15 Taylor Swift Facts Even Swifties May Not Know

Taylor Swift’s song lyrics have been endlessly scrutinized, examined, and analyzed (and for good reason, considering she frequently leaves hints about the people she is singing about subtly encoded into her songs). But even with the endless attention and obsession with her music and relationships, there is still so much about the 33-year-old superstar that might surprise people. What’s her favorite food, country song, and band? How did she send a direct message to her high school bullies? Here are 15 facts about Swift even hardcore fans might not be aware of.

1. Her Favorite Country Song

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Swift has spoken about her love for Shania Twain and Tim McGraw, but neither of those superstars are responsible for her favorite country music song of all time. It turns out her choice is by none other than Kenny Chesney, and it’s the opposite of a love ballad. "'She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy' has got to take the cake on that one!" Swift admits.

2. Dreams of Being a Director

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Swift says she has always wanted to direct. “I was writing my videos for years, and I had a video that was a very specific concept I had written [2019’s ‘The Man’], which was that I wanted to be prosthetically turned into a man and live my life as a man,” she says. “And I wanted a female director to direct it. And the few that I reached out to were fortunately booked. We like it when women work. So I was like, “I could do it, maybe.” And when I did direct, I just thought, ‘This is actually more fulfilling than I ever could have imagined.’”

3. Unfair Accusations Are Nothing New

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Swift says she was accused of not writing her own songs from the very start of her career. “When I was 18, they were like, ‘She doesn’t really write those songs,’” she says. “So my third album I wrote by myself as a reaction to that. Then they decided I was a serial dater — a boy-crazy man-eater — when I was 22. And so I didn’t date anyone for, like, two years.”

4. She Loves Cracker Barrel

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Swift is such a big fan of Cracker Barrel restaurants, she keeps some of their products in her fridge. The singer does admit it’s probably weird to most people, though. "Apple butter from Cracker Barrel,” she says. “I also carry my own salad dressing. It's raspberry-walnut vinaigrette from the grocery store."

5. Speak Now Is 100% Swift

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Swift wrote the lyrics for every single song on Speak Now by herself. "I wrote all the songs myself for this record," Swift said back in 2010. "It didn't really happen on purpose. It just sort of happened that way. I'd get my best ideas at 3 a.m. in Arkansas and didn't have a co-writer around and I'd just finish it. And that would happen again in New York; that would happen again in Boston; that would happen again in Nashville."

6. Lyrics Instead of Text Message Burns

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Some of Swift’s most scathing lyrics are simply text messages she wishes she could send (pretty sure whoever they are meant for immediately got the point though!). "Sometimes the lines in a song are lines you wish you could text-message somebody in real life," she says. "I would just be constantly writing all these zingers — like, 'Burn. That would really get her.'"

7. From Golden Retriever To Fox

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Swift says her spirit animal has changed over the years. “I used to be like a golden retriever, just walking up to everybody, like, wagging my tail,” she says. “‘Sure, yeah, of course! What do you want to know? What do you need?’ Now, I guess, I have to be a little bit more like a fox.”

8. Olive Tree Love

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Swift’s relationship with Calvin Harris may not have lasted, but he did leave her with a very special gift. Swift revealed Harris planted an olive tree in her yard. "My boyfriend planted an olive tree in my yard for Christmas," she told Vogue.

9. This Is Her Favorite Food

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Swift has access to the best chefs and restaurants in the world, but her favorite food is a refreshingly down-to-earth choice. So what would she eat every day if she could? "If we're just saying, like, what I wish I could eat every day if calories didn't count...chicken tenders,” she says.

10. Game of Thrones Superfan

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Swift was obsessed with Game of Thrones, and heartbroken when it ended. “So, clinically our brain responds to our favorite show ending the same way we feel when a breakup occurs,” she says. “I read that. There’s no good way for it to end. No matter what would have happened in that finale, people still would have been really upset because of the fact that it’s over.”

11. Changing For Boys

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Swift admits relationships have completely changed her in the past. "My girlfriends and I are plagued by the idea, looking back, that [some boys] changed us," she says. "You look back and you think: I only wore black in that relationship. Or I started speaking differently. Or I started trying to act like a hipster. Or I cut off my friends and family because he wanted me to do that. It's an unfortunate problem."

