Joe Alwyn opened up about his time with Taylor Swift and their breakup.

The 33-year-old actor dated the 35-year-old pop titan for six years before we learned about their split in April 2023.

While together, they were notoriously a private couple. However, the public was obsessed with gathering together as many details about the pair as possible. They even broke down some of Taylor‘s songs looking for references to Joe.

Since their split, Joe has had little to say about their time together. However, he opened up a bit in a new interview and discussed everything from the public’s speculation to their musical collaborations and moving on after they separated.

Speaking to The Guardian, Joe got candid about what it was like being one half of such a famous couple, especially when he is a more private person.

“I have tried just to focus on controlling what I can control,” he said when asked if he was afraid of the relationship shifting focus from his career. “And, right from the beginning, tried to focus on the things that are meaningful for me: friends, family, work, of course.”

He continued, saying, “So noise outside of that, I think I’ve done what lots of people who find themselves in the public eye do, which is just try and ignore it. If you don’t, and if you let all of that other stuff in, and if it starts to affect you and your behaviour, you’re living from the outside in. And then you’re pretty f-cked.”

The actor credited his loved ones for helping to “[keep him] tethered to the found.”

Joe also addressed writing songs alongside Taylor. If you were unaware, he is credited as William Bowery on several songs off her albums folklore and evermore.

How did that happen? Taylor heard him playing piano during the pandemic’s lockdown. This led to their musical collaborations, which Joe described as “pretty special” and “not something I would have foreseen.”

As for their breakup, Joe stressed that he is already done with looking back and holding on. However, he added that other people still need to let go.

“That’s something for other people to do,” he told the outlet. “We’re talking about something that’s a while ago now in my life. So that’s for other people. That’s what I feel.”