Recently Taylor Swift released the 10-minute version of her single 'All Too Well', and within hours fans had started theorising about all the hidden meanings within the revised track. Quickly one theory came out suggesting Jennifer Aniston was "the actress" mentioned in the song, meanwhile other fans are convinced that it's actually Anne Hathaway who Taylor is referring to in the song.
'All Too Well' was first released in 2012. Following Taylor's fall-out with music producer Scooter Braun, the singer re-recorded a 10-minute version of the single with revised lyrics and a new 15-minute long video featuring Stranger Things star Sadie Sink and Teen Wolf's Dylan O'Brien.
The song tells the story of a break-up which many fans believe is referring to Taylor's split from Jake Gyllenhaal (although nothing has been confirmed by Taylor herself.) Why? The pair briefly dated from October to December 2010, a few months before the release of her album Red in 2012, where 'All Too Well' first features.
The revised track features new lyrics including one saying, "Not weeping in a party bathroom / Some actress asking me what happened, you / That's what happened, you."
Quickly fans began to theorise that Jennifer Aniston is the "actress" referred to in the lyric thanks to a conversation Taylor and Jennifer were rumoured to have had at The People's Choice Awards back in January 2011.
At the time, it was widely reported that Jennifer approached Taylor at the ceremony because she "wanted Taylor to know everything will be okay," and told her to "hang in there" amid reports about her split from Jake Gyllenhaal. In a Daily News article from 2011 a source also claimed that Jennifer told Taylor to "go out there and have fun."
Fans were quick to publicise the theory on Twitter, with some referring to the timeline that seems to fit perfectly, while others couldn't cope with the idea that Taylor would refer the actual Jennifer Aniston as "some actress."
However, it didn't take long for a brand new theory to emerge, suggesting that in actual fact the "actress" is none other than Anne Hathaway. Firstly, Aniston good friend, jewellery designer Jennifer Meyer commented on an Instagram post referring to the original theory, claiming that the "actress" the song refers to isn't Jennifer Aniston.
Then, fans began discussing an old interview from 2015 in which Hathaway spoke about Swift and Gyllenhaal's relationship, mentioning that she was friendly with Swift at the time.
"She just seems to be following her heart," Hathaway told Glamour UK (via Refinery 29). "I met her — I hope it's okay to say this — when she and Jake [Gyllenhaal] were together. She was 20 at the time and we hung out one night. I was like, 'You are a magnificent creature.' She was on fire and I've watched her become this force of nature."
Cosmopolitan UK has reached out to Taylor, Anne and Jennifer's reps for comment.
