Taylor Swift and John Mayer's Relationship Timeline

Reflecting. Taylor Swift‘s short-lived romance with John Mayer was the definition of young love, just listen to the lyrics to “Dear John” for proof. However, as the singer gears up to re-release Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) in July 2023, she doesn’t want fans to re-open any past wounds.

“I get to stand on this stage every single night of this tour and watch some of the most beautiful things happen,” Taylor shared during an Eras Tour show in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in June 2023 before revealing one of her secret songs for the evening. “I see so many beautiful interactions happen, and I hear so many stories about friends that were made at these shows. I watch it happen, and it’s the most unbelievable thing to watch.”

As she got ready to sing “Dear John,” Taylor reminded fans “that kindness and gentleness extend into our internet activities,” especially amid the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) release.

“I’m 33 years old. I don’t care about anything that happened to me when I was 19,” she continued, seemingly referring to her past relationship with John. “I’m not putting this album out so that you can go and should feel the need to defend me on the internet against someone you think I might have written a song about 14 billion years ago.”

Taylor and John briefly dated in 2009 and 2010, after they released the song “Half of My Heart” together. The apparent drama following their split became public after Taylor released “Dear John” on Speak Now in October 2010.

“It made me feel terrible,” John said of the song during a 2012 interview with Rolling Stone. “Because I didn’t deserve it. I’m pretty good at taking accountability now, and I never did anything to deserve that. It was a really lousy thing for her to do.”

Ahead of the 2023 re-release, another one of Taylor’s exes, Taylor Lautner, joked that he was “praying” for John after the album was released.

“I think it’s a great album. Yeah, I feel safe,” the Twilight alum told TODAY in May 2023, referencing the song “Back to December,” which was written about him. He later apologized for the comment, noting that it wasn’t “the wisest thing to say.”

Scroll through our gallery to look back at Taylor and John’s relationship timeline.

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June 2012

John slammed Taylor’s “cheap songwriting” during a Rolling Stone interview following the release of “Dear John.”

“I never got an e-mail. I never got a phone call,” he claimed. “I was really caught off-guard, and it really humiliated me at a time when I’d already been dressed down. I mean, how would you feel if, at the lowest you’ve ever been, someone kicked you even lower? … I know she’s the biggest thing in the world, and I’m not trying to sink anybody’s ship, but I think it’s abusing your talent to rub your hands together and go, ‘Wait till he gets a load of this!’ That’s bulls–t.”

November 2019

John invited Shawn Mendes on his Instagram show Current Mood and spoke about Taylor’s song “Lover.”

“Love the song,” John said. “I really like the song. I get a little chuckle because she says, ‘We can keep the Christmas lights up ’til January.’ And I go, ‘You’re insane. Everyone keeps their Christmas lights up until January.’ And I go, ‘Can you really?’ Because normally I take my Christmas lights down on December 29.’”

November 2021

John responded after receiving a nasty Instagram DM from a Taylor fan, who has since apologized.

“I’ve been getting so many messages like these the past couple days,” he wrote, according to screenshots from the fan. “I decided to choose your message at random to reply to. You can feel free to screenshot, share in any way you like if you want. I’m not upset, I just tend to have a curious mind and feel compelled to ask. Do you really hope that I die?”