12. Rebelling Against the Plastics

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Swift deliberately bought a Lexus SC430 (the car the Plastics drive in Mean Girls) as a therapeutic way to deal with past bullying. "All the girls who were mean to me in middle school, like, idolized the Plastics," she says. "I think I chose that car as a kind of rebellion against that type of girl. It was like – you guys never invited me to anything, you guys are obsessed with that car and that girl and what the Plastics wear and how they talk and you quote them all the time, but I've been working really hard every single day… and now I get to buy a car – and guess which one I'm going to buy? The one that the girl you idolize has."

13. Romantic Advice

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Swift still has a very old-school approach to men, thanks to advice her mother once gave her. "Don't ever call a guy first,” Swift says. “The thing they want the most is whatever they can't have. It sounds really juvenile, but it works."

14. Christmas Tree Farm

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Swift grew up on a Christmas Tree farm in small-town Pennsylvania. "I know that a Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania is about the most random place for a country singer to come from," she says, "but I had an awesome childhood. We had horses and cats, and my mom stayed home with me [and brother Austin]. Our [stockbroker] dad would come home from work and then go outside to make a split-rail fence."

15. She Loves Fall Out Boy

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Swift is a huge Fall Out Boy fan. “I love Fall Out Boy so much,” she says. “Their songwriting really influenced me, lyrically, maybe more than anyone else. They take a phrase and they twist it. ‘Loaded God complex/Cock it and pull it’? When I heard that, I was like, ‘I’m dreaming.’”

Taylor Swift is one of the biggest stars of all time. She recently broke the record for most Album of The Year Grammy Awards, winning four. She’s on her record breaking Eras Tour, and released a successful film of the show in theaters. Swift’s many hits include, “Love Story”, “Blank Space”, “cardigan”, and “Anti-Hero.” She will release her 11th album in April. She has also begun re-recording her old albums, in an effort to own them. How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 7 ways Taylor Swift stays in shape and the photos that prove they work.

1. She Avoids Sun Damage

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Swift opened up about her skincare routine in a 2011 interview with Allure. She says that she doesn’t want her skin to be damaged from the sun. "I don't mind being pale. In high school, it seemed like everybody cared about being tan all year round, but I haven't really thought about it since then. I don't go to a tanning bed, and I get bored when I lay out. I put sunscreen on when I'm in the sun and sometimes I get tan, but I don't really think about it very much."

2. She Takes Care Of Her Hair

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Swift shared her hair care secrets in her Allure interview. "My hair is naturally curly, so some days I just let it be. But when I wake up and my hair looks like a mess, I curl my hair by wrapping the hair around the curling iron to create a spiral look. I don't use any hair products because I have this fear of putting too much mousse in it or something and my hair ending up feeling crunchy."

3. She Doesn’t Let People Stop Her

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Swift has dealt with a lot of criticism over the years. But as she wrote in her hit single, she has learned to shake it off. Swift shared her advice for dealing with negativity in her Time Person Of The Year interview. “My response to anything that happens, good or bad, is to keep making things,” she said. “Keep making art … But I’ve also learned there’s no point in actively trying to quote unquote defeat your enemies. Trash takes itself out every single time.”

4. She Wants To Give Her Fans Good Things

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In an interview with Time, Swift talked about her process for creating her Eras Tour. She says that she wanted to work really hard and put on a good show for her fans. “They had to work really hard to get the tickets,” she said. “I wanted to play a show that was longer than they ever thought it would be, because that makes me feel good leaving the stadium.”

5. She Practiced Her Choreography

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Swift revealed her process for learning her Eras Tour choreography to Time. She says that she practiced it over and over. “I wanted to get it in my bones. I wanted to be so over-rehearsed that I could be silly with the fans, and not lose my train of thought. Learning choreography is not my strong suit.”

6. She Gave Up Alcohol

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Swift revealed in her Time interview that she decided to give up alcohol while preparing for and on her Eras Tour. “I was really disciplined about drinking,” she said. “I stopped drinking for a couple months before the show except for on Grammy night, which was hilarious. I gave myself a fun night for that one.”

