The Biggest Rumor Surrounding Taylor Swift & Karlie Kloss's Friendship Debunked

There was a time in pop culture when Taylor Swift and Karlie Kloss were practically attached at the hip, so much so that fans could mistake them for twins. Both were tall, blonde, and at the peak of their careers — Kloss dominating every runway while Swift was, as always, topping the charts. Their close friendship seemed almost too perfect, with Kloss even being a core member of Swift's infamous girl squad. But then, as these things often go, the duo seemingly drifted apart (or did they?), and a good chunk of Swifties couldn't help but wonder: were they more than just besties? Yup, you read that right — some believe they were lovers.

Now, Swift has famously dated men (and written countless bops about them), but that hasn't stopped the internet sleuths from pushing the "Kaylor" theory. Despite Swift's public relationships and Kloss being, you know, married to a man (shoutout to Joshua Kushner!), some fans are still of the mind that Kaylor was, at one point, real. These Kaylor truthers have all sorts of "receipts" about their supposed romance, ranging from Swift's lyrics to her casual mention of a guest room in her house being dedicated to Kloss. Spend five minutes on Google, and you'll uncover exhaustive pieces of "evidence" that they were more than friends. It's a rabbit hole, to say the least.

Still, despite the die-hard Kaylor shippers, Swift's camp has made it clear: they aren't, and never were, dating. Though Swift hasn't explicitly addressed the rumors, she's long clarified that none of her friendships ever transitioned into romantic territory — and that includes Kloss.

Taylor Swift and Karlie Kloss may have been practically joined at the hip during their BFF era, but that didn't mean there was anything romantic between them. In 2014, during the height of their friendship, "Kaylor" shippers worked overtime to prove the two were more than friends, even claiming they kissed at a The 1975 concert. Swift's team, however, was quick to dismiss the gossip. "It's sad that on the day it's announced Taylor has three Grammy nominations for 'Shake It Off,' I have to shake off this crap," one of her reps told Us Weekly at the time.

Swift also directly addressed the constant speculation on her 25th birthday that same year, posting a now-deleted tweet aimed at the tabloids. "As my 25th birthday present from the media, I'd like for you to stop accusing all my friends of dating me. #thirsty," she wrote. Although the statement was lighthearted, it was clear that the endless rumors were starting to get under her skin.

Fast forward to her "1989 (Taylor's Version)" prologue, Swift got even more candid about the whole thing. "I swore off dating and decided to focus only on myself, my music, my growth, and my female friendships. If I only hung out with my female friends, people couldn't sensationalize or sexualize that — right?" she penned, alluding to the time in her life when she would be rumored to have been dating even her female friends despite being single (via USA Today). "I would learn later on that people could and people would." At this point, Swift's own words should be enough to put the Kaylor rumors to rest — but some shippers just can't let go.

One of the strongest pieces of evidence that "Kaylor" was never a thing is Taylor Swift making it abundantly clear that she's not queer. While she's all-in on supporting LGBTQ causes, she's simply not part of the community. In fact, Swift has even admitted she wished she'd been louder about her LGBTQ advocacy earlier in her career. "I didn't realize until recently that I could advocate for a community that I'm not a part of. It's hard to know how to do that without being so fearful of making a mistake that you just freeze," she explained to Vogue in 2019. "Because my mistakes are very loud. When I make a mistake, it echoes through the canyons of the world. It's clickbait, and it's a part of my life story, and it's a part of my career arc."

Being a proud ally, of course, isn't proof of one's sexuality, and Swift is not here for people assuming otherwise. In June 2024, after an op-ed in The New York Times speculated that she had been dropping hints about her purported queerness through her music all along, Swift's team clapped back, with an associate of the singer expressing frustration to CNN: "There seems to be no boundary some journalists won't cross when writing about Taylor, regardless of how invasive, untrue, and inappropriate it is — all under the protective veil of an 'opinion piece.'"

Even if you're not a die-hard Swiftie, you've probably noticed that Karlie Kloss is no longer front and center in Taylor Swift's girl squad. Given how rarely they're spotted together now, it's fair to wonder if they're still even friends. It could just be a classic case of friends growing apart (yes, celebrities are human, too), but some fans have yet another theory: they think Taylor and Karlie are exes.

Over on the r/Gaylor_Swift subreddit (yes, that exists), fans are deep in speculation mode, with many convinced they broke up not as friends — but as lovers. One fan theorized, "I don't think they're still together. I think they split sometime in mid 2018 and then Taylor went on to write the depressing breakup albums Folklore and Evermore. It would be pretty strange for Taylor to write albums like that while still with Karlie in a happy relationship." Another fan speculated, "I think they were for sure together at one point, and that relationship had to end because of outside problems (media speculation/rumors). So there might be some unresolved feelings there."

But Kloss squashed these rumors, telling The New York Times in 2018 that all the buzz about their relationship is baseless. Things between her and Swift are supposedly fine and dandy — no breakup whatsoever, romantic or otherwise. "Don't believe everything you read," she said.

While Karlie Kloss insists she and Taylor Swift are still on good terms, it's hard not to wonder why they're no longer as chummy as they once were. One pervasive theory is that Kloss may have gotten a little too friendly with one of Swift's sworn enemies — Scooter Braun. For those of you fluent in the Swift-verse, you'll know Braun is public enemy number one after he played a major role in snatching up the rights to Swift's music masters. And Kloss? She's not just an acquaintance — Braun is her manager, and they're reportedly super close. Then, at the tail-end of Kloss and Swift's BFF-hood, Perez Hilton claimed that Kloss leaked personal info about Swift to Braun. Now, Hilton isn't exactly known for his rock-solid credibility, but things became even more suspicious when Swift's longtime besties — Ashley Avignone and Claire Winter – liked Hilton's tweets about the whole situation. Yikes!

The drama doesn't stop there, though. Some fans also think Kloss subtly sided with Kim Kardashian during her infamous feud with Swift when she said that Kardashian was a "lovely person." Oh, and there was also a time when she posted an Instagram caption with "swish swish" – though she has since changed it — seemingly as a nod to one of Katy Perry's tracks. And we all know who Perry used to have a feud with, right?

Of course, none of this has been confirmed, and Kloss tried to smooth things over bit by bit in the years since by attending a stop on Swift's "The Eras" tour (though fans were quick to point out she wasn't hanging out in the coveted VIP section with other celebs), and praising Swift's music, telling Yahoo! Life that "Shake It Off" continues to be one of her favorites.

While Karlie Kloss still drops the occasional crumb about her friendship with Taylor Swift, Swift herself has gone practically radio silent on the subject. And if fan theories hold any weight, she may have voiced her feelings in the best way she knows how — through her music. One track in particular that fans are convinced is Karlie-coded is "It's Time To Go," which Swift said is "about listening to your gut when it tells you to leave. How you always know before you know, you know?" The lyrics seem to point to a friendship crumbling down due to dishonesty: "When the words of a sister / Come back in whispers / That proves she was not in fact what she seemed." Later, Swift sings about a friend who's "not a twin from your dreams" but rather "a crook who was caught."

Now, unless Swift herself decides to drop a major revelation and confirm the song is about Kloss, this theory will remain purely fan-driven speculation. What we can safely say, though? They were never lovers, no matter how much Kaylor truthers wanted it to be. And whether they had a major falling out or just drifted apart, we'll just have to accept that it will forever remain a mystery. The Kaylor era is also most likely a thing of the past — except in the hearts of devoted Swifties, of course.