Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston's unexpected romance shocks fans
Up until Wednesday (June 15) morning, women's chances of becoming Mrs Tom Hiddleston in a parallel universe were zilch.
But now, it is positively negative, no thanks to a certain US multi-Grammy winning, heartbreak hit-making singer.
The collective sound of crushed dreams and breaking hearts is resonating loud and clear all across the globe and all accusatory index fingers are pointed at Taylor Swift.
Just two short weeks after the international pop sensation and her Scottish DJ ex-boyfriend Calvin Harris confirmed the demise of their 15-month relationship on Twitter, UK tabloid The Sun exposed that Swift has found new love in Hiddleston.
Why is this a big deal?
The charming 35-year-old British actor, famous for his role as Loki in the The Avengers and Thor movies, is popularly dubbed the "Internet's boyfriend".
The shocking news, which was shared over 11,350 times on The Sun's website at press time, set the Twitterverse ablaze with strong mixed reactions from both men and women, fans and non-fans of Swift, 26, alike. Both Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston were trending topics on Twitter yesterday.
Avid fans of Hiddleston are enraged his easy charm and charisma are wasted on a love interest as ludicrous as Swift.
“It’s ridiculous. I respect Taylor Swift as an artist but I think he deserves someone better. He’s extremely bubbly and I suppose I expected someone more like him, someone who is not Swift. Maybe they’re just having fun and it might not last,” Mr Adam Kerr, 28, told The New Paper.
Mr Adam, who is a big fan of Hiddleston’s films, admitted he did not see it coming.
Another Hiddleston fan, public relations executive Keri Lee was taken by surprise as news of the Swift-Harris split and the end of Swift's longest relationship to date had barely died down.
Besides, rumours were abound earlier this year that her eye candy was dating US actress and his I Saw The Light co-star Elizabeth Olsen.
Miss Lee, 27, said: "I'm shocked. Everything Swift does is a publicity stunt so you really never know.
She joked: "But if she screws this up, the world will come after her and I will be leading the charge."
She has grounds for concern.
After all, Swift is wildly infamous for her serial dating ways and transforming the highs and lows of her numerous relationships into a slew of radio hits.
Take, for example, Out Of The Woods, which was written about Harry Styles of English boyband One Direction, Back To December about Twilight star Taylor Lautner, and Dear John about US singer song-writer John Mayer.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are the Swifties who want nothing more than for their pop idol to be happy, no matter who she is with.
"It is entirely her choice. I'm a little surprised it happened fairly quickly after her split from Harris but it's her personal choice," said Swift fan and student Arina Ling, 18.
In what is dubbed a world exclusive, The Sun's story on Wednesday (June 15) splashed countless photos of Swift canoodling with the her new Hollywood heartthrob boyfriend while sitting atop some rocks on a beach by her S$23m mansion in the US state of Rhode Island.
Dressed casually in a blue dress and brown cardigan, Swift was photographed holding Hiddleston's hand, kissing him and taking selfies with him.
Hiddleston even wrapped his blue jacket over her shoulders in one photo and pulled her arms around his waist in another.
The pair allegedly grew close after attending the Met Gala in New York last month, where they were sat next to each other at dinner.
They were then captured on video dancing together later in the night.
As women - and men - worldwide struggle to make sense of the odd pairing, one could not help but wonder how Harris, real name Adam Wiles, is holding up.
Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris began their 15-month romance in March last year.Harris and Swift painted the perfect picture of an amicable split, with him posting on Twitter that the "only truth here is that a relationship came to an end & what remains is a huge amount of love and respect".
She then re-tweeted it.
But it seemed he might not have taken the recent turn of events too well.
Any past photos of happier times with her have been swiftly deleted from his Instagram page, with him also unfollowing Swift on Twitter.
The tweet addressing their break-up is also absent.
Uh, oh - has "love and respect" morphed into "loathing and repulsion"?
Like him, Swift has also wiped her Instagram clean of any photos of her ex-beau.
As the buzz reaches fever pitch, Harris seized the opportunity on Twitter to tease the release of the music video for his song This Is What You Came For featuring Barbadian singer Rihanna.
We are not fooled - life for him as we know it now is probably as tepid and bland as that Korean ginseng tea he posted on Snapchat in the wee hours of yesterday.
It's a pity, too. We really thought #Tayvin was made to last.
Will #Swiddle stand the test of time?
A more apt question would probably be: Is anyone taking bets for her new break-up album some time this year or the next?
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