The world was catapulted into confusion after Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston, perhaps the most bizarre celebrity spectacle of last summer, announced their love affair. The widespread bewilderment climaxed after Hiddleston was spotted sporting an “I love TS” tank top on a rocky beach.

At long last, eight months later, the actor has explained the thought process behind the infamous item of clothing. Despite the intense speculation about what could have possibly compelled Hiddleston to wear his love for Swift as a literal badge of honour and the manifold conspiracy theories about whether the burgeoning romance was simply an extravagant music video, the actor has claimed it was all one big joke.

“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,” the 36-year-old told GQ magazine as part of his March cover story “And I wanted to protect the graze from the sun and said, ‘Does anyone have a T-shirt?’ And one of her friends said, ‘I’ve got this’ … And we all laughed about it. It was a joke.”

Hiddleston, who dated Swift for three months, said he was not a fan of the limelight which comes with being in such a closely scrutinised relationship. He also said he was surprised by how much attention the relationship had received.

“I have to be so psychologically strong about not letting other people’s interpretations about my life affect my life. A relationship exists between two people. We will always know what it was," he said.

Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage Show all 10 1 /10 Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage Taking on the role of Coriolanus in William Shakespeare's play of the same name at The Donmar Warehouse, London, in 2013 AP Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage As Loki, the Norse god of mischief, in Thor:The Dark World (2013) AP Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage Hiddleston, left, and Chris Hemsworth in a scene from Thor: The Dark World (2013) AP Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage Playing depressed musician Adam in Only Lovers Left Alive (2013), which also stars Tilda Swinton AP Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage In an amorous clinch with Rachel Weisz as forbidden lovers Freddie and Hester in The Deep Blue Sea (2011) Rex Features Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage Playing Posthumus to Jodie McNee's Imogen in Cymbeline, performed by Cheek by Jowl at the Barbican Theatre, London, in 2007 Rex Features Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage As the tragic Captain James Nicholls (right) in Steven Spielberg's War Horse (2011), alongside Benedict Cumberbatch (left) and Patrick Kennedy (centre) Rex Features Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage As Loki in The Avengers (2012) Rex Features Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage Looking dapper in the role of F Scott Fitzgerald alongside Alison Pill in Midnight in Paris (2011) Rex Features Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage Tom Hiddleston on screen and stage A fresh-faced Hiddleston in Joanna Hogg's Archipelago (2010) Rex Features

“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.”

Hiddleston dismissed the theories floated by some that their relationship was a mere PR stunt, saying: “Of course it was real” and applauding his former partner as an “amazing woman”.