My partner and I met because of Taylor Swift. We dreamed of going to the UK Eras Tour together, but the $853 price tag has made it impossible.

• My boyfriend and I started speaking on Hinge because of our mutual love for Taylor Swift.
• Almost three years later, our shared goal was to attend the Eras Tour in the UK together.
• After being placed on the presale wait-list, only $853 VIP tickets were left. 

I've been a Taylor Swift superfan for the past 14 years. 

When I was a teenager, I would lock myself in my bedroom every time she released a new album and frantically search the CD lyric jacket for Swift's now-famous hidden messages. My dream was always to be a writer, and Swift's evocative and heartwarming lyrics were — and still are — a huge inspiration.

A couple of months after I turned 24 in July 2020, my love for Swift led me to my now-boyfriend, Scott. 

We met on Hinge, a dating app where user profiles are made up of a series of photos and prompts, which are usually a set list of ways to begin a sentence which the user has to finish. When swiping on someone's profile, you can respond directly to the prompt they completed, or you can "like" what they wrote.

I can't remember exactly which prompts I used on my profile, but I recall responding to one of them that Taylor Swift is "the greatest songwriter of our generation." 

Scott "liked" my answer, to which I responded: "You're a Swiftie too?" 

After our first date in the fall of 2020, Scott sent me a text message saying he was "enchanted to meet" me, referencing lyrics from Swift's song "Enchanted" from her 2010 album, "Speak Now."

I thought the message was a bit corny but nonetheless sweet. "Enchanted" had always been my favorite song of Swift's, so I took it as a sign that we should pursue a second date. After all, this guy seemed romantic and he clearly had great taste in music.

When Swift announced UK dates for her tour, we knew we had to attend

Scott and I have now been together for almost three years. When Swift announced earlier this year that the UK leg of her Eras Tour would take place in June 2024, there was no doubt about it — we had to go. 

Swift is due to perform in Edinburgh, Scotland, on June 8, June 9, and June 10. That's ideal for us, since Edinburgh is around an hour's drive from our home in Glasgow.

Scott and I joined a group of friends who signed up for the Edinburgh presales which took place on Monday on Ticketmaster and AXS.

My twin sister and one of our friends were among those who were randomly allocated access codes for the presales, while Scott and I were wait-listed on Ticketmaster.

We collectively agreed that our budget would be £200, or around $258, per ticket.

We were astounded by the ticket prices 

For the June 8 presale, my friend waited for 15 minutes on AXS and my sister waited for 40 minutes on Ticketmaster before they were admitted. 

They said ticket prices ranged from around £60, or around $77,  to almost £700, or just under $900, but the more affordable tickets were taken by the time they were admitted into the sale. Only VIP tickets remained, which ranged in price from £330, or around $426, to £661, or around $853 per ticket. This was also the case for the following two Edinburgh presales that day, they said. 

On Tuesday, Scott and I were taken off the wait-list, but the only Edinburgh tickets that remained were the $853 VIP tickets. Each ticket comes with four Taylor Swift prints, exclusive merchandise including a VIP tote bag, a pin, sticker, and postcard set, and a VIP tour laminate with a matching lanyard, according to the ticket information on Ticketmaster's website.

Some of these tickets are still available at the time of writing on Wednesday. 

It's worth noting that concert ticket prices are set by the event organizers — not Ticketmaster or AXS — as stated on Ticketmaster's website.

After we accepted our losses, an old friend of mine got in touch to say she had a spare ticket for one of Swift's Edinburgh shows. The ticket was far more affordable at £195, or around $251, and she said it was mine if I wanted it — but she only had one.  

I'm so grateful that I will be able to attend the concert after all, and I'm already counting down the days to June 2024.

However, I'm astounded that Scott will only be able to join me if he is willing to spend $853. Ultimately, we decided it's not a price we can afford to pay — even for the singer who brought us together.

Representatives for Taylor Swift, Ticketmaster, and AXS UK did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.