The Real Story About Taylor Swift And 'Dear John' Mayer's Magical Romance When She Was 19

Taylor Swift and John Mayer's rosy romance began in December 2009. However, the bitter fallout of their relationship had lasting effects on their fans. Long after their split, ten years, to be precise, fans still wonder why Taylor Swift and John Mayer broke up, as audiences were highly invested back then. Till today, they cannot get over it.

Everyone's beloved ex-flame began flirting in March 2009. A tweet by the 45-year-old guitarist for the 33-year-old Bad Blood singer added fuel to the fire of love. Mayer tweeted, "Waking up to this song idea that won't leave my head. Three days straight now. That means it's good enough to finish," reported Life&Style Magazine.

His tweet further shared the name of the song he wanted to collaborate on with Swift. "It's called 'Half of My Heart,' and I want to sing it with Taylor Swift. She would make a killer 'Nicks' in contrast to my 'Petty' of a song." Mayer referred to Stevie Nicks and the late Tom Petty's iconic duets.

The singing duo gave love a test run, and Mayer joined Swift onstage in May 2009 as her Fearless tour stopped at Los Angeles' Staples Center. They both took the concert hall by storm and performed their hit tracks, Mayer's Your Body Is A Wonderland and Swift's White Horse. 

When Swift heard about Mayer's wish, she gushed over his tweet and exclusively told ELLE, per MTV, "I freaked out when I heard because I have been such a big fan of John for such a long time." She echoed his feelings, "I am really excited about just the idea that he would even mention me on his Twitter." 

They finally collaborated on their duet, Half of My Heart, which was released the same month. They also performed the song together at New York's Jingle Ball in December 2009. Their on-stage chemistry took the audience by storm. Their relationship bloomed from November 2009 to February 2010. 

Their brief romance was nothing short of a fairytale. They dedicated songs to each other after their split, giving some insights into their relationship. From a song from Swift's Speak Now album, which was released in 2010, people concluded that they didn't have an amicable break-up. 

The lyrics of Dear John heavily inferred that Swift was madly, deeply in love with a man named John, but he played games with her heart. The song also alleged that she'd been warned against getting involved with the star. 

Swift sang, "Dear John, I see it all, now it was wrong / Don't you think 19 is too young / To be played by your dark, twisted games when I loved you so? / I should've known." The track continued, "Well, maybe it's me and my blind optimism to blame / Maybe it's you and your sick need to give love then take it away."

Though Swift never admitted the song was targeted at Mayer, the Gravity singer was convinced it was aimed at him. He told Rolling Stone, "It made me feel terrible because I didn't deserve it." Mayer shot his shot in 2013 with his own song Paper Doll. 

"You're like 22 girls in one/ And none of them know what they're runnin' from," and fans connected this to Swift's single 22. When she was asked about that time and her Dear John lyrics, "I'm 33 years old. I don't care about anything that happened to me when I was 19," she told the audience at U.S. Bank Stadium.