Taylor Swift reveals Actually Romantic meaning on The Life of a Showgirl

13 October 2025, 10:40

Fans believe Taylor Swift's song 'Actually Romantic' is about either Charli XCX or Kim Kardashian. Picture: Getty

By Hope Wilson

Is Taylor Swift's song Actually Romantic about Charli XCX or Kim Kardashian? Here is everything The Life of a Showgirl singer has said about the tune.

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Taylor Swift's new song 'Actually Romantic' from 'The Life of a Showgirl' has caused a stir online after fans tried to guess who the song is about.

While she has penned songs including 'Father Figure', 'The Fate of Ophelia', 'Wi$h Li$t', 'Cancelled!', 'Eldest Daughter', 'Wood', 'Honey', 'Ruin the Friendship' and 'Opalite', 'Actually Romantic' takes aim at someone who "hates" Taylor.

Many fans have speculated the song may be about Charli XCX following the release of her song 'Sympathy is a Knife', however others have mused the tune is a diss track against Kim Kardashian.

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Now Taylor herself has revealed what the song is about, stating: "It's sort of a love letter to someone who hates you."

Taylor Swift has spoken about her song 'Actually Romantic'. Picture: Getty

She continued: "It's sort of like you just, sometimes you don't know that you're a part of someone else's story but you are. And then kind of there can be this moment where it's unveiled to you through things they do that are very overt."

Taylor concluded: "As I've gotten older I've just started to be like, 'Oh my god thanks so much, you did so much with this it's flattering. I don't hate you and I don't think about this, but like, thank you for all the effort honestly. Like that is wow, that is very, very sweet of you to think about me this much, even if it's negative. In my industry attention is affection and you give me a whole lot of it."

She went on to tellAmazon Music: "[It's] a song about realising that someone else has kind of had a one-sided, adversarial relationship with you that you didn't know about. And all of a sudden they start doing too much and they start letting you know that actually, you've been living in their head rent-free and you had no idea."

Following these remarks, many fans began analysing the lyrics and believe they may be about Charli XCX, following rumours of a rift between the superstars.

Taylor Swift dated Matty Healy in 2023. Picture: Getty

In 2023 Taylorbriefly dated The 1975 singer Matty Healy and whilst they were courting Taylor made a surprise appearance at a The 1975 concert where she appeared on stage with the band.

At the time the pair were together Charli was in a relationship with her now husband George Daniel, who is the drummer in The 1975. A year later in 2024 Charli dropped the song 'Sympathy is a Knife', with many fans believing this track was about Taylor.

The lyrics speak about Charli's insecurities when comparing herself to this person, with the star singing: "Don't wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend's show/ Fingers crossed behind my back, I hope they break up quick."

Many listeners believed these lyrics alluded to Taylor who would have been backstage at The 1975 concerts whilst dating Matty, however the singer came out to speak highly of Charli following the release of her album 'Brat', appearing to squash rumours the singers were beefing.

Taylor Swift and Charli XCX have worked together in the past. Picture: Getty

Taylor toldNew York Magazine 2024: "I’ve been blown away by Charli’s melodic sensibilities since I first heard ‘Stay Away’ in 2011. Her writing is surreal and inventive, always. She just takes a song to places you wouldn’t expect it to go, and she’s been doing it consistently for over a decade. I love to see hard work like that pay off."

However fans believe the lyrics to Taylor's 'Actually Romantic' are about Charli, particularly one line which hints at Charli's song 'Sympathy is a Knife'.

Taylor sings: "High-fived my ex and then you said you're glad he ghosted me / Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face" also adding that the person in question calls her "Boring Barbie".

Listeners have also noted that Charli has a track on her 'Brat' album titled 'Everything's Romantic', which bares a similarity to Taylor's song 'Actually Romantic'.

But Charli isn't the only person fans have been speculating the song is about, with Kim Kardashian's name also being thrown into the mix.

Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian have had a rocky relationship. Pictured in 2015. Picture: Getty

The pair haven't had the smoothest of relationships, with things culminating in 2018 when Kim posted: "I decided for this Valentine’s Day everyone deserves a Valentine. So I’m going to send them to my lovers, to my haters, to everyone that I think of because it’s Valentine’s Day after all."

She then shared an image of a long line of Post-it notes featuring the names of people she was sending a gift on Valentine's Day, one of which contained Taylor's name.

In her song 'Actually Romantic', Taylor has penned the line: "But you keep sending me funny valentines / And I know you think it comes off vicious / But it’s precious, adorable."

Many believe this could be a hint at Kim's Valentine's Day stunt, however with Taylor keeping quiet on who the song is actually about, we may never know for sure.

Watch Taylor Swift's interview on Heart Breakfast here: