Taylor Swift has long documented the peaks and valleys of her relationships in precise pop detail. Whether it's recalling a relationship lost in "All Too Well" or lamenting love found in "Lover," Swift is nothing if not forthcoming. This fact makes her rumored rift with former best friend Karlie Kloss all the more intriguing. Once the closest of pals (a joint Vogue cover!), the two are seemingly now estranged.
With the release of two new bonus tracks off her latest album evermore, Swift has inspired speculation once more about who the songs could be referencing. In the case of "it's time to go," signs point to Kloss. Years later, the public was reminded of Swift and Kloss' once close friendship when Kloss was seen at Swift's 1989 show in Los Angeles on August 9—but not in the VIP tent.
Here, a history of Karlie and Taylor: The Way They Were.
January 2012
The Kaylor friendship began with Swift's 2012 Vogue cover interview. During the discussion in Prabal Gurung's studio, she spotted a photo of Kloss and exclaimed, "I love Karlie Kloss. I want to bake cookies with her!"
Kloss read the piece and tweeted, "Hey @taylorswift13 love the @voguemagazine cover! Your kitchen or mine? :)"
November 2013
While the two presumably became friends privately over cookies and wine, Swift and Kloss wouldn't publicly be spotted until 2013. Swift performed in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show where Kloss walked the runway. The two had a moment alongside each other as Swift sang "I Knew You Were Trouble."
March 2014
A few months later, Swift and Kloss opted for a bestie road trip. Kloss documented it on her Instagram. "karlie ❤️'s @taylorswift," Kloss captioned a photo of her tracing that very same message into a sandy beach. "another epic pit stop...Do you see the size of that elephant seal?!" Kloss wrote alongside a snap of the two hugging during their travels.
The pair was also seen together at a pre-Oscars party, courtesy of Gigi Hadid's Twitter.
April 2014
During the spring, the two friends were spotted out and about in New York City. Their strolls through Soho solidify the growing friendship—and the fact that they might be two of the tallest celebrity BFFs ever.
May 2014
In May, the friends attended the Met Gala. "Pre #MetGala glam party with @taylorswift," Kloss wrote next to a selfie of the pals doing their makeup together.
July 2014
Kloss and Swift's summer in the city showed no signs of stopping. They ran errands in Soho and grabbed lunch at Sarabeth's in Tribeca. These were simpler times and ones the world watched with fascination.
September 2014
For her Rolling Stone cover story, Swift gave the reporter a tour of her home, including the guest room "where Karlie usually stays." Photos of the supermodel reportedly graced the wall, while a basket of her favorite Whole Foods snacks resided bedside.
October 2014
Kloss and Swift were next spotted enjoying beers at a Knicks game.
November 2014
Swift and Kloss were seen out and about in NYC again. Plus, the singer took Kloss as one of her dates to the American Music Awards, where she performed "Blank Space."
December 2014
Swift performed at another Victoria Secret Fashion Show, singing hits from her album 1989 as Kloss strutted by in lingerie and wings. Kloss shared a photo of the two walking backstage with the caption, "Cause we never go out of style, We never go out of style ❤️👯❤️."
February 2015
Months later, Swift and Kloss enjoyed a friendship milestone that few ever reach: appearing on the cover of Vogue together. Amidst stories told about their friendship, Swift said, "People had been telling us for years we needed to meet. I remember makeup artists and hair people going, 'Doesn't she remind you of Karlie? God, she and Karlie would be best friends. They're the same.'"
May 2015
Kloss appeared in Swift's celeb-filled music video for "Bad Blood," an ode to her now-infamous squad. Other cameos came from pals include Selena Gomez, Zendaya, Lena Dunham, and Cara Delevingne. The song was considered to be about Swift's feud with Katy Perry.
June 2015
Kloss dropped by a London tour date of Swift's 1989 tour. She attended the show with a group of other Swift squad members including Hadid, Delevingne, Serena Williams, and Kendall Jenner (who is definitely not close to Swift now).
