Thread by @pcd2009

this week ten years ago, taylor swift crashed a kennedy family wedding and was kicked out by the mother of the bride:

the incident culminated a yearlong effort by swift, an avowed kennedy fanatic, to ingratiate herself with the political dynasty.

in 2011 the singer revealed her fascination with the family, telling rolling stone: "i just read a 900-page book called 'the kennedy women.'"

and shortly thereafter swift was photographed making an impromptu visit to john and bobby kennedy's graves:

flattered by swift's interest in her family, rory kennedy, daughter of ethel and bobby, reached out to the pop star, scoring free concert tickets and in turn inviting swift to the sundance premiere of kennedy's documentary about her mother the following january:

so inspired by the then-83-year-old kennedy matriarch, swift even penned a song - "starlight" - about ethel and bobby's relationship for her forthcoming album, "red":

and equally taken with swift, ethel invited the singer to join her storied clan for their 4th of july celebrations later that year.

on july 1st, swift arrived at the kennedy compound in cape code for a week of festivities:

joined by actress pal dianna agron, the singer would spend the next several days acclimating to the kennedy lifestyle of sailing, sports, and lavish family meals:

and ethel was impressed. "you know what she really is?" kennedy later mused, "she's game. she had never sailed before; she sailed. she had never gone dragging before; she dragged. she played everything that everyone else was doing, and she was good at it, [with] no fuss."

one afternoon, as the family gathered for lunch, swift and her guitar treated ethel to an acoustic performance of "starlight." they were moved.

"as far as they were concerned," wrote family biographer j. randy taraborrelli, "[swift] was now an honorary kennedy."

but amidst all the fun, swift had also grown particularly fond of one of the younger kennedys - 18-year-old patrick schwarzenegger, the son of arnold and maria shriver.

"he kept kicking sand at her and was flirty with her," reported us weekly.

the two would be spotted together holding hands and kissing, and sneaking away for walks on the beach. "they are getting to know each other," added us mag, "but she thinks he's cute!"

and the feeling appeared mutual. "best 4th of july i could ask for," schwarzenegger tweeted.

but by the following week schwarzenegger, who was following in his dad's footsteps as an actor, would leave for work, and a determined swift would promptly readjust her sights to another eligible kennedy scion - patrick's 17-year-old cousin conor:

just weeks shy of his 18th birthday, conor - the son of robert f. kennedy jr. and the late mary richardson - had been reeling from the recent suicide of his mother when he'd caught the pop star's eye:

sympathetic to his personal tragedy and reportedly impressed by his "maturity," things between swift and conor would heat up as quickly as they had with his cousin, and just one day after kennedy's 18th birthday in late july, the two were sighted in new york holding hands:

the PDA continued at the kennedys' hyannis stomping grounds. "conor put his arm around taylor and they kissed behind the boat shed," reported us weekly. added page six, "they were sitting up in the front of the sailboat holding hands. they were in their own world."

and conor's family was quick to grant their stamp of approval.

"[taylor's] awesome," gushed aunt rory. added joan kennedy, ex-wife of ted, “i've seen them and they're adorable."

"she's already part [of the family]," said u.s. rep patrick kennedy.

and, most importantly, swift received ethel's blessing. asked whether the singer could someday be part of the family, kennedy told a reporter, "we should be so lucky!"

though kennedy was initially confused by the pairing, asking someone, "wait, i thought she was with patrick?"

the romance would continue to blossom in the final weeks of summer with the pair taking a detour to nashville to meet swift's parents, and the singer even purchasing a house next-door to the kennedy compound in cape cod... after just 3 weeks of dating:

"she's head over heels," reported us weekly. added page six, "they've already said, 'i love you.'"

in an interview with rolling stone, the singer beamed at the idea of living next-door to her boyfriend of barely a month.

"that would be amazing!"

but in late august, the accelerating romance hit a snag when swift escorted kennedy to the wedding of his cousin, kyle, in boston.

while conor was invited, according to kyle's mother vicki, he'd failed to RSVP... and his attention-grabbing pop star date was persona non grata.

"they texted me an hour before the wedding and asked if they could come," vicki told the boston herald. "i responded, 'please do not come.' they came anyway."

when vicki asked them leave, swift wouldn't budge. "it was like talking to a ghost. she seemed to look right past me."

after an awkward standoff, the couple left the reception only to return later. "the family felt like they couldn't do anything," a source told people magazine.

swift's rep denied the story. "taylor was invited to the wedding and the bride thanked her profusely for being there."

however, a surprise player would bear witness to the debacle and shatter team swift's denials: kathie lee gifford.

gifford, a guest at the wedding, gave her account of the drama on the today show.

"vicki's account is accurate... [swift was asked to leave] twice."

privately, swift would stew over the snafu, reportedly blaming kennedy for not telling her she was unwelcome, but the two would quickly patch things up and the next day swift accompanied kennedy on a trip to his mother's grave:

and when the two would be separated for several days the next week as swift promoted her new song, the singer would send her private jet to fetch kennedy in hyannis and bring him to nashville.

"he's been with her ever since and his family doesn't know when he will be back."

but as quickly as swift's dream romance had taken off, things would come to a quiet finish. with kennedy returning to high school and swift promoting her new album, the two would soon call it quits.

"it was just a distance thing," reported us weekly. "no hard feelings."

according to j. randy taraborrelli's book "the kennedy heirs," conor had also felt uncomfortable with swift's purchasing a house next-door.

"it seemed as if she was getting a little too attached."

in an interview with rolling stone that fall, swift would address the wedding controversy, insisting it was all a misunderstanding.

"i would never knowingly show up somewhere that i thought i wasn't invited to. and i would never want to upstage anybody."

and despite the breakup, the kennedys would still honor the singer at a gala that december.

"taylor is a friend of the family and still is," proclaimed patrick kennedy.

but by then the singer had already begun to mend her broken heart with a new flame - one direction member harry styles:

and in 2013 swift sold off the last vestige of her camelot dreams - her $4 million cape cod manse - flipping it for a million dollar profit:

and at least one person was cheering her on:

already getting password reset requests over this thread. stick it out, swifties - it'll be OK!