STANDING amid the hordes of fans at Taylor Swift’s Reputation concert in 2019, Kimberly Louvin, sang and danced along with the best of them.
But for her the concert was not only incredible but surreal.
This was the woman she’d been to high school with, belting out hit after hit to her adoring fans – dubbed Swifties.
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous, Kimberly, 35, a mental health therapist, from Portland in Oregon, says, “It was so inspiring.
“I loved seeing a woman that I’d known as just an ordinary girl, walking around school in the usual jeans and polo shirt, whipping up the crowd like that.
“It makes you feel as though anything is possible.
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“I’d followed her career from the beginning – buying all her albums – but this was in a different league.”
Mrs Popular
Kimberly was 16 when Taylor, then 14, arrived at Hendersonville High school, Tennessee, in 2006.
And contrary to claims that Taylor was hated, made by fellow ex Hendersonville pupil Jessica McLane on TikTok, Kimberly recalls she was popular pretty much from the outset.
She remembers, “There was a bit of a buzz when she arrived because we all knew she’d moved to get into a music career.
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“It was often like that when someone new came who had a skill, like an athlete.
“But all my memories of her are positive. Because I was two years older, I didn’t really know her on a one-on-one basis, I was focused on my studies.
“Hendersonville was a typical high school with the different stereotypes – the sporty ones, the nerds and the ‘in crowd’.
“Taylor seemed to fit in quickly with the popular lot.
“But she did it very naturally and seemed authentic – not one of those girls that was clawing their way in by being bitchy to other girls. She didn’t need to be the centre of attention.
She also talked about a guy who cheated on her – imagine being the guy that cheated on Taylor Swift in high school, he must feel so stupid now
Kimberly Louvin
“She was very natural too, she had this gorgeous curly hair that I couldn’t understand how she managed to keep looking so smooth, because it was very humid in Hendersonville.
“But she didn’t have any airs and graces at all and dressed in the usual stuff everyone was wearing – usually a polo shirt and flared jeans, though as she was tall and willowy she always looked great.
“She seemed very comfortable in her own skin.
“She didn’t seem particularly charismatic, in my opinion it was more that she was kind hearted.
“And I think the fact that one of her best friend’s, Abigail, was at school with us too shows she’s very loyal.”
Teenage regrets
Kimberly only has one regret about her time knowing Taylor – that she didn’t go to her very first album release party.
She says, “It was happening in a shop in town and I could so easily have gone.
“But I was at university at the time and I thought there would be other opportunities.
“I kick myself about that now – but even then I was so proud of her and decided that I’d follow her career.”
And as Taylor released her albums, Kimberly and her friends would try to work out who she was referring to in her lyrics about high school.
She says, “I remember in one song she mentioned a boy called Drew and we went through the year books trying to look him up.
Cheating rumours
“She also talked about a guy who cheated on her – imagine being the guy that cheated on Taylor Swift in high school, he must feel so stupid now.
“And I loved hearing her mention places from Hendersonville in her lyrics – like the methodist church car park, we all used to park there to walk down to the football games.
“The knowledge that we have a shared history is nice.”
Romance advice
And for Kimberly, who’s single, her association with Taylor has helped her enormously in her romantic life.
She says, “I can find it quite awkward when I first meet people and would hate having to think up ice breakers.
“But I 100% have used my history with Taylor as a first date ice breaker and they always love it and have loads of questions to ask to keep the conversation going.
“And it’s a useful tool to weed people out – if they hate her the relationship won’t progress, because they probably don’t appreciate strong, confident women.
“The man I’m currently dating is a loyal Swiftie.”
And listening to Taylor’s songs help Kimberly with her work.
She says, “Her lyrics are very powerful and inspirational. I always think if she can do it then so can I.
“I’ve recently started my own private practice and she gives me self-belief.
“I may even use her lyrics in therapy sessions, because you can really connect to how honest she is.”
Pondering on whether she’d have still been a fan if she hadn’t been at school with Taylor,
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Kimberly says, “I think I would have been, but I might have been more sceptical, and thought ‘we all go through the things she writes about’ but because I know she’s authentic, I am a bigger fan.
“And the bottom line is she’s a girl from a very ordinary suburb, I should know, who’s breaking records all the time – she’s phenomenal.”
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Martha Cliff
