Loose Women’s Denise Welch breaks silence on son Matty Healy’s brief romance with Taylor Swift, calling it “tricky”
Denise Welch has said she’s “glad” Taylor Swift didn’t become her daughter-in-law, revealing fresh tensions behind the pop star’s whirlwind 2023 romance with her son, The 1975 frontman Matty Healy.
Speaking on Watch What Happens Live!, Welch, 67, gave a candid and cutting account of her family’s brush with Swift superstardom, calling the relationship “tricky” and suggesting that while Swift can put their story into song, the Healy family had to remain silent.
Swift and Healy briefly dated from May to June 2023, shortly after her six-year relationship with British actor Joe Alwyn ended. Their fling — which unfolded during Swift’s Eras Tour — set off a frenzy of media coverage and fan speculation, only to end as quickly as it began. Many fans believe Healy is the muse behind several biting tracks on Swift’s 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department, including I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can) and The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.
Denise Welch, a panellist on ITV’s Loose Women, didn’t mince words when host Andy Cohen raised the subject of Swift’s album. “Obviously, on pain of death, can I talk about that episode?” she said, pausing before dropping the bombshell: “But not being her mother-in-law is a role that I am glad that I lost.”
The studio audience gasped.
“Not that I have anything against her at all,” Welch added diplomatically. “It was just–it was tricky.”
Welch hinted at an unspoken gag order around Swift, saying: “You’re not allowed to say anything, and then she writes a whole album about it.” Her remarks imply that both she and Matty were under pressure to avoid discussing the relationship publicly, even as Swift’s lyrics dissected it in vivid detail.
Swift, now 35, released The Tortured Poets Department in April 2024. The double album delves into heartbreak, betrayal, and reinvention — and many tracks appeared to target Healy directly, sparking intense fan speculation online. Though Healy never publicly responded, Welch says he handled the scrutiny with “good grace”.
“He is very happy with his amazing fiancée Gabriella, who is gorgeous,” she said, referring to model Gabbriette Bechtel, whom Healy got engaged to in late 2024. “So, we’ve moved on.”
Swift, meanwhile, has also moved on — very publicly — with NFL star Travis Kelce. Their romance went public in October 2023, and Swift has since described Kelce in The Alchemy, a sultry track about a man who “runs shirtless toward her”, widely seen as a romanticised depiction of Kelce’s athletic masculinity and devotion.
Welch’s remarks offer a rare glimpse into the emotional and reputational fallout Swift’s exes — and their families — can face when caught in the orbit of one of the world’s biggest pop stars. It also reignites the debate over Swift’s songwriting as a form of personal catharsis and public reckoning — one that often leaves former lovers voiceless and fans hungry for real-life context.
For Denise Welch, the takeaway is simple: “We’ve moved on.” But with millions still decoding every lyric, Swift’s brief relationship with Matty Healy may be far from forgotten.
