Taylor Swift is indeed one of the most successful artists of her generation, selling over 150 million singles and 50 million albums worldwide.
Though some love stories just aren't meant to last, these leading men in Taylor's life will forever be immortalized through the songs they inspired. We give you the top 10 Taylor Swift songs inspired by ex-boyfriends, ranked based on increasing YouTube views.
10. Dear John - John Mayer (125K views)
The first entry in our list requires not much digging because yes, it is John Mayer. Swift apparently wrote it without Mayer's knowledge, and he was "humiliated", as he told Rolling Stone in 2012. He would further insult Taylor's songwriting, calling it "cheap".
Swift and Mayer's brief romance happened back in 2009, when Taylor was nineteen years old, starting with Mayer's tweet hoping for Swift's help in writing "Half of My Heart".
9. Better Than Revenge - Joe Jonas (Camilla Belle) (137K views)
While it's close to the brief Taylor Swift-Joe Jonas relationship (from July- October 2008), the song is apparently more about actress Camilla Belle, who apparently landed in Tay-tay's crosshairs for dating Jonas shortly after their breakup.
When asked about the supposed slut-shaming in this song, Swift defended,in an interview with The Guardian, that she was 18 when she wrote about it.
"That's the age you are when you think someone can actually take your boyfriend," Taylor added.
8. Teardrops on my Guitar - Drew Hardwick (145M views)
Lyrics: "Drew looks at me/ I fake a smile so he won't see"
Taylor's breakthrough track, which endeared her to romantics and country music enthusiasts everywhere, was inspired by her experience with a classmate, Andrew Hardwick.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Taylor said that after two years, Drew suddenly came to her house unannounced. The multi-award-winning singer responded, "Wow, you're late?"
7.Out of the Woods - Harry Styles (157M views)
Out of the Woods, from her "1989" album, is the first of the songs allegedly about the former One Direction member. They began dating in the fall of 2012 and would start an on-again, off-again relationship lasting for quite some time.
It references their relationship, as well as her snowmobiling accident in Utah with an unnamed ex-beau in the lyrics "Remember when you hit the brakes too soon /Twenty stitches in a hospital room."
6. Begin Again - Connor Kennedy (174M views)
The title tells you what it's about - picking up yourself after a bad breakup and trying it out with a new flame. The beloved hitmaker and the scion of "The Kennedys" went out in the summer of 2012, the same timeframe the song was written.
The now 25-year-old celebrity gets a positive recall in this song, as opposed to a quick jab to Taylor's ex before him, Jake Gyllenhaal - rumored to be the flame behind most tracks off of the "Red" album.
5. Back to December - Taylor Lautner (198M views)
While most of her ex-inspired tracks throw shades at the men who inspired them, Back to December is quite the opposite. Taylor apologizes to the "Twilight" actor, plus giveaway lyrics "I miss your tan skin, your sweet smile."
The Taylor-Taylor relationship began sometime in August 2009, in the set of the movie "Valentine's Day," before ending in, you guessed it, December of the same year.
4. Mine - Corey Monteith (294M views)
Technically speaking, the late "Glee" actor does not rank among Swift's exes since both parties never confirmed dating each other, though rumors were persistent in the summer of 2010.
Considering the rumors surrounding the song, plus the actor's untimely passing in 2013, Mine has become a curious imagination of what it would've been with "the best thing that's never been" hers.
3. I Knew You Were Trouble - Harry Styles (445M views)
The next Harry Styles- inspired hit is summarized as "trouble, trouble, trouble". This one is supposedly written during one of their numerous breakups. Swift apparently knew that Styles was popular with ladies (aren't all members of 1D?).
'She was head over heels for Harry so even though she knew he was bad news for her, she gave him another chance,' a source told RadarOnline in 2013.
2. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Jake Gyllenhaal (603M views)
This song was one tricky early in its release, as speculations hover over other men, including Lautner, Jonas, and Mayer. While Taylor never confirmed if it was the "Donnie Darko" star, multiple sources have gone ahead and pinned the tail.
Gyllenhaal would later tell New York magazine that one of her exes reached out to her after the release of "Red", saying that it was a "bittersweet experience."
1. Style - Harry Styles (618M views)
And... the top spot still goes to Harry Styles, in his third entry in this list. If the name isn't clear yet, maybe the James Dean similarities would paint a familiar former lover.
Other references are in the video itself, including the appearance of the now-iconic necklace sporting a paper airplane pendant. Some eagle-eyed "Swifties" even point to the beach scene as reminiscent of One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful."
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