'Something will be taken': Joe Alwyn reveals why he keeps relationship with Taylor Swift private

Actor Joe Alwyn is set to take the spotlight in an upcoming Sally Rooney TV adaptation of Conversations With Friends, and naturally his relationship with singer Taylor Swift has become a topic of conversation across his press tour. Alwyn and the Willow singer are known to keep their romance very private -- and he has a good reason why. 

Speaking to Elle UK, he explained he wasn’t deliberately trying to be ‘guarded and private’ about their relationship. Instead, The Favourite star said, ‘It’s a response to something else. We live in a culture that is so increasingly intrusive.’ 

‘The more you give – and frankly, even if you don’t give it – something will be taken,’ he said. 

Swift and Alwyn rarely make public appearances together and the singer has even shared similar sentiments to her boyfriend in the past. In 2019 for example, she told The Guardian Weekend about why she had chosen not to speak at length about their relationship, saying, ‘I’ve learned that if I do [talk about it], people think it’s up for discussion.’

‘Our relationship isn’t up for discussion,’ she said, adding she had set in that ‘boundary’ to keep her life ‘feeling manageable.’

Swift has previously shared small glimpses of their relationship on her own terms in Miss Americana, her Netflix documentary. In it, Swift was seen running to Alwyn backstage after a performance and they embraced tightly. They have also previously been photographed leaving award show parties and going for dinner, but have never made a red carpet appearance together.

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Conversations With Friends is set to be released on May 15, following the success of another Rooney adaptation called Normal People which was an instant smash hit over the coronavirus pandemic.

Alwyn will play Nick, a married actor embroiled in an affair, alongside his co-stars Alison Oliver, Jemima Kirke and Sasha Lane. A recent preview released on Instagram showed a quick look at Alwyn in the series. Carrying a tote bag and dressed in a cozy grey sweater, he was seen meeting Oliver and Lane after they went for a swim in the Irish Sea.