7. She Ran On A Treadmill

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Swift told Time that she ran on a treadmill to help her get in shape for her tour. HealthyTalbot.org states that running on a treadmill has a lot of benefits. “Treadmill working is an aerobic/ cardio exercise. Studies demonstrate that aerobic exercise can minimize the risk of heart diseases. Moreover, they can strengthen your heart muscles. This helps to lower blood pressure and allows the heart to pump blood more efficiently. Most doctors recommend aerobic exercise to people suffering from cardiovascular diseases.”

Happy birthday, Taylor Swift! While it might be hard to believe, the wildly successful singer turned 32 on Monday, December 13. In the public eye since she was a teenager, Taylor has been quite vocal about her health over the years, even revealing that she once suffered from disordered eating and exercise habits. Read on to see 10 ways Taylor Swift stays in physical shape while maintaining her mental health and the photos that prove they work—and to get beach-ready yourself, don't miss these essential 30 Best-Ever Celebrity Bathing Suit Photos!

1. She Has Struggled with Body Image Issues

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In her documentary Miss Americana, Swift discusses past struggles with food. “You don’t ever say to yourself, ‘I’ve got an eating disorder.’ But you know you’re making a list of everything you put in your mouth that day. And you know that’s probably not right. But then again, there’s so many diet blogs that tell you that that’s what you should do,” she said. She goes into detail about her internal struggle, which often started after seeing an unflattering photo of herself or a magazine cover insinuating weight gain, explaining “that would just trigger me to just…starve a little bit,” she said. “Just stop eating.” She also overdid it with exercise. “I thought that I was just, like, supposed to feel like I was going to pass out at the end of a show or in the middle of it,” she said. “I would’ve defended it to anyone who said, ‘I’m concerned about you,’” she continued. “I was like, ‘What are you talking about? Of course I eat. It’s perfectly normal. I just exercise a lot.’ And I did exercise a lot. But I wasn’t eating.”

2. She Loves Running

Taylor loves to run. "For me, running is about blasting a whole bunch of new songs and running to the beat. It's also good because it makes me find a gym wherever I am," Swift told WebMD. "I'm very much out in the world, and I love exploring the places we go when we tour. It's important for me to live a full life." If she isn’t running outdoors, she will hit the treadmill for an hour.

3. She Eats Healthy During the Week

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"During the week, I try to eat healthily, so that means salads, yoghurt, and sandwiches," she told WebMD. "No sugary drinks. I try to keep it lighter, but it's nothing too regimented or crazy. I don't like to create too many rules where I don't need them. We know what's good for us, thanks to common sense."

4. She Cheats on the Weekends

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"I allow myself to eat what I know from common sense is bad for me," she said about her weekend diet. "I like comfort foods. I love a burger and fries, I love ice cream so much, and I love baking cookies. Actually, I love baking anything."

5. She Loves Coffee Drinks

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Swift confessed to WebMD that she has a weakness when it comes to Starbucks. Her go-to drinks are "skinny vanilla lattes on weekdays" and "spiced pumpkin lattes on weekends."

6. She Drinks a Lot of Water

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Swift makes hydration a priority. "I have so much water in my dressing room—because I drink, like, ten bottles of water a day,” she told Bon Appétit. “That's pretty much all we have in there." she said.

7. She Journals

It is so secret that Swift channels her emotions through writing. "From a young age, any time I would feel pain I would think, 'It's OK, I can write about this after school,'" she told Glamour.

"And still, any time something hurts, like rejection or sadness or loneliness, or I feel joy or I fall in love, I ask myself, 'Can I write a song about this, so I know how I feel?'"

8. She Loves This Dance-Inspired Workout

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Taylor is also a fan of New York-based studio, Body By Simone, where she takes classes utilizing the Aussie trainer’s dance-inspired method.

9. She Loves Herself

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“If you eat food, have energy, get stronger, you can do all these shows and not feel it,” she explained in her documentary. “Which is a really good revelation. Because I’m a lot happier with who I am and ... I don’t care as much if somebody points out that I have gained weight. It’s just something that makes my life better.” While she isn’t as thin as she used to be, she has move self-love. “That wasn’t how my body was supposed to be. I just didn’t really understand that. At the time, I really don’t think I knew it.”

10. She Loves to Bake

Taylor loves to bake! The songstress regularly shares photo of her sweet treats on social media, like these cinnamon rolls.