No one can stop talking about Taylor Swift. This summer was one for the girls but especially one for the Swifties. With the Eras Tour forcing a Congressional hearing on the monopoly that is Ticketmaster, Taylor pumping out rerecording after rerecording, and Swifties scouring each blurry TikTok livestream for Easter eggs and hints at the next one, we thought we may be getting a break before Taylor starts her next leg of her record-breaking tour. Little did we know, the start of the NFL season would introduce us to a new Swiftie and possibly Taylor’s new boo, Travis Kelce.
Historically, Taylor Swift has publically dated exclusively British guys since Conor Kennedy and Jake Gyllenhaal in 2012. Most recently, she was with Matty Healy of The 1975 for a little summer fling and before him, Taylor was with Joe Alwyn, an actor, for about six years before they broke up in April 2023. All Swifties thought Joe and Taylor were end game—iykyk. However, Taylor may be entering an American era with Kansas City Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce.
Travis Kelce and his brother, Eagles center Jason Kelce, spoke on their shared podcast “New Heights” about Travis’s experience going to the Eras Tour at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Travis said that he was sad he couldn’t meet Taylor as he had made her a friendship bracelet—as you do for the Eras Tour—with his phone number on it. As time went on, teammates, friends and sportscasters started asking Travis what the deal was there: has Taylor received the bracelet and has she reached out? While all this was happening, Taylor continued to break records as she attended the VMAs and won the most awards in one night. Travis then said on a sports podcast that he “put the ball in her court” and invited her to see him play in Arrowhead as he had seen her play there as well. This got people wondering if they had been hanging out or talking privately. After avoiding questions for a while, this past Sunday confirmed that something did happen and someone did reach out.
On Sunday, Taylor Swift attended the Kansas City Chiefs football game and watched them beat the Chicago Bears from a suite with Travis Kelce’s mom. She was seen on video cheering him on when he scored a touchdown and just having an overall good time. Her being there basically broke the internet and had many Swifties watching Sunday Football. Brands were tweeting about it, the NFL changed their TikTok bio to “Taylor was here” and people started buying out all the Kelce jerseys on the NFL website. Swifties were making TikToks to “Mary’s Song” and teaching people about football in a way only Swifties would understand.
After the game, Taylor and Travis were seen leaving together—not holding hands, we aren’t there yet I guess—and rode in a convertible with the top down to a restaurant. Reportedly, Travis rented out the restaurant in order to host a private party with his family, teammates and Taylor. They were seen dancing together and the party lasted till about 2am. This was Taylor and Travis’s first time in public together and it kind of confirmed all suspicions without explicitly saying anything. However, we are still left wondering: what now? Will we see them out together again? Will they get married? Either way, I hope it works out for the best.
Lastly, I wanted to mention that both Taylor and Travis were born in 1989 and that “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” is coming out this October. Pre- and post-game, Travis was wearing an outfit that was very 1989-inspired and is listed online as “1989 Bedroom Painting Set” by the designer. Some speculate this whole relationship, or whatever it is, to be a publicity stunt, however I think that Taylor does not need any more publicity and if it’s for Travis, he likely doesn’t need the publicity either. As a Swiftie, I can only hope for Taylor’s happiness. And that maybe she can be with someone a little closer to home so she won’t be crossing the pond in her private jet as often and maybe cut down on those CO2 emissions. A girl can dream.