Over the years, Taylor Swift has built wholesome (and honestly, aspirational) friendships with other girlies in the entertainment industry—see: Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid, the Haim sisters, and Sabrina Carpenter. The list of her high-profile besties is truly the gift that keeps giving. Oh, and we obviously can’t forget how her infamous squad continuously made headlines in the 2010s. In conclusion: We want in on the friendship bracelet making, tysm.
But before Taylor became a pop culture icon, billionaire, showgirl, etc., she and a redhead named Abigail Anderson became best friends when they were in high school. Day One Swifties know that Tay and Abigail go way back and that she was the muse behind the Fearless track, “Fifteen.” And, in case you needed proof, here’s a MySpace-era digicam pic of these two:
It turns out that the duo is still going strong in our good year 2025, as Taylor just graced us with another Abigail name drop on her album, The Life of a Showgirl. If you want to take a trip down memory lane and relive Taylor and Abigail’s best friendship moments from the past 20 years (!!!), keep on scrolling for the sweetness.
~2004
Taylor and Abigail met during English class at Hendersonville High School in Nashville, Tennessee. According to Abigail, they bonded over Shakespeare (ya know, as one does).
“We were the ones in the back of the class saying negative things about Romeo and Juliet because we were so bitter toward that emotion at the time. We just really connected…and ever since then, we have been inseparable,” Abigail said when she surprised Taylor on The Ellen Show (more on that later).
Also, just going to leave you with this:
2008
This is the era where Taylor dropped multiple music videos featuring Abigail, including “I’m Only Me When I’m With You,” “Picture to Burn”, and, of course, “Fifteen,” which is loosely based on Abigail herself:
“You sit in class next to a redhead named Abigail and soon enough you’re best friends / Laughing at the other girls who they think they’re so cool. We’ll be out of here as soon as we can.”
The day the album was released, Taylor made an appearance on The Ellen Show to promote it, and she was not only surprised by her celeb crush at the time, Justin Timberlake, but also by her childhood bestie.
Taylor also attended prom with a superfan in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for MTV’s Once Upon a Prom special. Of course, Abigail was there to help her prep for the big night since she was on tour and didn’t go to her actual high school prom. According to People, the pair went on a double date with the fan and his best friend.
A fellow T. Swift historian uploaded the entire thing to YouTube, for our viewing pleasure.
2009
During her interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Tay gushed about her friendship with Abigail, saying, “But my best friend, Abigail, we met when I was 15. First day of school freshman year, we sat next to each other in English. She wanted to be a swimmer and go off on a college scholarship for swimming and I wanted to be a singer. Now she’s off at Kansas on a swimming scholarship and I’m singing.”
In a behind-the-scenes Q&A on Oprah’s website, Taylor also dished that her perfect day off would be one where she pays a visit to Abigail at Kansas University. “I love going to go visit her. It’s this little college town and it’s kind of fun, because you always wonder about the path you didn’t take, and the path I didn’t take was going to college. So, when I have days off, I like to visit Abigail and experience college without having to take tests and study,” Taylor said in the clip.
Also, not sure when this was exactly, but these webcam selfies are giving big Fearless/Speak Now vibes, and I felt compelled to share:
2012
Abigail officially joins Instagram! And her whole feed features Taylor, including grainy selfies with Taylor at the CMA Awards:
2013
Their Insta streak keeps going in 2013. The filter? The high exposure? The kissy faces? I’m considering this post a peak Instagram artifact:
They also celebrated New Year’s together and seemingly soft-launched the 1989 era with this polaroid:
2014
Taylor sent Abigail a homemade card for her 24th birthday, writing, “Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Abigail whose spirit was as fiery as her hair. She never did anything the way they told her to, fell hopelessly in love, and turned 24 without a single regret. Happy birthday. Love, Taylor.”
“Words cannot describe how grateful I am for your friendship (and the absolutely breathtaking package of presents I just received). You truly are the most wonderful human being. From the bottom of my heart...thank you @taylorswift I love you,” Abigail wrote in her caption.
Abigail also celebrated the release of 1989 and apparently bought a ton of copies of the album from Target with Lily Aldridge.
