Tom Hiddleston Spills the Beans on Taylor Swift Relationship and That ‘I Heart T.S.’ Tank Top

Though his summer romance with Taylor Swift ended months ago, actor Tom Hiddleston only has wonderful things to say about his famous ex-girlfriend.

In the new issue of GQ, Tom said, "Taylor is an amazing woman. She's generous and kind and lovely, and we had the best time."

Some speculated that the relationship was a publicity stunt, but Tom argued, “Of course it was real.”

During their three months as a couple, Taylor, 27, and Tom, 35, were spotted traveling the world together and meeting each other's families, with the cameras following their every move. Despite wanting a normal relationship, their fame made it difficult for them to make it work. He explained, “We decided to go out for dinner, we decided to travel… She's incredible. [But] a relationship in the limelight… A relationship always takes work. And it's not just the limelight. It's everything else.”

Tom also defended his choice to wear that infamous “I ♥ T.S.” tank during a July 4 bash at Taylor's home. He revealed, "The truth is it was the Fourth of July and a public holiday and we were playing a game and I slipped and hurt my back. And I wanted to protect the graze from the sun and said, 'Does anyone have a T-shirt?' And one of her [Swift's] friends said, 'I've got this.'” Once he saw the shirt, he and Taylor's friends "laughed about it. It was a joke.”

Even though Tom thought it was a funny joke at first, the pics of him in the tank top made headlines. As for his reaction to the media frenzy, 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… I just, I was surprised. I was just surprised that it got so much attention. The tank top became an emblem of this thing.”

Looking back on the short-lived relationship, Tom wouldn't change a thing "because you have to fight for love. You can't live in fear of what people might say. You know, you have to be true to yourself.”