What Taylor Swift's Squad Looks Like Today
In the mid-2010s, the media and fans alike were all obsessed with one thing: Taylor Swift and her inner circle, nicknamed "The Squad." Made up of famous faces like Selena Gomez, Karlie Kloss, and Cara Delevigne, half of them looked like Victoria's Secret models, and the other half actually were. You couldn't open Instagram without seeing paparazzi pictures or posts from their latest gathering (like that epic Fourth of July photoshoot). Cue the star-studded "Bad Blood" music video, where Swift's squad demonstrated their fierce loyalty by playing a literal army ready to defend her.
Fast-forward to 2023, now that Taylor Swift is making more appearances in the public eye, The Squad is back. Although it looks a little different now. Some Swift loyalists are still by her side, but she's also made some new friends. And despite what the media circa 2015 would like you to believe, The Squad isn't some exclusive club that's impossible to get into unless you're a supermodel. Swift, who was bullied growing up, addressed the perception of her squad in a personal essay published by Elle. "In my 20s, I found myself surrounded by girls who wanted to be my friend. So I shouted it from the rooftops, posted pictures, and celebrated my newfound acceptance into a sisterhood, without realizing that other people might still feel the way I did when I felt so alone," she wrote. So who is she hanging out with in 2023? Here's what Taylor Swift's Squad looks like today.
Sophie Turner
Taylor Swift wasn't kidding when she sang "Picture me thick as thieves with your ex-wife." The pop star broke the internet when she was spotted leaving dinner arm-in-arm with Sophie Turner in September 2023 amid the media frenzy over Turner and Joe Jonas's messy divorce filing. "They were laughing and chit-chatting with the waitstaff and drinking martinis," a source told Entertainment Weekly.
In case you forgot, Swift was dumped by Joe Jonas in 2008 during a 27-second phone call, which reportedly inspired some of her greatest hits: "Better Than Revenge," "Forever and Always", and more recently, the vault track "Mr. Perfectly Fine." Turner, who was still with Jonas at the time, was clearly a fan of that last track, posting a screenshot to her Instagram story of herself listening to the song, captioned, "It's not NOT a bop" (via Cosmopolitan). Swift reposted the story, writing, "Forever bending the knee for the [queen] of the north."
Swift and Turner's friendship began back in 2019, but the duo were fans of each other long before that. Swift revealed that one of her 2017 "Reputation" tracks was inspired by Turner's "Game of Thrones" character. "'I Did Something Bad' I wrote after Arya and Sansa conspire to kill Littlefinger," Swift told Entertainment Weekly. Turner confirmed their friendship in 2019, gushing over the pop star. "I don't think Taylor Swift fangirls over me. I think I fangirl over her," she told Extra.
Gigi Hadid
Speaking of Joe Jonas' exes, Gigi Hadid is another longtime friend of Taylor Swift and one of the original members of The Squad. The duo were first photographed together in 2014 at an Oscars afterparty, and a year later Hadid was featured in Swift's star-studded "Bad Blood" music video. Since then, whether it's one of Swift's epic 4th of July parties, a girls' night out, or a Friendsgiving dinner, Hadid is always in attendance. And when Hadid gave birth to her daughter Khai in 2020, Swift gifted her a handmade pink satin blanket.
Over the years, Hadid has proved she always has Swift's back. In 2019, she came to her defense when those "name-dropping sleaze[s]" Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta refused to allow Swift to perform her original music at the American Music Awards. (If you need a refresher on the Braun/Swift feud, we got you.) "Scott and Scooter, you know what the right thing to do is. Taylor and her fans deserve to celebrate the music!!" the model wrote on Twitter (via Good Morning America). Then, in 2023, when rumors began circulating that some of Swift's friends didn't approve of her new romance with Kansas Chiefs player Travis Kelce, the model took to Instagram to squash them. "We are all over the moon for our girl. Period." she wrote (via People).
Ice Spice
When Ice Spice released her EP "Like..?" in 2023, the world took notice of the rising talent — including Taylor Swift. The singer revealed that she listened to Ice Spice's album on repeat while rehearsing for her Eras tour, which prompted her to reach out to the rapper for a collaboration. The duo released a remix of Swift's hit song "Karma," and Ice Spice was also featured in the music video. Not only did their track reach No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it resulted in a sweet friendship.
In an interview with The Guardian, Ice Spice gushed about her friendship with Swift and how "surreal" it was to work with her. "[Taylor Swift is] so sweet — I was so obsessed with how humble she was and willing to work. She gives me so much advice. We talk all the time and she's so funny." Swift had just as sweet things to say about Ice Spice. "I just not only fell in love with her, but just decided she's the entire future," Swift said on stage in New Jersey (via Billboard).
Ice Spice also joined Swift on stage as a surprise guest for three of the Eras shows in New Jersey. "The roar that you hear in a Taylor Swift show is unmatched," Ice Spice said on Apple Music 1's "Up Next" series (via Billboard). "But her show was amazing, and I'm just so grateful. Like 200,000 people, I think we performed for."
