Matty Healy is getting by with a little help from his friends.
The 1975 frontman told fans at a concert Monday night that while he’s “not very online at the moment” he’s well aware that he’s been the subject of some scrutiny — and he’s been leaning on his bandmates.
“[Fans at] the front had some very beautiful signs that said ‘You are loved.’ That was very, very kind of you and I’m sure that it’s alluding to… As you’re aware, I’m not very online at the moment and I’m sure people have just been calling me a c— relentlessly. I’ve not been online,” Healy, 34, told the crowd in Vienna, Austria.
He gestured to his bandmates as he continued: “But what I have been with is with my boys and honestly as much as I appreciate that — it’s so beautiful, and I thank you, but — I don’t need it ’cause I’ve got them.”
The “Oh Caroline” singer and drummer George Daniel, bassist Ross MacDonald and guitarist Adam Hann have been friends since they were teenagers, and are currently touring Europe in support of their most recent album Being Funny in a Foreign Language.
Healy — whom a source recently told PEOPLE is “no longer romantically involved” with Taylor Swift — performed the set while wearing an eye patch, which he previously explained is due to injury.
“I had some droopy thing going on with my eye,” he told fans at an earlier concert. “I started putting s— in my eye, and then it got really bad. It started to get better but I’m like, self-conscious. And then I also realized that I’d been given the opportunity that every adult male fantasizes about, which is to have a legitimate reason to dress like a pirate.”
The eye patch eventually made its way to a fan during Monday night’s show, along with other set props including a bottle of wine and a flask. Healy noted a fan in the crowd who’d attended several other concerts, and swapped the items with her after reading her sign, which asked if she could give him books.
The concert in Vienna was the first for the band after sources told PEOPLE that he and Swift had cooled off. The longtime friends were linked in early May, a few weeks after news broke that Swift and actor Joe Alwyn had broken up after six years together.
The “Anti-Hero” singer has been on her record-breaking Eras Tour since April, and Healy was in attendance for all six of Swift’s concerts in Nashville and Philadelphia, where he was spotted with Swift’s dad Scott. When they weren’t on the road, Swift and Healy spent time together in New York City, from hanging out with friends at the Electric Lady recording studio to sharing a kiss at members-only club Zero Bond.
“They were never boyfriend-girlfriend and were always just having fun,” an insider said. “There is no drama, and who knows what could happen again. It was a good time and ran its course.”
Added another source: “Taylor and Matty still care for one another but they are in the middle of world tours so both are incredibly busy. They’ve been friends for years and are still friends.”
Meanwhile, a third source said the pair “decided to just go back to being friends. Nothing complicated happened. It’s just life.”
On May 27, Healy appeared to address romance rumors at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Dundee, Scotland with a cryptic message to the crowd.
“Is it all a bit? Is it sincere? Will he ever address it?” he asked. “All of these questions and more will be ignored in the next hour. Ladies and gentleman, this is The 1975.”
Source : People
