Hiddleston calls 2016 romance with Taylor Swift 'real'

British actor Tom Hiddleston has opened up about his 2016 summer romance with Taylor Swift, insisting their relationship "was real" but explaining that his much-mocked "I (heart) T.S." tank top was just a joke.

The three-month romance between the Thor actor and the US pop star became a celebrity-media obsession last year, cataloged in paparazzi shots on beaches and at restaurants.

Many viewed it with suspicion, questioning whether it was a publicity stunt intended to benefit the public images of both Hiddleston, 36, and Swift, 27. It ended in September without explanation.