Who Is Taylor Swift's 'Ruin the Friendship' About? It's Emotional -- And Not About Blake Lively

On Friday, the pop star dropped her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, and as per usual, Swifties immediately took to social media to react and decode Taylor's lyrics. The sixth track, "Ruin the Friendship," had fans in their feels, with the emotional lyrics referencing Swift's secret crush on a close high school friend, whom she reveals later passed away.

After the track list was announced, many Swifties initially suspected the song would focus on an alleged falling out with Blake Lively, however, following the track's release, fans believe the track is about Taylor's childhood friend, Jeff Lang, who tragically passed away at 21 in 2010 following battles with depression and addiction.

In the soft pop track, Swift sings about a friend in high school, whom she has feelings for, and expresses her regret that she never took the opportunity to kiss him before he died -- even though he had a girlfriend.

"It was not / an invitation / but should have kissed you anyway / And it was not convenient / But your girlfriend was away / Should have kissed you anyway," Taylor sings the chorus.

In the bridge, she laments about losing touch with her friend after high school, before Abigail, Swift's longtime BFF, called her and said the friend had passed away.

"When I left school, I lost track of you / Abigail called me with the bad news / Goodbye, and we’ll never know why," she sings. "It was not an invitation / But I flew home anyway / With so much left to say / It was not convenient, no / But I whispered it at the grave / ‘Should’ve kissed you anyway.'"

Swift ends the song by sharing that she wished she had "ruin[ed] the friendship" by making a move and telling her crush how she felt.

"My advice is always ruin the friendship / Better that than regret it / For all time," she sings. "Should’ve kissed you anyway / And my advice is always answer the question / Better that than to ask it / All your life."

As previously mentioned, fans speculate that the song is about her late friend, Jeff Lang. Back in 2010, Taylor opened up about losing Lang during her acceptance speech 2010 BMI Country Music Awards. At the time, a then-20-year-old Swift revealed she performed at her close friend's funeral the day before.

"Yesterday, I sang at the funeral of one of my best friends," she said. "And he was 21, and I used to play my songs for him first. So I would like to thank Jeff Lang."

Swift is believed to have previously referenced Lang in the 2021 Red (Taylor's Version) vault track, "Forever Winter," something fans pointed out following The Life of a Showgirl's release.

"WAIT RUIN THE FRIENDSHIP???? IS THIS A CONTINUATION OF FOREVER WINTER?????? I CANNOT DO THIS RN," a Swiftie wrote on X.

"ruin the friendship being forever winter 2.0. i am not okay," a second fan said, while another wrote, "Ruin the Friendship is connected to Forever Winter and I’m sobbing."

Ultimately, "Ruin the Friendship" made Swifties emotional, with fans sharing that they were surprised by the gut-wrenching track.

"Ruin The Friendship has an absolutely devastating plot twist I literally did not see coming at ALL," a fan wrote, as another noted, "ruin the friendship being about someone passing away was not on my bingo card."

See more reactions in the posts, below.

Read the full lyrics, below:

Verse 1
Glistening grass from September rain
Gray overpass full of neon names
You drive (Mm-mm), 85 (Mm-mm)
Gallatin Road and the lakeside beach
Watching the game from your brother’s Jeep
Your smile (Mm-mm), miles wide

Chorus
And it was not an invitation
Should’ve kissed you anyway
Should’ve kissed you anyway
And it was not convenient, no
But your girlfriend was away
Should’ve kissed you anyway, hey

Verse 2
Shiny wood floors underneath my feet
Disco ball makes everything look cheap
Have fun (Mm-mm), it’s prom (Mm-mm)
Wilted corsage dangles from my wrist
Over his shoulder, I catch a glimpse
And see (Mm-mm)
You looking at me

Chorus
And it was not an invitation
But as thе 50 Cent song played (Song played)
Should’vе kissed you anyway (Anyway)
And it was not convenient, no (It was not, convenient)
Would’ve been the best mistake
Should’ve kissed you anyway, hey

Refrain
Don’t make it awkward in second period
Might piss your ex off, lately we’ve been good
Staying friends is safe, doesn’t mean you should
Don’t make it awkward in second period
Might piss your ex off, lately we’ve been good
Staying friends is safe, doesn’t mean you should

Bridge
When I left school, I lost track of you
Abigail called me with the bad news
Goodbye, and we’ll never know why
It was not an invitation
But I flew home anyway
With so much left to say
It was not convenient, no
But I whispered at the grave
“Should’ve kissed you anyway”

Chorus
Oh, and it was not an invitation (It was not, an invitation)
Should’ve kissed you anyway (Anyway)
Should’ve kissed you anyway, anyway (Anyway)

Post-Chorus
And it was not—
My advice is always ruin the friendship
Better that than regret it for all time
Should’ve kissed you anyway
And my advice is always answer the question
Better that than to ask it all your life
Should’ve kissed you anyway
Should’ve kissed you anyway

The Life of a Showgirl is out now.