Taylor Swift addresses long-standing rumors about her sexuality

Taylor Swift has been the subject of countless rumors over her years in the spotlight, but the singer has now alluded to one of the most personal ones: her sexuality.

The rumor mill really works overtime when it comes to the 'Love Story' singer, with the general public determined to link her to a variety of men, find meaning in her songs and figure out what's really going on in her life.

Swift has addressed and acknowledged these rumors in songs like 'Bad Reputation' and 'Shake It Off', but that certainly hasn't done anything to stop them.

Though Swift is often featured in headlines linking her to men, people have also speculated in the past that she might be bisexual, with rumors suggesting she's been romantically linked with the likes of Karlie Kloss or Dianna Agron.

Swift hasn't spoken publicly about her sexuality, but as she re-released her album 1989 this month she appeared to address the speculation about whether she was bisexual.

On the prologue for the album, Swift remembered making the album when she was 24 years old; a time when she was shamed for 'dating like a normal young woman'.

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Swift described being dubbed a 'boy-crazy psychopath', so decided to try and take action.

She explained: “It became clear to me that for me there was no such thing as casual dating, or even having a male friend who you platonically hang out with.

"If I was seen with him, it was assumed I was sleeping with him."

Swift decided to swear off spending time with guys, adding: "Dating, flirting, or anything that could be weaponised against me by a culture that claimed to believe in liberating women, but consistently treated me with the harsh moral codes of the Victorian era.”

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Hoping that spending less time in public with guys would stop people jumping to conclusions, Swift was surprised when her behavior prompted a new rumor.

“I swore off dating and decided to focus only on myself, my music, my growth, and my female friendships,” she explained.

“If I only hung out with my female friends, people couldn’t sensationalise or sexualise that, right?

"I would learn later on that people could and people would.”

Her insistence that the time spent with her female friends was purely platonic comes after Swift was forced to clarify the meaning of her track 'Lavender Haze', which some listeners suggested could hint at her interest in women.

However, the singer explained she had heard the term on the show Mad Men, and that it had been used in the 50s to describe being in love.

Swift is now in a relationship with NFL player Travis Kelce, and has been seen supporting the footballer at his games with the Kansas City Chiefs.