From girl-next-door country to platinum pop to understated indie, Taylor Swift‘s sound has constantly evolved over the course of her blockbuster career. In conjunction with those changes, many facets of her artistic aesthetic have followed suit — and that includes the looks of the men in her music videos over the years, from “Tim McGraw” to “Willow” and beyond.
In her early clips, for instance, the boys she sang about during slow-motion sequences or montages of romantic moments were cute, scruffy, all-American types. Then, over time, they went from looking like they could be cashiers at your local Target store to looking like they should be models in Target’s catalog — stylish and glossy with jaw lines that could cut you in half.
That was the desired look Swift more or less stuck with for several years when casting her male counterparts, until she stopped casting them altogether. For each of the music videos she released while promoting her edgy sixth studio album Reputation, she very meaningfully made herself the sole star of the show — even in videos for explicitly romantic songs like “Ready For It?” and “Delicate.”
Once Lover came out in 2019, however, the men came back into the fold. It kicked off a new trend for Swift, who started bringing in fellow A-listers to play her male leads, from Panic! At the Disco’s Brendon Urie in “Me!” to Top Gun: Maverick star Miles Teller in “I Bet You Think About Me,” later followed by Post Malone in “Fortnight.”
See how Taylor Swift’s onscreen beaux have changed from 2008 to now by reading Billboard‘s complete list of her music video boyfriends below.
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“Tim McGraw”
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In the music video for the first single from her self-titled 2007 album, Taylor sings about a dude who was “just a boy in a Chevy truck.” And that’s exactly what viewers see: A down-home, anti-Hollywood everyman with a flannel shirt and messy hair.
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“Teardrops On My Guitar”
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Swift’s high school beau is a long-faced bro who sees her as just as a friend in this heartbreaker. Sporting a mall kiosk chain necklace and a thermal army green (long-sleeved!) shirt, this guy definitely listens to Eric Church and Metallica in equal proportions.
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“Picture to Burn”
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In this clip, fans are still seeing guys that look like the boy sitting in front of them in math class — that’s the idea, after all. Here, viewers meet the no-good, cheating ex-beau who is distinctly unremarkable in every way (shaggy brown hair, plain green shirt). All the better to project your own feelings, my dear.
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“Love Story”
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This Fearless music video is a portent of boys to come for Taylor. Looking like the dashing male lead in a Jane Austen movie, Taylor upgrades to a much more elegant type of guy in the “Love Story” music video when he comes to her in the form of a fairytale-esque daydream. Eventually, this type would become her primary go-to.
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“White Horse”
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This ballad about realizing a guy isn’t Prince Charming comes complete with a guy who looks so down-to-earth, he couldn’t possibly be capable of cheating — which, of course, Taylor ends up catching him doing. He’s also the first guy who doesn’t look like he could be in high school.
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“You Belong With Me”
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Much like “Teardrops on My Guitar,” this video finds Swift longing for a high school boy who just sees her as a friend. Despite the Bieber swoop and a sweet smile, the “You Belong With Me” guy looks a lot more like Alex from Target, the Texas teen/corporate meme that captured viral fame (years after this video dropped) for looking good without trying too hard. Coincidence? Sure, but Taylor and Target are totally on the same page.
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“Mine”
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The first single off Swift’s third album Speak Now finds her falling for (and having kids with!) the first dude on her roster of onscreen beaux to have some seriously styled hair (think blonde highlights). He also has arm tattoos and some serious muscle — Swift is growing up, and the guys are, too.
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“Back to December”
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Taylor Swift has no tolerance for “indie records much cooler than mine,” but she definitely has an affinity for the cute boys who listen to them. The estranged boyfriend in this video is a long-haired indie kid straight out of a J. Crew winter catalog. This guy reads Camus, not Field & Stream. In spite of his dark features and brooding attitude, there’s a gentle quality to him.
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“The Story of Us”
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Swift enlists another brown-haired boyfriend (Caleb Campbell) for her “Story of Us” video, as she and the nerdy cutie share awkward post-breakup encounters in the school library.
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“Ours”
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This suburban boy-next-door type (Friday Night Lights’ Zach Gilford) provides moments of happiness for Swift throughout her mundane work day. The video cumulates in a touching moment in which her beau returns home from the army, and they share a sweet embrace at the airport.
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“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
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Well, hello there, Adam Levine lookalike! We’re in the Red era now and the guys could easily double as male models. In fact, that’s exactly what one boyfriend is here, listening to “cool” records and stalking around in a leather jacket. The scarf only adds to his aloof, mysterious, decidedly adult vibe.
