Betty is James’s former lover in Taylor Swift’s Folklore love triangle.
The triangle unfolds across “cardigan,” “august,” and “betty.” “cardigan” presents Betty’s perspective, “august” follows the unnamed girl who has a summer romance with James, and “betty” gives James’s perspective as he reflects on his mistake and seeks reconciliation.
In “august,” James is already involved with Betty when the summer relationship begins. The narrator hopes the romance might become permanent, but James eventually returns to Betty. That outcome explains the song’s wistful and unfulfilled tone: the narrator experiences the relationship as meaningful even though James never truly belongs to her.
The songs are fictional rather than a confirmed account of Swift’s personal life. Another common mistake is calling the “august” narrator Augustine. Swift said she imagined names such as Augusta or Augustine, but the character is not explicitly named in the lyrics.