Taylor Swift Is Not ‘Ruled’ by Love

Taylor Swift is undoubtedly one of the most famous faces in music -- with famous boyfriends to match. The 21-year-old has been romantically linked to several high-profile celebrities, including John Mayer, Taylor Lautner, and most recently, Oscar-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal. But while the blond beauty likes singing songs about romance, she says it's one subject she might never figure out.

"There are no rules when it comes to love. I just try to let love surprise me because you never know who you're going to fall in love with," she tells InStyle magazine. "You never know who's going to come into your life -- and for me, when I picture the person I want to end up with, I don't think about what their career is, or what they look like. I picture the feeling I get when I'm with them."

The reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year has been through her own share of heartache. Admittedly teased as a child, she has also faced harsh criticism by the media for some of her live performances. But the resilient songbird says she doesn't let any of her trials keep her down for long.

"I'm most scared by the thought of prolonged, perpetual unhappiness, and of unfulfillment," she explains. "I have this really high priority on happiness and finding something to be happy about. It's not that I live in a delusional fantasy where I'm just smiling every day. I definitely feel pain, but there is also this need to be grateful for what I've been given."

She may be spending most of her time in buses and hotels, thanks to her Speak Now World tour, but the Pennsylvania native proudly became a home-owner in Nashville last year and in Los Angeles this year -- and enjoys entertaining behind a stove instead of a microphone when she has time. "First I fell in love with baking, then I fell in love with cooking, and then I got my own place -- and I was doing it for my friends all the time," reveals the aspiring chef.

Her pals will have to settle for take-out for the next few months. After spending the first part of 2011 in Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, the singer-songwriter kicks off the United States leg of her tour on Friday, May 27, in Omaha, Neb. She will perform a dress rehearsal for her Speak Now World tour in front of 50,000 fans this Saturday, May 21, with the proceeds going to aid the victims of last month's tornadoes in the Southeast. Tickets are still available and can be purchased here, and her concert schedule can be found here.

Taylor is looking lovely in yellow on the cover of the latest issue of InStyle, which hits newsstands on Friday, May 20.

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