It was the year 2006 when the musical cosmos welcomed the soon-to-be pop queen into its embrace. And now, years down the line, Taylor Swift has put out fourteen albums and over 200 songs. However, there has always been a recurring joke that all she sings about is her ex-boyfriends and romantic misadventures. While that is far from the truth, as the songstress has penned songs that not only set the mood for freshmen stepping into the unknown but also resonate with those battling addiction, the trend has once again re-emerged. 

Following the pattern, 'The Tortured Poets Department,' has also been linked to her romantic life, or rather, her romantic archives. But what is even more intriguing is its connection to the queen of angsty romance, Sally Rooney.

Taylor Swift's surprise announcement of 'The Tortured Poets Department' during her 2024 Grammy wins, practically broke the internet. Swift had been meticulously piecing together the album since 2022. This sparked a theory suggesting that she may have penned some of its content during her relationship with her ex-partner Joe Alwyn. However, what really fueled online sleuths' conviction that the album would center around Alwyn was a WhatsApp group, which had a title very similar to that of Swift’s upcoming album. 

Back in May 2022, Alwyn shared with British GQ that he had a WhatsApp group titled The Tortured Man Club with Paul Mescal. However, by December of the same year, both Alwyn and Mescal disclosed to Variety that they had stopped using the group, as they were not that "tortured" anymore. The name of the group is rumored to be a nod to their roles in TV adaptations of Sally Rooney’s modern romance novels. Whether or not Alwyn gets a shout-out in the album, his past relationship with Swift is still proving to be lucky for him.  

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Joe Alwyn is allegedly making a fortune through his collaborations with Taylor Swift. However, there were also some tall tales in the mix. 

Throughout his six-year romance with Taylor Swift, Joe Alwyn penned six songs using the alias William Bowery. Despite his attempts to keep his identity under wraps, fans were quick to figure out who exactly William Bowery was. What began as a casual pastime during the pandemic lockdown turned out to be a lucrative opportunity for the English actor. According to sources cited by Life & Style magazine, Alwyn reportedly earns approximately $2.3 million from Spotify streams of his collaborative works with Swift.

There were also whispers that he was pulling in a billion from Taylor Swift's tours. However, that turned out to be overstated, as it was recently revealed that he is only supposedly earning from the streams and sales of the songs he helped write. As for what is in store for Joe Alwyn on the upcoming album, fans might have to wait until April 19th for answers.

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What are your thoughts on the significance of Taylor Swift's upcoming album title? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!