Looking Back on All of Taylor Swift's Music Video Boyfriends: Where Are They Now?

Scott Eastwood, Lucas Till, Reeve Carney...they are all on a long list of ex-lovers...at least onscreen for the superstar

By Tierney Bricker Aug 26, 2019 9:00 PMTags

Got a long list of ex-lovers...at least in her music videos.

Taylor Swift's seventh album Lover has already gifted us with four music videos, continuing the superstar's long tradition of delivering four-minute stories about love and heartbreak inspired by her relationships over the years. 

Since her very first music video back in 2007, Taylor has been actively involved in every step of the process, including casting her onscreen love interests. And sometimes, she just happened to be a fan of the guy she was casting, like when she recruited Laguna Beach star Stephen Colletti after watching the MTV reality hit. Plus, she proved herself to be a One Tree Hill fan by picking two if its stars to play her fictional paramours. 

Taylor clearly has an eye for talent as she's hand-picked plenty of unknown actors who have gone on to find success after starring opposite "The Archer" singer, including Scott Eastwood and Dominic Sherwood.

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Looking Back on All of Taylor Swift's Music Video Boyfriends: Where Are They Now?

The most recent love interest to join the elite club is Christian Owen, who starred opposite Taylor in the Lover video, released the same day as the album, and it turns out he actually has a long history with the 29-year-old. 

"Words cannot express how grateful I am for this woman @taylorswift giving me a chance to express my talent in such a different way!" Owens wrote on Instagram of starring opposite Taylor. "Time and time again you show how caring and giving you are."

VEVO

But who are the other men that have filled in to play some of the inspo behind Taylor's biggest hits, like Harry Styles, Taylor Lautner, John Mayer and her first serious crush Drew Hardwick from her high school days?

And what are they all up to now? Find out...

Stephen Colletti from "White Horse"

Look away LC and Kristin! The Laguna Beach and One Tree Hill fan-favorite was picked by Taylor to play her too-good-to-be-true boyfriend in the 2009 music video. Turns out, she was quite the fan along with every other teen girl that grew up in the 00s.

"Stephen was my first choice because I thought he was great on One Tree Hill and I had watched Laguna Beach when it was on and I was like, 'He's so cute!'" Taylor said in a behind-the-scenes video. "The reason why he's perfect for this role because we were looking for someone who comes off very sweet and endearing. He just looks so sweet...you never expect that they would lie." 

In 2018, Stephen teamed with OTH co-star James Lafferty for their own TV show Everyone is Doing Great and he participated in Lifetime's One Tree Hill reunion special in December 2018, also starring in Hometown Christmas

Justin Gaston from "Love Story"

Serving as the handsome Romeo t Taylor's Juliet in the 2008 video, the Nashville Star contestant was hand-picked by the singer for the video. "I looked at his pictures and thought, 'He is perfect for this video,'" she told the L.A. Times of the fashion model. 

After starring in the video, Justin, then 20, made headlines as he began dating Miley Cyrus, then 16, with the couple breaking up after nine months just as the Disney star was about to start filming The Last Song (aka where she met Liam Hemsworth). In 2012, Justin married Melissa Ordway and the couple adopted their first daughter Olivia in 2016, and Melissa gave birth to their second daughter Sophie in 2017. 

Professionally, Justin joined Days of Our Lives for a 22-episode arc in 2014, and portrayed John Stamos in Lifetime's The Unauthorized Full House Story

Dominic Sherwood from "Style"

The Vampire Academy star was tapped to play the music video version of Harry Styles, the song's inspiration, and yes, sported slicked back hair and a white t-shirt in the 2015 video. Dating Taylor's friend Sarah Hyland at the time, the British actor then landed the role of Jace on Freeform's Shadowhunters, with the cult hit recently ending its three-season run. 

"Taylor said I kind of fit the person they'd like in the video," Dominic told Huffington Post of how he came to be in the video. "I think I had a lot of the attributes that she wanted and that she described in her lyrics. And when we met and when we've hung out, a lot of the stuff I was wearing, that's how I dress."

Lucas Till from "You Belong With Me"

"[He] plays my love interest in the video, and he does such a great job," Taylor said of The Hannah Montana: The Movie actor, who starred as her love interest in 2009's "You Belong With Me." "He's absolutely perfect for the part and really fun to be around, too." At the time, Lucas admitted he had a bit of a "crush" on Taylor, going on to say she was a better kisser than Hannah Montana herself, Miley Cyrus

After pulling a Love Actually in "You Belong With Me," the 29-year-old joined the X-Men universe as Havok and landed the lead role in CBS' MacGyver reboot. 

Scott Eastwood from "Wildest Dreams"

For the '50s-set video inspired by old Hollywood films and filmed in Africa, Clint Eastwood's son was cast as Taylor's music video love interest, playing an actor in a passionate love affair while on set with Taylor's actress-character. While landing a role in the biggest pop star's music video may seem like the wildest dream for many up-and-coming actors, Scott's team actually didn't want him to do it. 

"None of my agents wanted me to do it, actually," he told People in 2016. "They said, 'Oh, we don't want you to do that! Why would you be Taylor Swift's boy toy?' and I said, 'Why the hell not?'"

Following his headline-making turn in "Wildest Dreams," Scott starred opposite Britt Robertson in the romantic drama The Longest Ride and joined major franchise movies with appearances in DC Comics' Suicide Squad and The Fate of the Furious

Tyler Hilton from "Teardrops on My Guitar"

The actor and musician, known for his time on One Tree Hill and as Elvis Presley in Walk the Line, was tasked with taking in the iconic role of Drew Hardwick, Taylor's classmate she harbored romantic feelings for, in one of her very first music videos, shot back in 2007. The two become close, with Tyler even staying on the Swift family's boat when he first moved to Nashville. 

