Why everyone's talking about Taylor Lautner (and his wife, Taylor Lautner).

Let me Taylor you a story.

Okay, that may be the worst pun of all time, but it was imperative that I make clear how much this story hinges on Taylor, as a name. 

You see, Taylor Lautner, yes, Jacob from Twilight, is like a magnet for other Taylors.

He dated another famous Taylor, last name Swift, in 2009, as they co-starred in the enduringly bad film Valentines Day together. Now, he's married to another Taylor – a nurse of the former last name Dome.

Together, they are Taylor Lautner and Taylor Lautner.

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A post shared by Taylor Lautner (@taylorlautner)

This current Taylor/Taylor/Taylor story began a couple of weeks ago, when Swift announced a July 7 release date for Speak Now (Taylor's Version), the third release in her project to re-record the six albums she does not own. It was originally released in October 2010.

This coincides with a press tour that Lautner Squared are undertaking to promote their new joint podcast, The Squeeze. I cannot express how relieved I am that the podcast title does not include their shared name.

On May 16, Lautner and (the other) Lautner appeared on TODAY in the US for this reason, where they discussed their marriage and work together, but also, in an online chat for TODAY.com, how they feel about Swift's upcoming album release.

This is because Lautner is the muse for Speak Now single 'Back to December', which is an apology song.

Swift never said out loud that Lautner inspired the song, but the hidden message for the song in her CD liner notes is 'Tay', and the song references Lautner seeing her cry after the 2009 VMAs, after he presented her with the award for Best Female Video and Kanye West interrupted her acceptance speech (there is also a song on Speak Now about this moment, called 'Innocent'. The Speak Now lore goes deep!)

Taylor and Taylor celebrate her award win, moments before... well, we all know what happened. Image: Getty.

If you need more proof, in 2016, Lautner confirmed it was about him.

They are on good terms – and he's even rumoured to appear in an upcoming Swift music video alongside Joey King. So TODAY.com had reason to ask, and it seems like both Lautners are glad they did.

(Taylor Lautner, nee Dome is a big Swift fan and has cited Speak Now as her favourite album  – just in case this couldn't get any more weird and intertwined.)

"I think it's a great album. Yeah, I feel safe," he joked. "Praying for John."

Firstly: love this for him. An unbothered king who keeps his side of the street clean.

Secondly: he's referencing John Mayer, who is the subject of the album's most devastating track, 'Dear John', where 19-year-old Swift reflects on dating the 32-year-old. Though she's never confirmed it's about him, the song's title speaks for itself and Mayer lambasted it in the press after the 2010 release.

Wife Lautner laughed and said she is also excited for the release.

Naturally, his quote quickly went viral because 1. it's funny and 2. pretty much anything Swiftian goes viral these days.

Reactions were very positive and funny:

how taylor lautner sleeps at night knowing he’ll receive nothing but love and praise when speak now tv is released

pic.twitter.com/gilzfhF5U3

— marley 🕰️ (@marleyharper) May 16, 2023

taylor lautner: https://t.co/y6u7BySq7y pic.twitter.com/8oAYmCxBb9

— leah (@futzdyke) May 16, 2023

“I feel safe, praying for John” is one of my new favorite ways to describe the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) release. https://t.co/azj3bTdH1x pic.twitter.com/J2ksXvexrJ

— Mary Kate (@MaryKateA10) May 16, 2023

Then, Lautner one and Lautner two decided the good press was REALLY good press (I would love to see those podcast numbers pre- and post- acknowledgement!) because they hammered the point home, uploading a TikTok on (wife) Lautner's account of (husband) Lautner pretending to PRAY.

With 'Dear John' playing in the background.

And the hashtag #PrayForJohn.

@taysqueezeslemons #prayforjohn ♬ Dear John - Taylor Swift

Yes, it's officially very corny.

But we can't blame the man for being on the right side of Swiftory, and for milking the fan's goodwill. And I suppose the werewolf from Twilight runs in a very different Hollywood circle to Mayer, which makes it a risk worth taking in his eyes.

Swift's upcoming release will feature six previously unheard 'vault' songs that didn't make it onto the original album. We have no idea if any of these will expand on the Lautner x Swift lore, but their TikTok engagement will be hoping so.

Anyway, when you press play on Speak Now (Taylor's Version) on July 7, just know that at least two people named Taylor Lautner are doing the same.

Chelsea McLaughlin is Mamamia's Senior Entertainment Writer and co-host of The Spill. For more pop culture takes, recommendations and sarcasm, you can follow her on Instagram.

Feature image: TikTok/Getty.