Getty Singer Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Before Taylor Swift started dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, the singer took note of his off-the-field talents.
In a twist of fate, Kelce’s “Saturday Night Live” appearance last year first linked the duo about five months before they met. The guys behind the Please Don’t Destroy videos, Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy, revealed the story on Mike Birbiglia’s “Working It Out” podcast.
“We worked with both Taylor and Travis Kelce before they got together,” Marshall said. Kelce hosted the late-night show in March 2023. Swift last hosted in November 2021, joining the Please Don’t Destroy team for the “Three Sad Virgins” music video. After the couple started dating, the “Blank Space” singer and Kelce made surprise appearances on the show in October 2023.
BYE
“And we can cut this out if you guys don’t want to say this but, she kind of told us that she watched his ‘SNL’ episode and saw him in our video and was like, ‘This guy seems funny,’” Marshall said. “So a little bit brought them together.”
Marshall almost told this story during an appearance on “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon, but feared jinxing the couple. And the possible backlash.
“I think that if then they break up, we will somehow be like pinned as causing this disaster,” Marshall said. “It’s just a very precarious situation. People have strong feelings.”
Birbiglia has also worked with Swift. The comedian appeared in her “Anti-Hero” music video.
Asked by @SamMcDowell11 if considering retirement, Travis Kelce playfully says everyone has to think about it but adds that he has no plans to do so any time soon … even as acknowledges options opened up by SNL appearance and such.
Nearly a year after hosting “SNL,” the three-time Super Bowl champ is still gushing over the experience. After shutting down retirement rumors in January, Kelce opened up about what life may look like after hanging up his cleats.
“I have no reason to stop playing football. Man, I love it,” Kelce told reporters. “We still have success. Come in with the right mindset. I just love the challenge that it gives me every day to try and be at my best. Like I said, I have no desire to stop anytime soon.”
As for what he’d do if he retired, “That’s the point of the offseason,” Kelce replied. “Being able to get out there and find what you really love to do. I’ve been fortunate to do a few things outside of the sports world that I enjoy doing. Like getting on camera, the ‘SNL’ stuff kinda opened up kind of opened a new happiness and a new career path for me.”
During his “SNL” appearance, Kelce turned into the intimidating self-defense instructor Kurt Lightening alongside the Please Don’t Destroy trio.
GettyChiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024.
GettyChiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024.
While Some “Brads, Dads, and Chads” were annoyed by Swift’s presence at games, Kelce’s coaches and teammates have had nothing but positive things to say.
During an appearance on “The Sports Shop with Reese and K-Mac,” Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt shared his take on their highly-publicized romance amid their Super Bowl run. Merritt revealed the singer quietly visited the team before she attended the Bears-Chiefs showdown on September 24.
“When she started to come around, it was privately,” Merritt said. “She was coming into the stadiums without people really knowing until the camera put, you know, the big spotlight on her.”
“Upon meeting her, I felt like she actually added to what we were trying to do,” he said. She quickly became a member of Chiefs Kingdom. While “so many people that were hating the fact that she was being shown on the TV,” everyone inside Arrowhead Stadium embraced her into the fold.
“You’re part of our family because you’re now with Travis. You’re our little sister… you’re part of the family.” Merritt noted that Kelce’s entire demeanor changed “in a positive way’ amid his romance with Swift.
“Everybody was excited and Travis was happy. So when my player, a brother, is happy beside me, that helps me and that encourages me, and so Travis came in there a different man. So, she helped us.”
Emily Bicks covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Bills, Seahawks and Chiefs. She’s contributed to Heavy since 2019 and has interviewed some of the biggest stars in sports, including Jerry Rice, Shaquille O’Neal and Stefon Diggs. More about Emily Bicks
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