August 2015
Swift also brought members of her girl gang to the MTV VMAs, which included Kloss, Gomez, Hadid, and Mariska Hargitay.
April 2016
"Coachella ✅," Kloss captioned a selfie of herself, a bleach blonde Swift, Todrick Hall, and Danielle Haim at the music festival.
July 2016
"Made in the USA™," Kloss wrote alongside a photo of herself and Swift at one of the musician's legendary Rhode Island Fourth of July parties. (This was also the summer of the Hiddleswift romance seen 'round the world.)
August 2016
In August, mere weeks after Swift's feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West reared its snake-like head, Kloss was asked about the conflict. Sunday Times Style magazine directly asked Kloss if she thought Kardashian "was a good person." Kloss replied, “Ha... you know... I honestly... I... I...” Kloss stuttered initially, with a smile. Then she said, “I think she’s been a lovely person to me in the past. Look, I really don’t know her that well.”
Kloss later tweeted her statement on the subject publicly. "I will not allow the media to misconstrue my words," the model wrote. "Taylor has always had my back and I will always have hers."
October 2016
In one of the pair's last public sightings, Swift and Kloss were seen exiting the Bowery Ballroom alongside Serena Williams and Dakota Johnson.
December 2016
"Happiest of Birthdays to my ride or die @taylorswift ❤️🎂👯❤️ I feel blessed to count you as my friend, sister and partner in crime. Can't wait to celebrate together very soon ❤️🍪🍾" Kloss wrote in a sweet post for Swift's 27th birthday. Days later, Kloss would be photographed entering Swift's Tribeca apartment for a party that also included Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, and Beyoncé.
December 2017
A year later, Kloss posted for Swift's birthday, notably with far less to say about the day. "Happy happy birthday @taylorswift! 💫" she wrote simply.
January 2018
After months of speculation over Kloss and Swift's friendship (including the model's lack of public support for Swift's new single "Look What You Made Me Do"), fans detected shade. On Instagram, Kloss captioned a video of her playing basketball for Love magazine, "Swish swish 🏀❤️ Love Advent '17 thank you @thelovemagazine @kegrand @philpoynter." Fans noticed Kloss's reference to Perry's rumored Swift diss track, "Swish, Swish." Soon after, Kloss changed the caption to read, "Nothing but net 🏀❤️ Love."
February 2018
Rumors of a rift further circulated when People reported Kloss and Perry had grabbed dinner in Los Angeles with Vanity Fair writer Derek Blasberg and jewelry designer Jennifer Meyer.
The possible friendship breakup was even weighing heavily on Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence. During a TimesTalks Q&A for her spy movie Red Sparrow, she said that if she was a spy in real life, she'd "like to know what's going on with Karlie Kloss and Taylor Swift, that's the honest to God truth." She jokingly added that "what happened" between them is "keeping me up at night."
March 2018
The New York Times ran a profile of Kloss in which it lists Swift as one of her "closest friends." The piece also concludes that "despite internet gossip suggesting otherwise, the pair continues to be good friends and they talk frequently." The model warned, "Don't believe everything you read."
August 2018
Kloss momentarily put rumors to rest by attending the Nashville stop of Swift's Reputation tour. "No one puts on a show like @taylorswift 🎤✨ #ReputationTour Nashville was out of this world, I am SO proud of you 🖤" she captioned a selfie of the two.
October 2018
During a 73 Questions segment with Vogue, the interviewer asked Kloss about the friendship, saying, "I just have to get this out of the way, because the world deserves to know: is everything cool with you and Taylor?"
Kloss laughed, "The world needs to know? Well, Jennifer Lawrence was interested. Jen, don't worry, Taylor and I are still really good friends."
March 2019
After months spent apart, Andy Cohen asked Kloss her thoughts on Swift's "30 Things I Learned Before Turning 30" essay for ELLE during Watch What Happens Live. In the essay, Swift wrote about learning the difference between lifelong friendships and situationships and leaving some friendships behind.
