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Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift's Friendship Timeline

Ed Sheeran Says He and Taylor Swift Share the Same "Insecurities": "[She] Genuinely Gets It"

May 5 2023

Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran are two of the most famous, successful, and decorated musicians of their generation. Between them, they have 16 Grammy Awards and have played live to millions of fans; they also have a combined Instagram following of about 300 million. But to one another, they're just best friends who tease each other, support each other, and write music together.

Their friendship goes back a decade to when Sheeran found out Swift was a fan. They wrote some music together, and the rest, as they say, is history. In fact, Swift even had a hand in helping Sheeran get together with his now-wife, Cherry Seaborn, after years of missed connections. Talk about a best friend who truly has your back!

Over the years, Sheeran and Swift have taken dozens of cute photos and videos together, and they're always quick to share a kind word or two one another. Whether it's thanking the other during an award-show speech or shouting them out on social media, the praise never stops. And when it comes to the music they make together — well, it's simply stunning. You can't go wrong with such talented artists in the room.

As of 2023, their friendship is clearly still going strong, with Sheeran telling Zane Lowe that his conversations with Swift feel like "therapy," according to People. "She's one of the only people that actually truly understands where I'm at," the star added.

For more details on this sweet friendship, keep reading.

Image Source: Getty / Kevin Mazur

2012: Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran First Meet Collaborate

Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran first became friends in 2012 when Ed found out that Taylor was a fan, according to People. He made a call, and the two ended up making "Everything Has Changed" together — their very first collab. It appeared on Taylor's "Red" album.

December 2012: Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran Perform at Z100 Jingle Ball Together

For their first live performance together, the two hit the stage in New York City at Z100's Jingle Ball, held at Madison Square Garden.

Image Source: Getty / Kevin Kane

September 2013: Ed Sheeran Goes on Tour With Taylor Swift

After realising how well they work together and how much they enjoy each other's company, it was an easy decision for Taylor to invite Ed out on her "Red" tour. He joined her on stage from time to time, including when he dressed up as a clown at the closing show in Nashville.

Image Source: Getty / Larry Busacca/TAS

November 2013: Taylor Swift Joins Ed Sheeran on Stage at Madison Square Garden

In late 2013, Taylor joined Ed on stage at Madison Square Garden to play "Everything Has Changed" with him. She even donned an "I Heart Ed" shirt to match his "I Heart NY" shirt.

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January 2014: Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran Buddy Up at the Grammys

With their friendship in full swing, Taylor and Ed hung out at industry events and often championed the others' work. They posed for photos at the 2014 Grammys among other events.

Image Source: Getty / Kevin Mazur

February 2014: Ed Sheeran Pops Up at Taylor Swift's London Concert

When Taylor took her "Red" tour overseas, she picked up a different opening act, but that didn't stop best buddy Ed from popping into the London show to duet with his pal.

Image Source: Getty / Gareth Cattermole/TAS

December 2014: Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran Both Perform at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

At the end of 2014, both Taylor and Ed were tapped to perform at the iconic Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which was held in London that year.

Image Source: Getty / Karwai Tang

February 2015: Taylor Swift Gives Ed Sheeran a Shoutout in Her Brits Speech

Taylor won her first Brit award in 2015, for best international female artist, and in her acceptance speech, she gave Ed a shoutout as one of her favourite British people. "Honestly, I know I wouldn't be up here if it wasn't for one of my best friends, who took me to pubs and taught me how to make a good cup of tea, and taught me everything I know about the UK. I just want to say I love you, Ed Sheeran," she said.

July 2015: Ed Sheeran Makes an Appearance at Taylor Swift's Fourth of July Party

Taylor may have wiped her Instagram clean of the epic photos from her 2015 party, but they still live elsewhere on the internet. Ed popped up at Taylor's famous Fourth of July party, and at the time, she shared this photo with the caption, "When Ed shows up in a red coat for the 4th of July because he just can't let it go," according to People.

February 2016: Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift Support Each Other at the Grammys

These two friends made a cute pair at the 2016 Grammy Awards, where both took home a couple new trophies.

Image Source: Getty / Kevin Mazur

2017: Ed Sheeran Features on Taylor Swift's Song "End Game"

Taylor and Ed teamed up again for a new collab, "End Game," which appeared on Taylor's "Reputation" album. He co-wrote the song with her and starred in the video as well.

February 2018: Taylor Swift Jokes About Ed Sheeran's Height

As with any great friendship, these two definitely pick on each other. Taylor posted a cute video about how Ed always tries to physically "elevate" himself when he's around her. She said he was peacocking, he said he was trying to appear taller. But the best part of the video is her showing off her sneakers — a favour so she wouldn't be quite so tall next to him.

September 2018: Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran Go on a Hike

In this slightly chaotic video, Taylor picks on Ed while they're hiking, before they both joke about going up against Drake for favourite pop/rock album at that year's American Music Awards. Spoiler alert: Taylor won the award.

November 2021: Taylor Swift Rereleases "Everything Has Changed" With Ed Sheeran

As part of her project to rerecord and rerelease all of her old music after losing her masters, Taylor brought Ed back into the studio to redo "Everything Has Changed" off of her "Red" album. The song appears on "Red (Taylor's Version)."

November 2021: Taylor Swift Releases "Run" With Ed Sheeran

Also part of her rereleasing project, Taylor dropped "Run," a song from the vault that she'd previously written with Ed. He shared on Instagram, "'Run' is the first song me and @taylorswift ever wrote together, and 'Everything Has Changed' was the second. We re-recorded both of them for 'Red (Taylor's Version)' which is out today and they are just great. So fun getting to revisit these again."

February 2022: Ed Sheeran Releases "The Joker & the Queen" Featuring Taylor Swift

The latest collaboration between Ed and Taylor comes in the form of "The Joker & the Queen." He shared on Instagram upon its release how grateful he was to work with Taylor again, calling her the "best singer/songwriter in the world" and a close friend. Even sweeter are the stars of the video — the same pair who starred in Ed and Taylor's video for "Everything Has Changed" 10 years ago.

May 2023: Ed Sheeran Opens Up About His Bond With Taylor Swift

In a clip from Sheeran's interview with Zane Lowe shared by People on 4 May, Sheeran opened up about how supportive his relationship with Swift is to this day. "I have long, long, long conversations with Taylor about stuff just because I feel like she's one of the only people that actually truly understands where I'm at," he said. "I had an hour-20 conversation with her yesterday and we were just — everything that was on our minds we talked about. I mean that in itself is kind of therapy as well, because you're actually talking to someone that genuinely gets it. That has all the things that you feel and have insecurities about and how other people treat you or how your family treat you, how your friends treat you. She's basically in the same sphere."

He also shared that Swift had encouraged him to work with her "Folklore" collaborator Aaron Dessner. "I'm always — not guarded, but I kind of would keep my distance if there would be a collaborator that she'd be working with closely just because that's her thing. And I don't want to be like, 'Well going to do that too,'" he said. "But she was like, 'I think it'd be really important for you as an artist to do what I did and work with Aaron because this is what it did for me. And I think you and Aaron should work together.'"

Image Source: Getty / Kevin Mazur/VF14

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