Taylor Swift Looks Back on “Deranged” July 4th Photo as Too Many “Single Girlies” Found Love Soon After

06 October 2025

Sydney Ness, Taylor Swift, Ashley Avignone, Selena Gomez, Este, Danielle and Alana Haim. Credit : Taylor Swift/Instagram

In a new interview on SiriusXM’s The Morning Mash Up, Taylor Swift reflected on what she now calls a “deranged” Instagram post from July 4, 2023 a group photo she shared with a few close friends to celebrate their single status that, in hindsight, became eerily prophetic. She and her “independent girlies” which included Selena Gomez, the Haim sisters, Ashley Avignone and Sydney Ness had captioned the photo “Happy belated Independence Day from your local neighborhood independent girlies.” What no one expected then was how quickly so many in that image would go on to find lasting love.

Swift recalled the timing as especially surreal. The very next night, she performed in Kansas City and Travis Kelce attended her show. Their relationship ignited soon after, and now they are engaged. Meanwhile, Selena Gomez found love and married Benny Blanco, and Este Haim became engaged to Jonathan Levin all in the period following that playful snapshot. “How deranged is that post?” Swift asked during the interview. She admitted she finds it impossible not to look back at it with shock.

She mused on how unfathomable it seemed that in one image she stood among friends, unknowingly on the cusp of an emotional transformation. “I’m in this picture with a bunch of girls. … A few of the other girls found their person right after that,” she said. She also noted that she never could have anticipated how that collaborative moment of singledom would turn into a series of love stories.

Her remarks went beyond surprise over fate they were also an expression of gratitude and reflection. On the day of the interview, it happened to be Travis Kelce’s birthday. She spoke about how grateful she is that he exists and how happy she is that her friends have found joy. She also shared touching memories from Selena Gomez’s wedding, calling her wedding day the “most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

Swift’s reflections come just days after her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, was released. In many ways, the July 4th photo and what followed seem to foreshadow the luminous frame in which she now situates her music and personal life. The post, meant as a lighthearted celebration of independence, has since become a narrative hinge a moment that, in hindsight, marked the turning of many personal chapters.

Through candor and context, Swift’s commentary underscores how even social media moments sometimes dismissed or trivialized can ripple forward through lives, relationships, and creative arcs. For her and many of her friends, that “deranged” post became less about being solo and more about embracing change, love, and potential in the most unexpected of moments.