Selena Gomez
They may have played arch-enemies in the "Bad Blood" music video, but Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift couldn't be closer in real life. Gomez is the longest-standing member of Swift's squad, ever since they met in 2008 through the Jonas Brothers. "She has [shown] up for me in ways that I would have never expected," Gomez told WSJ Magzine in 2020. "It's been proven year after year and in every moment of my life that she is one of my best friends in the world."
Gomez has also shared the stage with Swift on her "Speak Now," "1989," and "Reputation" tours. After the duo performed Gomez's hit song "Hands to Myself" in 2018, Swift wrote on Instagram, "To the person I could call at any time of day, who has been there no matter what ... you absolutely KILLED IT tonight and everyone was so excited to see you."
When Gomez released "Single Soon" in 2023, Swift was quick to share the song on her Instagram story. "When your bestie is the bestest," she wrote (via People). "Will be dancing to this forever methinks." Gomez is equally supportive of Swift's career, cheering her on at multiple Eras Tour shows and defending her when a video surfaced of Hailey Bieber gagging at the mention of Swift. "So sorry, my best friend is and continues to be one of the best in the game," she wrote (via Teen Vogue).
Zoë' Kravitz
In 2023, Taylor Swift was spotted out for dinner with actress Zoë' Kravitz in West Hollywood, along with squad member Selena Gomez. The duo have been friends for years, dating back to 2016 when they dined at The Fat Radish in New York. The "Big Little Lies" star told GQ how she leaned on Swift during the pandemic in 2020. "She was my pod," Kravitz said. "She was a very important part of being in London, just having a friend that I could see and that would make me home-cooked meals and dinner on my birthday."
The writer of the GQ article also shared kind words emailed to him by Swift. "Zoë's sense of self is what makes her such an exciting artist, and such an incredible friend. She has this very honest inner compass, and the result is art and life without compromising who she is," Swift wrote. When Kravitz starred in "The Batman" in 2022, Swift took to Instagram to praise her performance. "@zoeisabellakravitz is the Catwoman of my dreams," Swift wrote on her Instagram story (via People)."The Batman was phenomenal!!!"
Kravitz and Swift have also worked together. The duo collaborated on two tracks for Swift's 2021 album "Midnights," with Kravitz given songwriting credits for "Lavender Haze" and "Karma." In 2020, Swift even gave Kravitz a hand during a remote, socially-distanced photoshoot for The New York Times Magazine's "Great Performers" edition.
Suki Waterhouse
Suki Waterhouse and Taylor Swift have been friends for years, attending star-studded dinners in New York in 2016 and enjoying double dates with Joe Alwyn and Robert Pattinson in 2019. Perhaps the sweetest thing about the singers' friendship is their support of each other's music.
In 2023, Waterhouse performed a soulful cover of Swift's song "Lover" when she took the stage at the Austin City Limits music festival. When Waterhouse was asked about her favorite Taylor Swift song, the self-proclaimed Swiftie told E! News' "The Rundown" that "Right now I'm really in a 'Karma' moment," and that "'Blank Space' is an incredible song." She added that she loves everything on the "Folklore" and "Evermore" albums, and she would love to work with Swift on a song one day.
Swift was just as generous when praising Waterhouse's music. "Suki has always seemed like she stepped out of a time machine," Swift told Ssense. "Her music is so raw and hopelessly romantic because that's how she moves through the world." She added that she would trust Waterhouse with any secret and that the singer knows how to put things into perspective. "You'll be stressed about something trivial, she'll just look at you, cigarette in hand, and say 'Babe, you know none of this actually matters.' And she'll be exactly right," Swift said.
Brittany Mahomes
The newest member of Taylor Swift's squad is Brittany Mahomes, wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The duo were first photographed together while cheering on their respective partners at a Chiefs game in October 2023. (In case you somehow missed every single news report ever, Swift is now dating the Chiefs' tight end Travis Kelce, and we're so here for it.)
Since then, Swift and Mahomes have been pictured getting close on game days, hugging, laughing, and even showing off a choreographed handshake when celebrating touchdowns. "The fact that Patrick [Mahones] and Travis [Kelce] are best friends makes things even better," a source told Us Weekly. "They're having a blast and love cheering on their men together."
Mahomes has also been spotted out and about with Swift and her squad on multiple occasions. "Brittany is having a blast hanging out with Taylor and her friends. She loves making new friends and loves how down-to-earth Sophie [Turner], Gigi [Hadid], Selena [Gomez], and Cara [Delevigne] all are," another insider told US Weekly. Mahomes is one of the more unpopular WAGS, with the media and fans alike lambasting her for pouring a bottle of champagne on fans when celebrating a Chiefs win. But when you have Taylor Swift in your corner, who really cares what people think of you?
Blake Lively
"Gossip Girl" actor Blake Lively has been in Taylor Swift's inner circle since they first hung out in Australia in 2015. Years later, their friendship is still going strong, with Lively joining Swift at Kansas City Chiefs games and dinners in NYC in 2023.