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“Begin Again”
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This video is mostly about personal reflection for T-Swift, but the parallel story of her learning to love again after heartbreak stars a dashing French leading man (Vladimir Perrin). No wonder Taylor falls for the Ryan Gosling look-alike actor as they wander the streets of Paris in a series of gorgeous vignettes backdropped by the City of Lights.
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“I Knew You Were Trouble”
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The bad boy is officially here! Well, at least the Hollywood model version of a rebel. With long, greasy hair, tattoos and plenty of moody lighting, we see the first guy who hasn’t gotten a rose-colored tint when Swift remembers the good times. The fact that he’s also decked out with rings and a suit jacket doesn’t hurt the overall impression.
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“Blank Space”
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This guy is a far cry from the rural suburban boys of 2007. Instead, we get an immaculately groomed dude who would look like an aristocrat even if he weren’t standing in a mansion. While the boys from her past videos were familiar faces, this is not the kind of man a plebeian can approach announced — unless they’re taking his drink order. With his Kennedy-esque good looks and meticulously selected clothes, Swift has gone from country to country club at this point, even in her music video world. Guys with pickup trucks and mall kiosk chain necklaces need not apply.
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“Style”
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Taylor’s “Style” video is all smoke and mirrors (literally). For the 1989 song that she’s more-or-less confirmed is about her relationship with Harry Styles, Swift employs an actor who vaguely resembles the One Direction heartthrob. He’s far from a dead ringer, but there’s something about his dark, penetrating eyes and high forehead that distinctly recalls Harry.
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“Wildest Dreams”
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The romantically retro video for “Wildest Dreams” features Scott Eastwood in the co-starring role as Taylor’s, well, co-star…in an anonymous film, that is. The craggily handsome Eastwood may break Tay’s heart, but he certainly looks good doing it.
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“Me!”
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In the silly, eccentric and colorful music video for her Lover lead single, Swift had Brendon Urie play double duty as her co-singer and costar. As with any relationship, there are highs and lows — but unlike most, these two’s highs involve the Panic! At The Disco singer presenting Tay with kittens and flying Mary Poppins-style through the sky with umbrellas. Meanwhile, their lows include living room screaming matches in French.
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“Lover”
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Swift shared the screen with her longtime backup dancer Christian Owens and his heart-melting smile in the “Lover” video. The duo share romantic dances, homemade dinners and a happy Christmas morning with their future daughter.
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“Willow”
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If Lover explored Swift’s journey of finding a committed, long-lasting, grown-up love for the first time, then Folklore and Evermore solidified her ability to write with nuance and wisdom about mature romance. With broad shoulders and long hair, the love interest in the music video for “Willow” represents this stability — echoed by Swift’s refrain, “That’s my man.”
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‘All Too Well: The Short Film’
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Though Dylan O’Brien starred as Swift’s love interest in her short film All Too Well, he never actually shared the screen with her. Instead, he acted alongside Sadie Sink, who played a ten-years-younger version of the pop star as she loses herself to an imbalanced, age gap relationship. With a shaggy goatee and a frequent look of disdain on his face, the Maze Runner star plays the part of condescending, emotionally manipulative boyfriend perfectly — but it’s his ability to simultaneously emanate warmth and adoration that makes his performance all the more devastating.
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“I Bet You Think About Me”
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From The Spectacular Now to Footloose, Miles Teller has played the charismatic leading man in a few romance movies over the years. But as the groom in the “I Bet You Think About Me” music video, he instead portrays a regret-filled ex who can’t help but wish Swift was the one walking down the aisle toward him instead of his actual bride-to-be (played in the video by his real life wife Keleigh Teller).
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“Lavender Haze”
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The aptly purple-hued “Lavender Haze” music video finds Swift in lover’s bliss with model and actor Laith Ashley, the first openly trans leading man in one of the superstar’s visuals. As she sings about rejecting societal expectations on romance and marriage, the onscreen couple lies together in bed and cuddles up at a house party with friends. When the song reaches its climax, Ashley joins Swift in dancing like no one’s watching under a swirl of lavender-colored powder – it’s happy endings only in this video.
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“Fortnight”
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“Fortnight” co-starring Post Malone is much moodier than its predecessor, with Swift packing in all the gothic, academic aesthetics of her album The Tortured Poets Department into a four-minute self-directed story of love, heartache and betrayal. From the pop star and Posty embarking on a romantic montage to yearning for one another post-heartbreak from opposite sides of a bustling office, the onscreen couple’s story ends with the “Psycho” rapper performing electro-magnetic experiments on his ex-lover before the pair finally reunites – possibly in a flashback – by a telephone booth in the rain.
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