolds.

While fans gotplenty more glimpsesof the Hiddleswift relationship throughout the summer of 2016, the couple ultimately broke up in September 2016.

July 8, 2016: Calvin Harris releases a new song rumored to be about his breakup with Taylor Swift

The summery reggae jam from Harris and John Newman includes lyrics such as “I see online that you’ve begun to be a good girl and take trips with your boyfriend, being attentive / Continue to pretend,” which seem to hint at Hiddleswift’s romance.

However, a source tells PEOPLE Harris wrote it months ago — and at the time of the split, multiple sources told PEOPLE there was no cheating involved with either party.

July 13, 2016: Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris breakup may be over a song they co-wrote together for Rihanna

As it turned out, thereason Swift and Harris broke upin the first place may have been over his hit withRihanna. “Taylor Swiftwrote ‘This Is What You Came For’ under the pseudonym Nils Sjoberg,” Swift’s rep confirmed exclusively to PEOPLE.

TMZ had previously reported Swift “wrote the song, sat down at a piano and did a demo into her iPhone,” which she then sent to Harris.

After recording a full demo, they agreed to keep the collaboration on the down low, but Swift was hurt after Harris did an interview and said he couldn’t foresee working with his then-girlfriend in the future. “You know, we haven’t even spoken about it. I can’t see it happening, though,” Harris toldRyan Seacrestwhile promoting the song.

July 13, 2016: Calvin Harris responds to PEOPLE’s report about song he co-wrote with Taylor Swift

Later that same day, Harris responded to PEOPLE’s report about the song in a series of now-deleted tweets.

First, Harris paid Swift some compliments, confirming, “she sings on a little bit of it, too” before adding that Swift is an “amazing lyric writer” who “smashed it as usual.” He expanded on the story a bit in his Twitter rant.

“I wrote the music, produced the song, arranged it and cut the vocals, though. And, initially, she wanted it kept secret, hence the pseudonym,” he wrote. “Hurtful to me at this point that her and her team would go so far out of their way to try and make ME look bad at this stage, though.”

Harris also addressed Swift’s new relationship and her alleged long-running feud with Perry (which neither woman has publicly commented on).

“I figure if you’re happy in your new relationship you should focus on that instead of trying to tear your ex bf down for something to do,” Harris shared. “I know you’re off tour, and you need someone new to try and bury like Katy ETC, but I’m not that guy, sorry. I won’t allow it.”

He ended the tirade, requesting for Swift to leave him out of it, and Perry, for her part, replied wordlessly.

July 17, 2016: Kim Kardashian releases video footage of Kanye West’s phone call with Taylor Swift

Swiftresponded to the coupleon Instagram, claiming the phone call was “secretly” recorded and that Kanye never told her the song would call her “that b—-.”

July 23, 2016: Kim Kardashian hangs out with Calvin Harris in Las Vegas after leaking phone call between Taylor Swift and Kanye West

Soon after Kardashian released the footage of the phone call between Swift and West (and prompted nearly everyoneto speak outon the matter), the reality television star was in Las Vegas hanging out with Swift’s ex-boyfriend, Harris. The two celebratedJennifer Lopez’s birthday in Las Vegas and appeared in an Instagram photo together.

Harris also shared a video of himself lip-syncing to West and ScHoolboy Q’s song “THat Part,” making it clear who he sided with in the “Famous” feud.

That night, Calvin gave a shout-out to Lopez on Snapchat and Instagram, sharing a clip of the two dancing together and writing, “Happy birthdayJennifer Lopez, legendary icon – and your show in Vegas is next level.”

Kardashian shared her own Snapchats that night, specifically one in which she raps along with West’s “Famous” (including the infamous line about Swift).

September 7, 2016: Calvin Harris talks about his relationship with Taylor Swift

In an interview for the October 2016 issue ofBritishGQ, Harris spoke candidly about his experience with the “media circus” followinghis high-profile splitwith Swift. “It’s very difficult when something I consider so personal plays out very publicly,” he admitted. “The aftermath of the relationship was way more heavily publicized than the relationship itself. When we were together, we were very careful for it not to be a media circus. She respected my feelings in that sense. I’m not good at being a celebrity.”

Harris also spoke about theTwitter dramasurrounding Swift’s involvement in his hit song, “This Is What You Came For.”

“But when it ended, all hell broke loose. Now I see that Twitter thing as a result of me succumbing to pressure. It took me a minute to realize that none of that matters.”

He added, “I’m a positive guy. For both of us, it was the wrong situation. It clearly wasn’t right, so it ended, but all of the stuff that happened afterwards…”

In June 2017,British GQpublishedmore of what Harris had to sayfrom the interview regarding his now-deleted Twitter thread in 2016 about composing “This Is What You Came For” with Swift.

“It was completely the wrong instinct,” Harris told the magazine. “I was protecting what I see as my one talent in the world being belittled. It felt like things were piling on top of me, and that was when I snapped.”

source: people.com