Taylor Swift’s ‘Life of a Showgirl’ Photo Draws Comparisons to Matty Healy’s Fiancée, Gabbriette
On Oct. 3, 2025, Taylor Swift unveiled her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, a return to her pop and soft-rock roots infused with high-gloss glamour and romantic optimism. Unfortunately, the album has received mixed reviews. While some fans love the “showgirl” vibe, others were put off by some of Swift’s lyrics, particularly on her diss track, “Actually Romantic,” which appeared to target Charli XCX. Now, Swift critics think one of Swift’s promotional photos is directly targeting Matty Healy’s fiancée, Gabbriette Bechtel.
Taylor Swift critics think the pop star drew inspiration from Matty Healy’s fiancée, Gabbriette
Taylor Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl, is causing quite a stir. While some fans love the unexpected album, others are critical that the songs don’t quite fit the “showgirl” theme that the pop queen promised. Additionally, Swift’s diss track, “Actually Romantic,” is getting a lot of heat. Many fans theorized that the track is a response to Charli’s 2024 track, “Sympathy Is a Knife.”
Swift dated The 1975’s Matty Healy at the same time that Charli dated Healy’s bandmate, George Daniel. Swift and Healy broke up in 2023 after a few months of dating. Charli then featured Healy’s now-fiancée, model Gabbriette Bechtel, in her music video, as she and Gabbriette are longtime friends. Charli and Daniel tied the knot in July 2025.
Critics on Reddit posted a photo of Swift from her Showgirl album, followed by a photo of Gabbriette and Charli out to dinner that was posted to Charlie’s Instagram. Swift’s pose appears to mimic Gabbriette’s, as they’re both leaning back with one foot up. They also appear to both be wearing the same black heels.
Additionally, Swift’s photo shows a plate of spaghetti beside her. Critics pointed out that a past video of Gabbriette and Charli sticking their hands in a plate of spaghetti went viral.
Several other critics in the comments noted how Swift seems to have difficulty moving on from her relationship with Healy, even with her current engagement to Travis Kelce.
Charli XCX seemed to subtly respond to ‘Actually Romantic’
On Oct. 5, 2025, Charli XCX shared a cryptic five-second video on X, sparking speculation about a possible response to Swift’s diss track, “Actually Romantic.” The video, captioned with a simple heart emoji (“<3”), features an audio engineer seated at a mixing board, with swelling string instruments building to a sudden, sharp note.
While Charli has not publicly addressed the speculation, her studio video has fueled rumors that she may be preparing a musical rebuttal. However, it’s worth noting that Charli is currently involved in several projects, including composing for Anne Hathaway’s A24 film Mother Mary and Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights, both alongside Jack Antonoff, according to Cosmopolitan. Therefore, the video may pertain to these soundtracks rather than any feud-related material.
Gabbriette faced backlash after her comments on a comedian’s Instagram
Gabbriette and Taylor Swift don’t publicly speak about each other. However, Gabbriette’s comments on comedian Veronika Slowikowska’s Instagram drew attention, according to Buzzfeed. In a now-deleted reel, Slowikowska performed what she believed the songs on Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl might sound like before the album’s release.
Gabbriette commented, “Babe record actually romantic please,” referencing the song that fans now suspect is about the Charli XCX and Swift feud.
Swifties accused Gabbriette of looking for leaks of Swift’s songs ahead of the new album, seemingly proving Swift’s lyrics correct. Ultimately, the comedian deleted the reel after fans flooded the comments. Gabbriette then received a slew of hateful comments on her own Instagram page.
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