More than a decade has passed since two of the biggest pop stars in the world broke up, and new details about their relationship are still emerging via PEOPLE.
In a new TikTok posted on Thursday, January 23rd, indie band The Temper Trap disclosed that when pop icon Taylor Swift and Harry Styles were an item years ago. The stars had famously dated early in their careers, from 2012 to 2013. Swift had approached them to help her with a birthday gift for then-boyfriend Styles.
The Australian rockers first learned that Styles (who was in One Direction at the time) was a fan of their music when he posted some of the lyrics to their hit track “Sweet Disposition” on social media, they stated in the new video celebrating the 15th anniversary of their debut studio album, Conditions.
Styles didn’t just post the lyrics, he also got them inked. The singer enjoyed the band’s songwriting so much that he also got some of their lyrics tattooed, which they learned while they were touring, lead singer Dougy Mandagi explained in the clip.
“I think [Styles] tweeted that he got it, so then, you know, it was brought to our attention,” Mandagi, 44, recalled, and revealed that the band’s initial reaction was quickly overshadowed by the fact that the tattoo was incorrect.
Upon seeing the inner-arm ink, a script tattoo that reads “Won’t stop ‘til we surrender,” the Australian rockers “were laughing about how it was wrong,” the singer said. (The actual lyrics, per Genius, are: “And won’t stop ’til it’s over / Won’t stop to surrender.”)
“Fast forward” a bit after The Temper Trap first learned of Styles’ admiration — and incorrect ink — and Swift approached the band at the ARIA Awards, Mandagi said.
The pop star was “presenter or something” at the awards show, “came to our green room with a piece of paper,” the vocalist recalled. “She goes, ‘Oh, can you write it? Can you write the lyrics for my boyfriend, it’s his birthday?’ We’re like, ‘Okay, cool.’ ”
However, Mandagi said, he found himself faced with a dilemma: “Do I write the right lyrics, or do I write the wrong lyrics?” And, he revealed, “I can’t remember which one I wrote.”
Regardless of the incorrectly inked lyrics, however, The Temper Trap still has a lot of love for Styles. “Harry, we still love you even though you got the wrong lyrics to ‘Sweet Disposition’ tattooed,” the band captioned the TikTok. “Still a few copies of the ‘Conditions’ 15th anniversary limited vinyl pressing available, if you love the record as much as Harry did.”
