Although Taylor Swift can't seem to talk to her ex anymore, her friends keep her updated on how he's doing. As "Now That We Don't Talk" starts, Swift recalls that her friends saw her ex at a party and he seemed to control the room— and Swift misses that magnetic force. In the next lines, the singer shows how well she knows her ex by alluding to how the attention must have made him feel anxious.
Then comes the second verse, where she sees her ex changing right before her eyes as she sings, "It looks like you're tryin' new lives on." While Swift doesn't like her ex's new self, she knows she doesn't have a say in his life anymore, so she keeps her distance. She calls her mom for advice, who reminds Swift that her ex took more from her than what he gave her. Swift knows that their romantic relationship cannot continue, but a part of her wishes they could be friends, but in the bridge, she realizes that's not possible right after the split.
However, the outro takes a more optimistic turn as Swift sings about everything she won't have to change about herself to fit in with her ex's social circles. She almost seems happy about their lack of communication, but then she contrasts it with, "And the only way back to my dignity was to turn into a shrouded mystery," to allude to her stunning transformation during the "1989" era.