"Taylor is incredible, and I feel really lucky to call her a friend, and she's one of the hardest working women, and I loved her essay," Kloss responded.
August 2019
While most had assumed that Swift and Kloss were not the partners in crime they once were, two recent developments spelled the end. Swift did not attend either of Kloss's weddings to Joshua Kushner. The first was an 80-person ceremony in October 2018, which conflicted with Swift's Reputation tour in Australia. June 2019 brought the second ceremony, attended by Swift enemies past and present, Katy Perry and Scooter Braun. Swift was invited to both, but Kloss's rep said she was "unable to attend due to prior commitments."
Perhaps the final blow to the best friendship between Kloss and Swift came when the model was seen on Instagram with her manager, Scooter Braun. Braun recently acquired all of the rights to Swift's first six albums, much to the singer's public dismay. Swift has said that she will re-record all of the music Braun owns. And while Kloss has repeatedly asserted that she and Swift are still close, Swift has been silent about their relationship and most of her other friendships.
July 2020
With the surprise release of Swift's eighth album folklore on July 23, fans found any reason to tie Kloss's social media activity to the music. After Swift teased her album with a woodsy photo on Instagram, Kloss shared two photos of herself in nature, captioned, "happy place 😌." Some interpreted this as a sly nod to folklore's aesthetic.
That same day, Klossy posted about her coding program, Kode With Klossy. In one of the videos, the code reads, "Easter egg," which some Swifties took as reference to the singer's own reliance on covert clues.
While those theories may have been a stretch, Kloss supported folklore on the 'gram in other ways. E! reported that Kloss liked photos of model Martha Hunt wearing a cardigan from Swift captioned with "peter losing wendy," a lyric from the song "cardigan." She also double-tapped Project Runway co-star Christian Siriano's Swift-inspired artwork. "Well #taylorswift inspired a paint session last night after a very hard day in fashion," he wrote alongside snaps of his painting. "So her wonderstruck gown painting is now available on ChristianSiriano.com! Oh and my custom Siriano little sofa is fitting in just perfectly!"
January 2021
Another Swift album release meant more speculation about her friendship with Kloss. After debuting two bonus tracks from her ninth album, evermore, rumors swirled about the inspiration behind both. In the song, "it's time to go," Swift sings, "When the words of a sister, come back in whispers, that prove she was not, in fact, what she seemed/Not a twin from your dreams, she's a crook who was caught." That line seems to reference a falling out with a friend and many have assumed it's Kloss.
Kloss has referred to Swift as being like her "sister" in the past, and numerous articles have called the two out for twinning. One very public example was her 2016 birthday tribute to Swift: "Happiest of Birthdays to my ride or die @taylorswift ❤️🎂👯❤️ I feel blessed to count you as my friend, sister and partner in crime. Can't wait to celebrate together very soon ❤️🍪🍾" Buzzfeed broke down in detail why the lyrics seem to just add fodder to feud rumors.
The other new track, "right where you left me," could have a Kloss callout. "Friends break up, friends get married," is the lyric that opens the song, a possible reference to Swift not attending either of Kloss's 2019 wedding ceremonies to Joshua Kushner.
Alas, Swift hasn't commented on exactly who influenced either new song. Instead, she tweeted, "The first ("right where you left me") is a song about a girl who stayed forever in the exact spot where her heart was broken, completely frozen in time. “it’s time to go” is about listening to your gut when it tells you to leave. How you always know before you know, you know?"
August 2023
Kloss made headlines when she was spotted in the audience for Taylor Swift's final Los Angeles Eras tour show. Unlike other celeb guests, Kloss was not in the VIP tent but rather seated in the general population stands. Kloss did not post about the concert on her social media immediately after.
Savannah Walsh
Editorial Fellow
Savannah Walsh is an Editorial Fellow at ELLE.com.
