Stated best by Taylor Swift’s opening song during The Era’s Tour, “It’s been a long time coming”. Swifties everywhere were filled with profound happiness and hope when Taylor Swift announced her engagement last week. At the end of the day, we all wish for a love that makes us feel “so high school,” and if Taylor Swift has taught us anything, it’s that everyone is deserving of the “love story” of their dreams, no matter how long it takes. Let’s take a look at the magical timeline of this iconic relationship.
2016: Kelce plays “Kiss, Marry, Kill” in an interview, with the choices of Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, and Taylor Swift. Although he explained that it was a messed-up game, he ended up choosing Taylor Swift as the kiss. If only he knew that 9 years later they would be engaged….
July 2023: Travis Kelce attended The Eras Tour on July 8th at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City (where he plays Offense on the Kansas City Chiefs). He then explained on his podcast called “New Heights” that he had participated in the friendship bracelet trading activity during the Eras Tour, yet there was one that he didn’t get to trade… one with his phone number on it, that he hoped to give to Taylor. After her three-and-a-half-hour show, Taylor had a specific after-show routine, so he couldn’t give her the bracelet.
September 2023: After fans of both Swift and Kelce had been manifesting the best for their relationship for the majority of the summer, to our surprise, Taylor Swift attended her first Chiefs game and sat in Travis Kelce’s private suite. Swifties everywhere are used to her frequent “easter eggs,” yet this certainly didn’t feel like she was coincidentally at this game.
October 2023: Taylor and Travis both “just happened” to have attended the same Season 49 SNL episode premiering on October 14th, and Kelce made a surprise cameo in a skit that made fun of the massive media coverage surrounding his and Swift’s rumored relationship, while Swift made a surprise appearance and introduced the musical guest Ice Spice. Afterwards, the couple was seen holding hands while entering and leaving the SNL after party. Best hard launch ever, right?
September-January 2024: Swift attended a total of 13 Chiefs games in the 2023-2024 season. He ran to her on the field a few times, and the couple shared some adorable moments. With 13 being her lucky number, fans couldn’t help but feel like this relationship was fate.
February 2024: On February 11th, Swift attended the Super Bowl and celebrated the Chiefs’ win by meeting him on the field, and the couple shared a kiss that nearly broke the internet.
April 2024: Taylor Swift released “The Tortured Poets Department” on April 19th, and fans quickly connected the song “So High School” to Travis Kelce, with lines such as “Are you gonna marry, kiss or kill me?” and “You know how to ball, I know Aristotle.” Also, Travis explained in an interview that he is definitely a Swiftie and that he is extremely proud of Taylor and all of her work.
June 2024: The couple became Instagram official when Swift posted a selfie of her, Kelce, and Prince William with his children George and Charlotte, who had attended the Eras tour in London.
September 2024: Rumors had been spreading that the couple broke up after she missed two weeks of Chiefs games, even though she was on a break from the tour. Yet this rumor was quickly shut down– I guess it’s true that “haters gonna hate”.
November 2024: During a show of the Eras tour in Buenos Aires, Swift changed the line in her song “Karma” at the Eras tour from “Karma is the guy on the screen, Coming straight home to me” to “Karma is the guy on the chiefs, Coming straight home to me.” Based on Kelce’s reaction, he looked just as surprised as her fans there!
December 2024-May 2025: The Era’s tour ended on December 8th, and Swift took a well-deserved break from the spotlight after her nearly two-year-long tour. Swift attended many of Kelce’s games, and they were often seen together on dates and also on vacation. Kelce announced after the 2024 football season that he wanted to take a break from the public eye because he was working constantly and didn’t play as well as he wanted.
August 13th, 2025: The Kelce brothers’ podcast “New Heights” had Taylor Swift on as a guest. During the episode, she told the story of how she was able to buy back the rights to her music, and what she’s been up to for the past few months after the Eras tour ended, including announcing her new album “The Life of a Showgirl”. Within this interview, it was extremely clear to fans that Swift and Kelce were meant for each other, with Swift even saying, “he is like a human exclamation point… I use so many more exclamation points now” in regards to Kelce.
August 26th, 2025: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement on Instagram, captioning it “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married 🧨.” When this announcement was posted, my friends and I in our English class were all so surprised and excited that our favorite ship had not only sailed but it is now docked on the shore.
The stars were aligning for this couple for 9 years, starting with a simple game during an interview and ending with happily ever after. As a huge Swiftie, it’s apparent that Taylor Swift has had a complicated dating history, yet for every breakup song she has written, she can now write just as many love songs. One of her most famous songs, “Love Story,” was partly inspired by the Shakespeare play “Romeo and Juliet,” where all Juliet wanted was a happy ending to her long and difficult situation. While Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers were engaged in less than one day, Swift and Kelce took quite a long time to find one another, yet clearly there was an “invisible string” tying them together all along. As Taylor wrote, “Time, wondrous time, gave me the blues and then purple pink skies.” All she truly needed was the time to follow that invisible string leading her to her fairytale ending.