In 2018, the duo reunited backstage during her Reputation tour, with Tyler writing on Instagram, ""You killed it bud, great seeing you and the fam, come a long way since Teardrops vid we did!!!" That same year, he reunited with some of his OTH co-stars for a Lifetime special during their Christmas programming, also starring opposite Hilarie Burton in The Christmas Contract

In 2015, Tyler married his longtime love actress Meghan Park after the couple met on the set of 2007's Charlie Bartlett

Zach Gilford from "Ours"

Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose!

The Friday Night Lights star briefly appeared in the 2011 music video as Taylor's army vet boyfriend, with the singer once again personally casting him "because he's really endearing in all the roles that he plays. he always brings heart to it and that's  what I wanted for this character." Zach was equally as impressed, saying, "Taylor's super sweet and nice and I have a lot of respect for her as an artist...it wasn't too hard of a sell."  

Following "Ours," Zach appeared in The Purge: Anarchy and TV series such as Drunk History, The Family and Kingdom, and is currently starring opposite Jessica Alba and Gabrielle Union on L.A.'s Finest. In 2012, he married Lost star Kiele Sanchez and the couple welcomed daughter Zeppelin Adele in December 2017.

Reeve Carney from "I Knew You Were Trouble"

Another Harry Styles avatar (with the fake tattoos for good measure), the actor and musician took a few days off from his Broadway run as Spider-Man in Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark to star in 2012's "I Knew You Were Trouble." 

Looking back on the experience, Reeve told the Observer, "I think I definitely got a lot more Twitter followers because of it. She was so kind to me. I mean, she's just one of the most skillful artists out there in the popular music world."

The 36-year-old went on to play Dorian Gray on Showtime's Penny Dreadful and earned praise for his turn as Riff-Raff in Fox's live production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in 2016.

Toby Hemingway from "Mine"

The Covenant star was tapped to play Taylor's waiter-turned-dream husband in her music video for the lead single off her of her third album in 2010. The singer hand-picked the British actor after watching his performance in Feast of Love, telling MTV News she "just loved that movie and thought Toby was so great that I thought it would be perfect to put him in the video."

Since then, Toby, now 36, has appeared in movies such as Black Swan and In Time, and will next be seen in 21 Bridges opposite Chadwick Boseman. And he's still BFFs with his Covenant co-stars, Sebastian Stan and Chace Crawford

Caleb Campbell from "The Story Of Us"

One of Taylor's only early-career music videos to end with an unhappy ending and to be set in college rather than high school, the song was inspired by an awkward encounter she had with an ex-boyfriend at the 2010 CMT Music Awards. (Cough-John Mayer-cough!)

Unlike his inspiration, Caleb has faded from the public eye since starring in the 2011 music video. 

 

Guntars Asmanis from "Back to December"

The Latvian runway model served as the music video stand-in for Taylor Lautner, Taylor's ex-boyfriend and Valentine's Day co-star. 

The video's director Yoann Lemoine told MTV News he picked the model because he "wanted a boy that was fragile and beautiful. I didn't want to go for a hunk or a perfect cheesy boy that would have killed the sincerity of the video."

Like Caleb, it's hard to find what Guntars is up to these days after starring in the 2011 video. 

Noah Mills from "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"

For the video for her first single off of Red, Taylor picked the Canadian actor and model to be her ex-boyfriend in "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." 

"It was super goofy," Noah told People of the shoot. "I remember feeling like I was in Disneyland. Everything was super upbeat."

After failing to win Taylor back in the 2012 video, the 36-year-old went on to star in NBC's shortlived dramas The Brave and The Enemy Within before recently appearing in Hulu's hit series PEN15.

Vladimir Perrin "Begin Again"

For the hopeful and romantic Paris-set music video for the song off of Red, the French actor was tapped as Taylor's new man she meets on a Wednesday in a cafe. Ooh-la-la. 

Sean O'pry from "Blank Space"

2013's highest-paid male model worldwide was terrorized by Taylor in her 2014 music video, Sean told E! News at the time he found the shoot stressful...because he had to keep it a secret for three months after the two-day shoot wrapped.

"I couldn't say anything," he said. "I could only talk to my manager and my dog." (Note: he loves to post about his dog on social media. You're welcome.)

In an interview with Vanity Fair, he admitted Taylor made him blush during their first scene, explaining, "She bit my lip. And I just remember I was really blushing, and I was trying to hide it. But that was the first thing—that was how I met Taylor."

These days, Sean, also born in 1989, is still one of the most successful male models in the world. 

Justin Sandy from "Picture to Burn"

Describing him as a "real-life Ken" doll, Taylor picked the NFL football player to play her cheating ex in the 2008 music video. 

After retiring from the NFL due to an injury, Justin went onto work for several start-ups and is currently working in the CBD-oil industry in Colorado. 

He still has fond memories of his music video boyfriend days though, recently posting a throwback photo signed by Taylor that reads, "I love  Justin and I would never burn his picture." 

Christian Owens from "Lover"

Taylor recruited the dancer from her Reputation and 1989 stadium tours as her music video love interest for her achingly romantic single, Lover. (Christian also was a dancer in Homecoming, Beyonce's iconic Coachella performance, NBD!)

When Taylor premiered the music video, she described the choreographer, who recently appeared in Normani's "Motivation" music video, as "amazing actor" and "incredible dancer" on the brink of becoming "your new favorite artist." Again: NBD!

Lover is out now.