Matty Healy makes subtle dig about ‘casual romantic liaison’ with Taylor Swift

Matt Healy seemingly made a dig at his former flame Taylor Swift when he referred to his ‘casual romantic liaisons’ in a recent interview and explained why he doesn’t write about heartbreak and his past relationships anymore.

Matty, 35, and Taylor, 34, dated very briefly last year but split in June 2023, and she appeared to reference their short-lived romance on her latest album The Tortured Poets Department, which was released in April of this year.

Taylor is widely believed to have taken aim at The 1975 frontman in her song The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, but Matty has now claimed that writing about past romances is such ‘an obvious thing to draw from.’

During an appearance on Joshua Citarella’s podcast Doomscroll, Matty spoke about his process of making music and what he likes to write about and said: ‘Last year I became a way more well-known public figure for loads of different reasons. The only reason that I was interested in is kind of like, what I was doing.

‘So I think that a lot of artists, they become very interested in their lore, or they become interested in the things that have happened outside of their art that people know about, and they want to address that, and fair enough.’

Taylor and Matt, pictured here with Nick Grimshaw in 2015, dated one another briefly in 2023

Referring to his band The 1975, he continued: ‘Maybe on my first record, when it was very much a series of journal entries, like little bits of heartache, I used to write about relationships a lot more and stuff like that.

‘But honestly I would kind of just be lying if I made a record about, I don’t know, all the stuff that was said about me or my casual romantic liaisons or whatever it may be, that I’ve kind of become known for just because I was famous,’ he said.

‘I think that that’s an obvious thing to draw from and I’m just not interested in it. And I think the maintenance of the status quo is something that I always like fight against,’ he added.

‘So, the idea of making a record about something that personally happened to me, that by the time I put it out is gonna be like two years old, I see people doing that as well, and it’s not interesting.’

Meanwhile, Taylor is known for allegedly penning songs about her past lovers, including John Mayer, One Direction star Harry Styles, and Twilight actor Taylor Lautner.

After the release of The Tortured Poet’s Department, a source told Us Weekly that Matty’s reaction to the supposed song about him was positive, and the people close to him ‘couldn’t be happier’ with how the record turned out.

A source said: ‘Matty still thinks very highly of Taylor but we were all nervous about what she might have said on the album.

‘Matty’s family were worried that Taylor was going to rip him apart. Matty has struggled with life in the public eye, and he’s been doing really well, but the last thing that he needs is for every Swiftie in the world to think he’s a villain.’

Taylor, pictured here on October 18, is known for allegedly penning songs about her ex-boyfriends

Another insider told the publication: ‘He was worried that their story would be shed in a negative light’ but was ‘really appreciative of the heads up’ he got from Taylor. 

However, it seems Matty didn’t pay much attention to the record in general as when he was asked by a reporter from Entertainment Tonight in April what he thought of the ‘diss track’, he politely replied: ‘I haven’t really listened to that much of it but I’m sure it’s good.’ 

The lyrics in The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived refer to a man in a ‘Jehovah’s Witness suit’ and ‘rusting my (Swift’s) sparkling summer’. Matty is known for wearing distinctive black suits during live performances and the pair are believed to have broken up in June 2023.