Taylor Swift and Abigail Anderson have been an iconic friendship duo since time immemorial. They’ve known each other since they attended Hendersonville High School in Tennessee, remaining best friends for two decades now.
The two have been vocal about each other over the years. While Anderson expresses her love for the singer through her social media posts, Swift uses music to tell the world just what Anderson means to her.
It all started when they sat next to each other in English class on the first day of high school, and the girls’ lives have been woven together ever since (via The Oprah Winfrey Show).
In 2009, Swift describes her perfect day during a behind-the-scenes interview for Oprah’s website: visiting her best friend at Kansas University. She stated,
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.
Real Swifties know that the popular song from her second studio album, Fearless, titled Fifteen, was a love letter to Anderson. It’s one of the two songs of her career she has name-dropped her longtime friend. The fan-favorite song goes like,
“You sit in class next to a redhead named Abigail / And soon enough, you’re best friends / Laughin’ at the other girls / Who think they’re so cool / We’ll be out of here as soon as we can.“
The second time Anderson gets a shoutout in Swift’s song is absolutely heartbreaking. In the song, Ruin the Friendship, from her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, Swift sings about losing his friend from high school, Jeff Lang, at a young age, and Anderson calling her up to deliver the bad news:
When I left school I lost track of you / Abigail called me with the bad news / Goodbye … / And we’ll never know why / It was not an invitation / But I flew home anyway / With so much left to say / It was not convenient, no / But I whispered at the grave / ‘Should’ve kissed you anyway
Over two decades in, Swift and Anderson’s friendship remains stronger than ever. Let’s take a moment to learn more about the muse behind Fifteen.
More About Taylor Swift’s Longtime Friend, Abigail Anderson Berard
Talking to Oprah Winfrey, Swift revealed that Anderson went on to become a competitive swimmer at the University of Kansas, and was a top swimmer in the butterfly and backstroke events. She said, “She wanted to be a swimmer and go off on a college scholarship for swimming and I wanted to be a singer.” Clearly, both their dreams came true.
According to SwimSwam, Anderson was a Division I swimmer, and she scored 77 points at the Big 12 Championships as a junior in 2011. In all four years of high school, she was named the school’s ‘Swimmer of the Year’ back-to-back.
Currently, Anderson works at a payment technology company, Celero Commerce, as the chief of staff for corporate development. She previously worked at Patriot Angels, an NPO that provided veterans and military spouses with pension-related assistance.
In an interview with ET, Swift talked about just how important this was for Anderson: “Abigail works with making sure that veterans from World War II get their compensation. It couldn’t be more different from my career or Lena [Dunham]’s career, but the fact that she is so passionate about what she does allows her to be able to relate to me on that level.“
The duo has made a few adorable videos together. Anderson accompanied Swift to a prom where the singer showed up as a superfan’s date for MTV’s Once Upon a Prom. You can check out moments from the day below:
Anderson has always been supportive of her best friend on social media, praising her albums with long, heartfelt captions that prove just how strong their bond is. Take a look at what she had to say about ‘1989’:
A post shared by Abigail Anderson Berard (@abigail_lauren)
As for her personal life, Anderson is married to Celero Commerce’s Chief Technology Officer, Charles Berard, with whom she tied the knot in September 2022. She was previously married to photographer Matt Lucier, and Swift was a bridesmaid at the wedding (via PEOPLE). Unfortunately, we don’t know if she was there at the Anderson-Berard wedding.
The couple welcomed their first baby in August 2024. She announced the pregnancy in July on Instagram, with a caption from Swift’s song, But Daddy I Love Him. She wrote, “I’m having his baby...💙”.
Most recently, Anderson, Berard, Swift, and her fiancé, Travis Kelce, were spotted on a double date in June 2025, when they attended a concert at the Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville.
📽️| Taylor and Travis are attending the TEU concert tonight with Abigail and her husband!
pic.twitter.com/qeBXjbcZeT
Words fall short for a friendship that has been going strong for years. So far, Anderson hasn’t said anything about Swift’s latest album or her name being mentioned in the lyrics.
Every Time Abigail Anderson Has Been in Taylor Swift’s Music Videos
Anderson has been a part of multiple of Swift’s music videos over the years, obviously including Fifteen, where she played herself. Apart from the ultimate friendship song, Anderson has also made cameos in the following music videos:
The music video of I’m Only Me When I’m with You is as wholesome as wholesome gets. It features homemade videos of Swift’s life with her family and, of course, Abigail.
From attending high school together to going on double dates after finding the love of their lives, Anderson and Swift’s friendship is one for the books. While they may have gone through ups and downs in their relationship, the singer mentioning her longtime best friend in her new album only goes to prove that they are still going strong.
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Stream Fifteen, Ruin the Friendship, The Life of a Showgirl, and more on any major streaming platform.