Not only are Lively and Swift super close, but the actor and her children have played a big part in Swift's music. You know the baby voice that opens up Swift's Reputation track "Gorgeous"? It belongs to Lively's daughter James, who she shares with her husband Ryan Reynolds. Swift also name-checks all three of Lively's daughters, James, Inez, and Betty, in the song "Betty" on her Grammy-winning "Folklore" album. The singer also called out Lively, Reynolds, and their children in her acceptance speech. "I want to thank James, Inez, and Betty and their parents, who are the second and third people that I play every new song that I write," she said in 2020 (via USA Today). In 2021, Lively even directed and co-wrote the music video for Taylor Swift's vault track "I Bet You Think About Me."
The Haim Sisters
Fans were thrilled to see The Haim Sisters — a band made up of actual sisters Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim — open part of Swift's record-breaking Eras Tour in 2023. And you guessed it, they were photographed out for dinner in New York with the star the same year. The sisters have been close friends of Swift since they first tweeted praise for her music in 2014. "When we met, it was 'game over' – we just connected on so many levels," Alana told Elle UK. Since then, they've partied with her at Coachella, posed in pictures of their onesie-clad pizza party, and publicly supported the singer during the Scooter Braun debacle.
The Haim sisters first collaborated with Swift on her song "No Body, No Crime" in 2020, which revolves around Swift avenging the fictional murder of a character named after Este. "We can't figure out why we hadn't collaborated sooner," Swift told Entertainment Weekly. "Long story short, I'm the 4th Haim sister now, confirmed," She actually was in 2022, when she joined the Haim Sisters at their London show to perform a mash-up of their hit song "Gasoline" and her song "Love Story." The same year, the Haim Sisters were featured in the Cinderella-inspired music video for Swift's song "Bejewelled," playing the three ugly stepsisters.
Sabrina Carpenter
One of the newest members of Taylor Swift's Squad is pop singer Sabrina Carpenter, who actually grew up as a Swiftie. The first YouTube video Carpenter ever uploaded was a cover of Swift's "Picture to Burn" in 2009, and in 2010 she attended her "Speak Now" World Tour. "The Taylor Swift concert was amazing, had so much fun I can't wait to have a world tour someday like hers!" she wrote on Twitter. Little did Carpenter know, 13 years later she'd be one of the opening acts of Swift's Eras Tour.
Carpenter first met Swift backstage when she was 17 years old. "She had her cats with her," she told Billboard. "I have older sisters, so if anything, it felt like that type of a relationship." Over the years, Carpenter has gushed about the inspiration Swift has been to her, and the duo have been photographed hanging out at multiple award shows and afterparties. In 2021, Swift sent Carpenter a "Red (Taylor's Version)" care package, lovingly signed "your friend."
In 2023, Swift and Carpenter were spotted hugging at both a Kansas City Chiefs Game and the VMAs, where Swift of course picked up multiple awards, including Video of the Year for her Midnights track "Anti Hero." This came amidst rumors that Swift was feuding with Olivia Rodrigo, who rose to fame after releasing her song "Driver License" which fans have speculated is about her ex moving on with Carpenter.
Hayley Williams
The lead singer of Paramore and Taylor Swift go way back. It was actually Swift's mother Andrea who gave Williams her daughter's number back when both singers were new to the industry. Williams told Variety, "She said to me, 'My daughter. She just played and she's just getting started and she doesn't really know anybody in the business. I just really want her to be around people her age that are doing the same thing." But it took that infamous night at the VMAs when Kanye West rudely interrupted Swift's acceptance speech for Williams to pluck up the courage to text her.
In 2023, Williams and Swift collaborated on one of the vault tracks for "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" called "Castles Crumbling." After Swift announced that Williams would be featured on the track, the "Misery Business" singer took to Instagram to praise the original album. "When Speak Now dropped, I bought my friend's record (as you do!) and listened to the whole thing in my first car, sitting still in the driveway. It's my favorite Taylor Swift album for so many reasons," she wrote. Paramore is the opening act for the European leg of Swift's Eras tour. "[Hayley] and I have been friends since we were teens in Nashville and now we get to frolic around the UK/Europe next summer??? I'm screaming???" Swift wrote on Instagram when she announced the news.
Donna Kelce
Now that she's dating Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift has been spotted getting close to his mom, Donna Kelce, while attending back-to-back football games together. Photos show the duo smiling and laughing, and at one point, Swift had her arm around Kelce.
After the football mom told "The Today Show" that hanging with Swift was "ok," fans took her lack of enthusiasm as a sign she didn't like the singer. Donna was quick to clear the air, telling the Wall Street Journal that she didn't want to overshare and now regrets how it came off. "I can tell you this," she said. "[Travis is] happier than I've seen him in a long time ... God bless him. He shot for the stars!" Donna also dropped a Taylor Swift reference when talking about the Eagles vs Chief rematch. (Note: Her other son Jason plays for The Eagles.) "It's going to be a tough game," she said on the "I Got It From My Momma" podcast. "There's a lot of bad blood." She also noted that her favorite Taylor Swift song was "Shake It Off" and praised the positive publicity Swift and Travis' relationship has brought to the NFL. "I had one dad who DM'ed me, and he said, 'Finally, finally, my daughter is watching football with me,'" she said.