Who is Taeok Lee? Fans are eager to find out more about the Asian man portraying Taylor Swift’s love interest in her brand new music video, “Willow”.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, “Willow” is the lead single taken from the 31-year-old singer’s surprise 9th studio album, “Evermore”.
In the whimsical visual, we see Taylor following a gold string into her piano. It leads her to the man of her dreams. That Korean American man is played by Taeok Lee. He first appears as a reflection in a puddle of water and later reappears again in front of the pop star while she’s stuck inside a glass cage.
During a YouTube Q&A prior to the release of “Willow”, the multi-Grammy winner explained the footage represents “how she feels about fame” – the part where everyone is watching her, and she cannot escape.
After a few missed opportunities, the singer-songwriter finally gets her fairytale ending when she reunites with her Prince Charming after climbing out of her piano (this time wearing a blue Little House on the Prairie style dress).
In addition, Tay Tay also shared an Easter Egg, informing her Swifties, “You’ve seen my co-star in this video somewhere before. One scene represents how I feel about fame. There’s a scene to represent each season throughout the journey of the video.”
For the uninitiated, Taeok was previously a backup dancer for Taylor’s “Red” tour back from 2013-2014. It seems that the duo have a longtime relationship. He previously posted a cute throwback of a black and white picture of them together with the caption: “A lifetime ago” with the hashtag #thirtyflirtyandthriving.”
Check out more photos of them over the years:
Re-watch the music video here:
