Did Taylor Swift Date Martin Johnson? What We Know About The Rumors
Taylor Swift has dated quite a few famous faces. From the likes of John Mayer, to Joe Jonas, to Harry Styles, we know Taylor isn't afraid of a high-profile romance. But it sounds like there may be one familiar face Miss Americana once dated that not a lot of people know about. That man? Boys Like Girls frontman Martin Johnson.
Though they never officially confirmed a romance, and Johnson doesn't appear on many compilations of Taylor's dating history, fans speculated something could have happened between them in the mid to late 2000s. That chatter only grew stronger thanks to Taylor's mom, Andrea Swift. Andrea talked about one of her daughter's unnamed exes at the 2015 Academy Of Country Music Awards, sharing, "She was 17, and her dad and I strongly disapproved of a young man she was dating, and rightly so!" According to Inside Edition, that guy was Johnson.
Andrea claimed Taylor wasn't happy after her parents made it clear they didn't approve of her dating choice, which makes sense, as Johnson did have a rock star image at the time. Not to mention, he is four years older than Taylor, which would have put him around the age of 21 when Taylor was 17. Andrea recalled the moment they told Taylor they didn't like her seeing the unnamed guy, sharing, "She went to her room, and she closed the door, and one hour later she came out with a story called 'Love Story!'"
Taylor Swift and Martin Johnson collaborated on several songs
Though Andrea Swift never explicitly said Taylor's ex she disapproved of was Martin Johnson, it would make sense for him to be the guy in question. Taylor confirmed to Rolling Stone in 2010 that "Love Story" — the song she was most excited to re-record — was one of the last tracks she wrote for "Fearless," which came out in 2008. That's around the time she and Johnson were supposedly hanging out. The two penned a song for "Hannah Montana: The Movie" titled "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home" that came out in 2009, performed by Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana. They also wrote and duetted on the song "Two Is Better Than One" for Boys Like Girls that same year, as well as the track "If This Was a Movie," which was featured on the deluxe edition of Taylor's "Speak Now" album, released in 2010.
However, if Johnson is the guy who inspired "Love Story," saying the two properly dated may be a slight exaggeration — at least according to Taylor. Though Andrea claimed the two dated, Taylor told Time in 2009 that the guy she wrote the love song about was someone she only almost dated. "When I introduced him to my family and my friends, they all said they didn't like him. All of them!" she recalled. "That's the most romantic song I've written, and it's not even about a person I really dated," she added.
Martin Johnson called Taylor Swift 'awesome'
Though Taylor Swift's possible relationship with Martin Johnson isn't as publicly spoken about as her romance with Travis Kelce, Johnson did speak about Taylor on at least one occasion — and he only had nice things to say about her and her songwriting skills. In 2009, Johnson was asked about the star during an interview with MTV Asia and responded, in part, "She's awesome. She's one of the most talented songwriters to work with, if not the best. For such a young girl, she's so creative and spot-on." He added, "We wrote a bunch of songs together, and it was a lot of fun."
But it sounds like things may have broken down from there. After his relationship (full-blown or otherwise) with Taylor, Johnson went on to date none other than Ashley Tisdale. And the "High School Musical" star appeared to confirm Johnson is the "Love Story" guy and, therefore, someone Taylor may have gotten at least somewhat romantic with. Speaking on "Sway In The Morning" in 2016, Tisdale shared that her worst breakup ever was with a musician, and though she didn't mention Johnson by name, candid Daily Mail photos confirm these two dated in 2012. She shared the story of their bizarre split and revealed his parting line to her was "Ugh, Taylor Swift wrote this song about me" as the radio played. That song? Though Tisdale didn't explicitly confirm its title, it was more than likely "Love Story."