Fans weren’t expecting to see Taylor Swift at the NME Awards on Feb. 12, much less witness her smooch boyfriend Joe Alwyn, 28! It was the first time the 30-year-old pop star ever attended NME magazine’s annual music award show in London, which was held at the 02 Academy Brixton. Much to fans’ delight, she attended the show as a nominee for “Best Solo Act In The World,” but the surprises didn’t end there. After making her NME Awards red carpet debut in Monse’s $1,890 pinstripe blazer and matching shorts, Taylor headed inside the venue where she was caught grabbing Joe’s face to go in for a big kiss!
Taylor had good reason to celebrate with her lips — she ended up winning the “Best Solo Act In The World” honor! She edged out other talented nominees for the big honor: Lizzo, Billie Eilish, Lana Del Rey, FKA twigs, Charli XCX, Yungblud, Beck, AJ Tracey and Slowthai. No matter the occasion, it’s always a shock to see Taylor and Joe show any sign of PDA, given the hush-hush nature of their relationship. But Taylor wanted to step outside her comfort zone that night, which she let the crowd know during her acceptance speech!
“This is my first time at the NME Awards, and like, I just feel like everyone here is so shy, so reserved,” Taylor said at the mic, poking lighthearted fun at the A-list guests. “Are you guys having any fun tonight? Are you going to come out of your shells at all?” She did give the crowd credit, though; Taylor added, “Oh, wait no. This is like the craziest award show I’ve ever been to.”
Taylor and Joe are so precious I’m gonna faint #NMEAwards2020 pic.twitter.com/tRke8KLdtQ
— sophie 🌶 (@sophklore) February 12, 2020
Technically, Taylor showed face at the NME Awards before — through a video screen, that is. She recorded a clip to accept her award for “Best International Solo Artist” at the same award show in 2016. Taylor had yet to be romantically tied to Joe; reports about their relationship surfaced in May of 2017. Of course, this was all based on rumors, since Taylor and Joe did their best to keep the romance out of the public’s eye.
These days, the couple is opening up their relationship to the world — as you could tell by that kiss! In another video taken at an award show, Taylor and Joe could be seen glued to one another’s sides at the Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 5. And then, finally, Taylor herself gushed about her beau to fans in her new documentary Miss Americana, which Netflix dropped on Jan. 23. The Grammy-winning artist raved that Joe, who has starred in Mary Queen of Scots and Boy Erased, provides her a “wonderful, normal, balanced kind of life.”