The Scottish Mail on Sunday - You
CURSE OF THE SUPER-SWIFT ROMANCE
Why do A-list liaisons crash and burn?
In years to come, I’m willing to bet you’ll remember exactly what you were doing as news broke that Tom Hiddleston and Taylor Swift were an item. Explosive pictures published in June showed the couple kissing and cuddling on a beach in Rhode Island, prompting such frenzied commentary online that #Hiddleswift momentarily threatened to eclipse the upcoming EU referendum.
It didn’t stop there. In less than a month, Taylor had introduced Tom to her parents in Nashville, flown to Suffolk to meet his mum, travelled with him to Italy and Australia, and welcomed him into her #squad as he proclaimed his love for her on a vest – all captured in glorious photographs for the world to see. Less than three months later it was over, amid reports that Taylor felt Tom wasn’t in it ‘for the right reasons’.
Introducing boom-and-bust relationships, in which celebrity couples fall in love, walk the red carpet together and share dozens of adoring selfies, and a few months on, suddenly crash and burn – but only after paparazzi shots of their time together have gone global.
Culprits include Brooklyn Beckham and Chloë Grace Moretz (over after four months) and actress Ruby Rose and Harley Gusman, who enjoyed a two-month fling this summer that included daily handwritten letters when they were apart. In August, Lionel Richie’s 18-year- old daughter Sofia and Justin Bieber took their relationship from 0 to 60 as they jetted to California, Tokyo and Mexico for a series of holidates. The 22-year- old singer then suddenly bowed out (he reportedly didn’t want a relationship). Before that, it was a similar story with the model Hailey Baldwin.
But it’s not just celebrities: we’re also starting relationships faster than ever before. And when they fail to meet our expectations, we’re just as quick to end them. ‘The whole world is speeding up,’ says marital therapist Andrew G Marshall, author of I Love You But I’m Not in Love With You. ‘We’re responding very quickly to likes and dislikes. If we like something, we want more of it. If we don’t, we can just disappear.’
A new dating culture, which sees us increasingly turn to apps and websites, could also be to blame for early- onset intensity. According to celebrity psychologist and dating coach Jo Hemmings, ‘Years ago we’d say the speed of these relationships was ridiculous. But now there’s a lot of pressure to fast-track everything because of the immediacy and availability of other people. It goes against classic dating rules, but moving fast can be a lovely way of recognising that you’ve met someone special amid all the choice out there.’
She points to Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Liam Payne as an example, whose controversial relationship was slammed by some as a setup in its early days. Now the couple are quietly fending off speculation they’re about to start a family.
But not everyone has weathered the storm. Within days of Tom and Taylor going public, the couple were hit by allegations of a ‘showmance’, their picture-perfect fling apparently too good to be true. Are we right to be suspicious of such relationships? ‘With Tom and Taylor, there was none of the normal awkwardness you’d expect at the beginning of a relationship,’ says body language expert Judi James. ‘Pictures of these relationships often look like stills from a film.’
She notes that in the first photos of Hiddleswift, Tom had his arms and legs wrapped around Taylor as they kissed, ‘a pose that involves so much trust and sexual experience that it wouldn’t usually happen until way down the line. It feels wrong.’
While Tom insisted their relationship was real, observers were quick to fight back by pointing out the undeniable advantages of the affair. Having recently broken up with her boyfriend of 15 months, DJ Calvin Harris, Taylor defied any suggestion she was heartbroken. Meanwhile, Tom was catapulted to stratospheric levels of fame just as he was reportedly in line to be the next James Bond.
And they’re not the only ones enjoying their moment in the sun. During her short relationship with Brooklyn, Chloë Moretz enjoyed three major magazine interviews. And both Hailey and Sofia were omnipresent at fashion month events, their reach unmistakably widened in their associations with Justin. No wonder cynicism abounds about the truth behind some of these relationships. ‘This is an audience who have almost grown up watching reality TV,’ warns James. ‘They’re much more acute at sussing it out, and they will voice those opinions on Twitter. That’s where it’s not paying off for celebrities any more.’
But while boom-and-bust affairs ensure maximum publicity for both partners, each date more spectacular than the last, they mean nothing if either side fails to capitalise following the sudden split.
Essential moves include a rumoured new flame (Tom has already been linked to the actress Priyanka Chopra) and envy-inducing Instagram shots with A-list friends (see Taylor’s appearances at New York Fashion Week). Anything, in short, to prove they’ve moved on as fast as they fell in love. ‘It’s a competition to come out of it as the one who ended it, the one who wasn’t hurt,’ says Hemmings. ‘It becomes a bit unreal and it’s like they have something to prove.’
And Tom, Taylor, Brooklyn and Chloë can bet the world will be watching. Let the battle commence!
When Tom and Taylor went public, they were hit with allegations of a ‘showmance’