I Met Taylor Swift. Here's What She's Actually Like.

@britandco we got the scoop on tayvis 🥹🤭#taylorswift #traviskelce #tayvis #fyp #greenscreen ♬ nhạc nền - kawaiiuniverse

As someone who's been a Swiftie since Speak Now, I am well acquainted with the idea of a Taylor Swift Secret Session. ICYMI, a Secret Session is a listening party Taylor used to throw where she'd invite a handful of fans to her house to listen to her album early. They're legendary inside the fandom, but tapered off around the time COVID canceled the Lover Tour and Folklore (and TikTok) launched Taylor into even more of a viral obsession than she already was. But for all intents and purposes, it looks like my adolescent dream of going to a Secret Session kind of came true.

I lined up alongside other editors (including Brit + Co's Managing Editor Haley and the TODAY anchors) to get a picture with the woman who wrote the soundtrack to my teenage years, and the first thing she did when I walked up to her is throw her arms around me and thank me for having a Folklore cardigan. I genuinely don't remember most of what she said but I absolutely remember how enthusiastic and kind she was. We talked about storytelling and how being romantic should be celebrated, and then she slung her arm around my shoulders for the photo — but she did it so hard that we head butted right before taking the picture!

Haley also had a memorable experience considering she talked to Taylor about her engagement to Travis Kelce! "I wished her a happy [Sagittarius] season and told her I just turned 30. She was like 'Oh my god you’re still a baby!'" Haley says. "And then I congratulated her or the [docuseries] and she was like 'and I’m getting married!!!'"

But not only did we get to interact with Taylor, we also got to meet her publicist Tree Paine. "When I went up I told Tree that I was a huge fan of hers too, and Taylor was like 'Yeah, I can’t wait til we get to watch the Tree biopic where Amy Adams plays her!' so we were joking and gabbing about that. Then she said my outfit was chic — to which I almost combusted."

Meeting Taylor Swift was truly the sweetest way to close out 2025. The first time I ever heard Taylor was in elementary school, when McDonald's was giving out KidzBop CD's with "Teardrops on My Guitar" and Disney Channel played the "You Belong With Me" and "Love Story" music videos. Not only did she provide a soundtrack for growing up in the 2010s but it quickly morphed into much more than music.

Taylor's referenced the same metaphors and ideas throughout her 20-year career, and when I hear certain songs, they transport me to a totally different place: the last time I lived with my sister, midnight drives home from work, junior year math class with my friends, the year I was so devastated that music was the only thing that could reach me. I will die on the hill that Taylor Swift's music isn't just a catalogue of breakup songs; it's a tapestry of memories and stories that are complex and beautiful because they're my memories. We grew up together, and to thank her for that is something I'll cherish.