Ofc, Abigail attends Taylor’s star-studded 25th birthday party in NYC, per several Insta posts.
2015
Abigail attended a pre-Grammy gala with Taylor’s other gal pals, Haim, and hit up the awards show with her the next day.
Abigail went to Taylor’s 1989 World Tour and posted this epic video of her “I Knew You Were Trouble” performance. “‘Is that a world tour...or your girls tour?’ #Both #PowerStance #FlipsHairWalksAway @taylorswift,” she wrote in her caption.
2016
Naturally, Abigail was in attendance at Taylor’s iconic Fourth of July party in Rhode Island and tore up some Spice Girls karaoke alongside the Haim sisters and Kesha..
Amid Taylor’s infamous public feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, Abigail posted some tweets in the singer’s defense. Per Entertainment Tonight, she had been thinking of the couple’s daughter, North West, during the drama as she wrote:
“Lord, hear my prayers.…I pray God helps your daughter understand, that despite how many times she’ll hear daddy reference all women as ‘bitches,’ she isn’t one,” she wrote on Monday. “I pray she understands her father actually IS faithful to her mother, despite all the adulterous comments she will hear her father making.…I pray that she will understand ‘adultery and bitches’ are just daddy’s form of art and not to worry because not every man thinks like him.”
She reportedly deleted the tweets above and explained, “For the record, I usually delete my tweets once the death threats start rolling in. Nothing more or less than that. #MovingOn.”
2017
While Taylor was mainly ~off-the-grid~ ahead of her Reputation era, she “came out of hiding” to be a bridesmaid in Abigail’s wedding. According to People, the wedding was held in Martha’s Vineyard. A source on the scene told the outlet, “She looked gorgeous. She had dark-red lips and carried her friend’s train as they went into the church. Security asked the crowd not to rush her.”
Another bridesmaid also posted a ton of pics including Tay:
2018
Abigail attended the Reputation Stadium Tour in Nashville, where she was spotted dancing with Karlie Kloss and her sisters.
At the end of the year, Abigail attended Taylor’s “Childhood Hero”–themed New Year’s party.
2019
Taylor and Abigail hit up Gigi Hadid’s birthday party and posed for glam photobooth pics with Martha Hunt and Hailee Steinfeld.
Abigail celebrated the release of Lover (pretty sure I posted this exact pic at the time, FYI), writing, “15 years of knowing you and watching you grow, both as a human and an artist, I can honestly say I’ve never been more proud to call you my friend. I am completely inspired by everything that is you, @taylorswift 💕Congrats, buddy.”
Taylor turned 30, and of course, Abigail was at her birthday party!
2020
Taylor’s Netflix doc, Miss Americana, is released and features this relatable convo between her and Abigail:
Watch ‘Miss Americana’ on Netflix
2023
Abigail shared a sweet selfie with Taylor, where they’re seen laughing while lying down. “‘Cause when you’re… 33 🦊,” she cheekily captioned the post, referencing the lyrics to “Fifteen.”
A few months later, Abigail supported Taylor at the Eras Tour in Nashville! Tay played “Fifteen” as one of the surprise songs and dedicated it to her “beautiful redheaded high school best friend.” 🥹
Taylor threw a low-key party in NYC for her 34th birthday, and Abigail was among the A-list attendees (ahem: Gigi Hadid, Blake Lively, Sabrina Carpenter, Antoni Porowski, Zoë Kravitz, and Jack Antonoff, to name a few).
“Can’t believe this year…actually…happened? Thank you for all your beautiful birthday wishes yesterday. 🥲,” Taylor wrote on Instagram.
2025
Taylor and Abigail are still going strong as they went on a double date with their partners, Travis Kelce and Charles Berard. The quartet opted for a laid-back vibe as they watched a concert at the Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville as part of Travis’s Tight End University program.
In October, Taylor released her album, The Life of a Showgirl, which includes another Abigail name drop on “Ruin the Friendship.” The song is inspired by their childhood friend who sadly passed away, and Taylor alludes to Abigail calling her up with the news:
“When I left school, I lost track of you / Abigail called me with the bad news / Goodbye / And we’ll never know why.”
