Tom Hiddleston's relationship with Taylor Swift may have only lasted a brief three months, but there was nothing show or sham about it, Hiddleston insists in a new interview with GQ.

TMZ originally reported in September 2016 that the couple had broken up amicably because of scheduling issues, and Hiddleston's tone to GQ seems to prove the two did, indeed, end things respectfully.

"Taylor is an amazing woman,” Hiddleston says. “She’s generous and kind and lovely, and we had the best time.”

Then, Hiddleston insists to writer Taffy Brodesser-Anker “Of course it was real."

And when it comes to that infamous photo of Hiddleston sporting an "I <3 T.S. top," the actor seems to get defensive, and laments the fact that the media had a field day with the wardrobe selection.

"I have to be so psychologically strong about not letting other people’s interpretations about my life affect my life," he said." A relationship exists between two people. We will always know what it was. The narratives that are out there altogether have been extrapolated from pictures that were taken without consent or permission, with no context. Nobody had the context for that story. And I’m still trying to work out a way of having a personal life and protecting it, but also without hiding. So the hardest thing is that that was a joke among friends on the Fourth of July."

Just this week, Swift's good friend Lena Dunham told The Howard Stern Show she can't believe Swift still has to endure so much press attention when it comes to her dating and relationship life.

"I mean, not to repeat age-old feminist points, but it’s like, you know, any male actor her age who’s going out and dating is applauded,” she said. “To just have a perfectly normal amount of romantic partners but be held to impossibly high standards by the press. Like, it’s just an unfair and unwinnable game"

A Timeline of Taylor Swift's Relationship With Tom Hiddleston:

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