Matty Healy’s model ex-girlfriend Meredith Mickelson was “blindsided” when he went public with Taylor Swift just four weeks after they split up.
And the heartbroken 23-year-old told her pals: “I hope he treats her better than he treated me.”
The 1975 star Matty, 34, was still dating Meredith in February when he spent several days at a Los Angeles recording studio with Taylor, 33.
The London-born rocker even stayed at Meredith’s house during the trip Stateside, returning there each night after the music sessions.
But sources said last night that Meredith had “no idea” Matty and Taylor were growing closer.
Friends revealed that during his time in the US earlier this year, Matty wanted to “hole up” with Meredith at her home and seemed reluctant to go out in public with her.
Instead, he encouraged pals to come to them.
But Meredith did not see this as a red flag, and their relationship continued until late March.
A source close to her said: “She did not see this coming at all. All the time Matty was in the studio with Taylor, she thought nothing of it. He’d spend the day in the studio and then come home to her.
“Things were going well until around March 29 then, out of the blue, he stopped replying to messages and calls.
“He just ghosted her and that was it. Then, four weeks later, he went public with Taylor.
“She was totally blindsided and, of course, it has stung her a bit. She doesn’t want to play the victim and has no intention of saying anything publicly.
"But those of us in her inner circle who she has confided in are quite angry about how he treated her, and feel that he is not a good guy.
"His reluctance to be seen out and about with her in February now appears in a very different light.”
US superstar Taylor and singer Matty – who have known each other since 2014 – went public with their relationship on May 6 when he supported Taylor during her Eras Tour in Nashville, Tennessee.
She mouthed on stage, “This is about you… you know who you are. I love you” – echoing an on stage comment Matty had previously made.
The pair are said to have been planning their coming out moment for “a few weeks” after news leaked on April 8 – Matty’s 34th birthday – that Taylor had split from her boyfriend of six years and rumoured fiancé, actor Joe Alwyn.
In an interview three days later, Matty referred repeatedly to “eras” in an apparent nod to the multi-BRIT and Grammy Award winner’s tour title.
Matty, whose dad is Benidorm actor Tim Healy, 71, said: “Everything happens in eras. The 1975 is a very eras band. The era of me being a f***ing a***hole is coming to an end.”
And since going public, Taylor – who met Matty’s mum, ITV’s Loose Women star Denise Welch, backstage in January – and The 1975 star have put on a very united front.
He has become a regular fixture backstage on her tour, and the couple were seen leaving New York’s Electric Lady Studios hand-in-hand on Thursday.
Meredith’s pal insisted she has no bad blood with the Shake It Off singer.
The friend said: “Meredith is actually a big fan of Taylor’s – she’s posted her songs on TikTok in the past.
“She respects her as a strong, independent and talented woman and she has no interest in bad-mouthing her. Her attitude is very much, ‘It is what it is’, and she hopes Matty is in love with her enough to treat her well.”
Taylor’s romance with former heroin addict Matty makes him the fifth Brit she has been in a relationship with.
As well as Joe, she has previously dated former One Direction singer Harry Styles, 29, Scottish DJ and musician Calvin Harris, 39, and The Night Manager star Tom Hiddleston, 42.
The outspoken feminist, who has sold more than 120 million records worldwide, is well known for penning songs about her break-ups.
She famously wrote Style about Harry after their 2012 fling.
Taylor went on to date Calvin for 15 months but they split in 2016 and weeks later, she was seen kissing Tom.
The actor was then spotted wearing an “I heart T.S.” T-shirt – prompting Taylor to use dancers wearing the same T-shirts in her video for revenge track, Look What You Made Me Do.
In 2010, she also dated Brokeback Mountain actor Jake Gyllenhaal, 42, and has been linked to Twilight heartthrob star Taylor Lautner, 31.
In 2017, she started dating Joe, 32, – who had writing credits on her albums Midnights, Evermore and Folklore under the name William Bowery.
The pair moved in together in Hampstead, North London, and were said to have got engaged last year.
But last month, it emerged they had broken up in February.
Matty split from singer-songwriter FKA Twigs, 35, after three years last June.
In December, he was linked to Canadian model Charlotte Briar D’Alessio, 25.
When approached for comment last night, a representative for Meredith said: “It is Matty who should have to explain himself on these matters, not Meredith.”
Representatives for Matty and Taylor both declined to comment.
