Taylor Swift and John Mayer’s Romance: A Look Back

Though Taylor Swift and John Mayer were only briefly linked in 2009, their rumored romance has kept fans invested for more than a decade

Taylor Swift and John Mayer are never ever getting back together, judging by the looks of things.

Swift and Mayer first connected in 2009, when they collaborated on his single “Half of My Heart.” The musicians went on to perform together a handful of times, sparking romance rumors as Swift moved on from her relationship with her Valentine’s Day costar Taylor Lautner.

While neither publicly confirmed the romance, both Swift and Mayer released breakup tracks — Swift’s “Dear John” and Mayer’s “Paper Doll” — widely believed to be inspired by the relationship, which ended in 2010.

Though it’s been more than a decade since the singers went their separate ways, fans once again started speculating about their brief connection after the release of Swift’s 2022 album Midnights. On the track “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve,” she sings about a past relationship from when she was 19 (Swift and Mayer were first linked when she was 19 and he was 32).

Meanwhile, Mayer also seemingly referenced their past during an April 2023 concert. While playing “Paper Doll,” the guitarist wondered aloud if some fans don’t like the song “because it sounds a little pissed off

He added, “I don’t really like pissed off as a song — I think it was more hurt. But I think there’s something about it that’s a little bitchy.”

Most recently, Swift announced she’s releasing the re-record of her 2010 album Speak Now — which includes several tracks that fans have long thought were inspired by Mayer.

From the Twitter exchange that sparked their collaboration to Mayer later telling Rolling Stone that he was “really humiliated” by the lyrics of “Dear John,” here’s a look back at Taylor Swift and John Mayer’s relationship

March 2009: John Mayer tweets that he wants to collaborate with Taylor Swift

The “Why Georgia” singer first declared his desire to work with Swift on social media. He tweeted that he had an idea for a song “called ‘Half of My Heart,’ ” adding, “I want to sing it with Taylor Swift.”

He continued, “She would make a killer [Stevie] ‘Nicks’ in contrast to my [Tom] ‘Petty’ of a song.”

May 22, 2009: John Mayer and Taylor Swift perform together for the first time

Mayer joined Swift onstage during a stop on her Fearless tour at the Staples Center (now called the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles, marking their first performance together. The duo sang Swift’s “White Horse” and Mayer’s “Your Body Is a Wonderland” together, much to the crowd’s delight.

June 15, 2009: Taylor Swift says she’s a “big fan” of John Mayer

When asked by Elle who she most wanted to work with, Swift named Mayer. She added that she “freaked out” when she first heard that he’d tweeted about recording with her, because she had “been such a big fan of John for such a long time.”

Swift added that she had been “really excited about just the idea that he would even mention me in his Twitter!”

November 6, 2009: John Mayer recounts how he and Taylor Swift first connected on Twitter

Speaking to MTV, Mayer further explained his intentions around originally reaching out to Swift via Twitter.

He joked that there’s “no better way to put it out into the universe than to tweet it,” adding, “but then it’s not like she reads the tweet and goes, ‘I’m in,’ although she may have. I don’t remember.”

Regarding why he wanted to collaborate with Swift, Mayer recalled, “I thought, ‘This Taylor Swift girl is going to be around for a long time.’ “

November 17, 2009: John Mayer releases his collaboration with Taylor Swift, “Half of My Heart”

While the single was actually leaked on Nov. 6, 2009, Mayer’s album Battle Studies was officially released a few weeks later. “Half of My Heart” marked the pair’s first (and last) collaboration.

On the track, Mayer sings, “Half of my heart is a shotgun wedding to a bride with a paper ring, but half of the heart is the part of a man who’s never truly loved anything.”

November 2009: John Mayer praises Taylor Swift throughout his Battle Studies press tour
In a series of interviews, the “My Stupid Mouth” singer sang Swift’s praises whenever asked about their collaboration. He spoke mainly about her talent and her humility, sprinkling in several compliments along the way.

“Taylor is the world’s biggest star who doesn’t know she’s a star. … Which I think is totally sweet,” he told Access Hollywood. “It’s almost like Taylor Swift is a character in a movie about a small-town girl who has her dreams come true and [does] what any small-town girl would do when her dreams come true, which is to freak out. And I still like it that she freaks out, but pretty soon she’s gonna have to stop because it’s sort of like, ‘You’re that good. You’re that good. You might have to go to therapy and have someone else tell you.’ “

While speaking to the outlet, he also remarked on the pair’s budding connection, saying, “I consider her a friend. I think she’s a really remarkable person and it’ll be nice to have her name on my record.”

December 2009: John Mayer says Taylor Swift is “one of the smartest, most talented people around”
During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show — in which he memorably wore a Christmas sweater — Mayer spoke candidly about his admiration for the then-19-year-old songwriter.

“I’m a huge fan, and I think she’s got a really great voice,” he told DeGeneres, adding, “She’s one of the smartest, most talented people around right now. … I think she’s that genuine.”

The talk show host replied, “And I hope she remains that way too,” before Mayer playfully interrupted, “I’ll make sure she doesn’t — you send me in there!”

December 11, 2009: John Mayer and Taylor Swift perform together at the Z100 Jingle Ball

June 17, 2010: John Mayer honors Taylor Swift at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Despite rumors that the duo had split in February 2010, they seemed at ease in each other’s company at the annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Ceremony, where Swift was honored by Mayer. The singer spoke effusively of the country-turned-pop star.

“You could put her in a time machine in any era and she would have a hit record,” he said before presenting Swift with the ​​Hal David Starlight Award. “Don’t confuse everybody loving one thing as hype. Sometimes that’s everyone agreeing that it’s fabulous.”

As she accepted her award, Swift thanked Mayer with a kiss on the cheek, and the pair shared a warm embrace.