American footballer Travis Kelce has spent $8m trying to impress billionaire singer in just six months
Since shooting to international fame last year, Travis Kelce has become known not for his prowess on the football field, but for his other job: being Taylor Swift’s boyfriend.
The Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs player has appeared with his pop star partner in almost every magazine and newspaper in the US, and attracted fans across the world.
But according to the American tabloid press, dating the most famous music artist in the world also has its drawbacks.
Kelce has spent more than $8 million (£6.3 million) on presents, travel and a new home to impress Swift since they began dating in September last year.
The NFL player is in the third year of a four-year contract worth $57.25 million – earning far less than his girlfriend, who is worth an estimated $1.1 billion.
The New York Post estimated that his Valentine’s Day gifts alone cost more than $20,000, with Swift receiving a $3,000 ornament from the Daum French crystal company described by the firm as “a token of everlasting love” that “conveys an unforgettable emotion”.
The 34-year-old also bought her two boxes of 250 roses, costing more than $2,000, plus a Hermes scarf, Bottega Veneta handbag and a Dior beret.
The Pennsylvania-based jeweller Wove Made Inc reportedly spent three days building a pair of gold bracelets, each encrusted with diamonds to form the letters “TNT” – “Travis and Taylor”.
Dr Christine Bacon, a relationship expert, said that Kelce may have found that gift-giving is his “love language”, but that urge would pass.
“For you and me, $8 million sounds so incredibly obscene,” she told The Telegraph.
“In the infatuation stage, we’re going to do things that are grander gestures.
“Both the giver and the recipient should understand that it has a lifespan and it will come down to something more normal, and they also need to understand when it does stop, they should not feel that the person’s love has stopped as well.”
By far Kelce’s greatest expense, however, was the new home he felt the need to buy after he started dating the singer, after his $1 million house in Kansas City reportedly made him feel “self-conscious”.
He has since bought a 17,000 sq ft mansion with six bedrooms and a “Beverly Hills-style” pool and a substantial garden to give him privacy from fans and the media, TMZ reported.
The property has a garage with space for six cars, a wine cellar and a two-level cinema room.
A further bill for Kelce came on Feb 11, when his team played in the Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers.
The team’s star player, who is one of the top-earning athletes in the NFL, reportedly spent more than $1 million on a box for Swift, her friends and his family.
Her entourage included Blake Lively, an actor, Ice Spice, a rapper, and Ashley Avignone, a designer.
Kelce’s brother Jason and sister-in-law Kylie, and Swift’s mother and father sat with them to watch the Chiefs win in extra time.
Swift was able to watch the game after making a 5,500-mile dash across the Pacific from a tour date in Tokyo to Las Vegas.
Kelce, too, has made a series of expensive trips on private jets to spend more time with his girlfriend as she tours the world.
Michael Giordano, an expert at Cirrus Aviation Services, told the New York Post that his trip from Los Angeles to Hawaii, then Sydney to visit her last month would have cost more than $300,000.
His total spending on jets is reportedly more than $1million.
