Taylor Swift, Harry Styles Avoid Each Other at NRJ Awards in Cannes, France

USMagazine, Sunday, January 27, 2013, 7:40am (PST)

Timing really is everything for Taylor Swift and Harry Styles' now-defunct relationship. The former lovebirds were both in Cannes, France, on Saturday, Jan. 26, to attend the NRJ Awards, but the exes managed to time their appearances just right to avoid any potentially awkward run-ins.

Styles, 18, hit the red carpet with his group One Direction and Korean pop sensation Psy first, and Swift, 23, arrived 25 minutes later, sources tell Us Weekly.

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"It was very carefully timed so they didn't do the carpet at the same time," an insider tells Us. "Taylor didn't do any backstage interviews and didn't use a dressing room -- she changed at the hotel because she didn't want to see Harry at any point. ...Things were timed to keep them apart and for it to not become a big media circus."

Swift dazzled in a short gold-and-white Elie Saab number with a plunging neckline on the red carpet and later changed into a tiny black lace dress with knee-high boots for her performance of her hit, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together."

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The song, which was reportedly written about one of Swift's other exes, Jake Gyllenhaal, held extra meaning for the country crooner, who reportedly looked directly at Styles -- who was several feet away in the audience -- as she sang her breakup anthem.

"She was talking in French on the microphone saying, 'So he calls me up and he's like 'je t'aime, je 't'aime toujours … je ne sais pas [I love you, I still love you, I don't know]. No! We are never ever getting back together, like ever!'" an eyewitness told Us of her passionate performance.

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Swift and Styles famously split earlier this month after reportedly having a huge argument during their holiday getaway to the British Virgin Islands.

"They had a fight," one insider told Us at the time. The British singer had "said something he shouldn't have … This [breakup] is definitely going to be for good."

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In a cryptic tweet on Jan. 10, Swift hinted at a new song that she's penning about their public split.

"Back in the studio," she wrote at the time. "Uh oh..."

Styles has not directly addressed the breakup, and in a tweet late Saturday evening, thanked fans for their support as he and his band won Best International Group.

"Thank you so much to @NRJhitmusiconly and our fans for the award!! See you later .xx," he tweeted.

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Taylor Swift, Harry Styles Avoid Each Other at NRJ Awards in Cannes, France