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It started something of a pipe dream. Travis Kelce, a Kansas City Chiefs football player, had a dream of meeting Taylor Swift and giving her his number.
Travis, 34, diligently attended the Kansas City stop on her Eras Tour, armed with a friendship bracelet of his phone number, but allegedly never had the chance to give it to the pop superstar.
But his efforts were not in vain.
It seems Taylor was open to Travis shooting his shot, and the two have since become the most talked about couple on the planet. There are even rumours of an engagement on the horizon.
What started as a seemingly baseless rumour certainly gained legs pretty quickly. Here’s how the rumoured romance between Taylor and Travis came to be.
On July 7-8, Taylor Swift took her record-breaking Eras Tour to Kansas City.
It is here that Kelce purportedly first tried his luck with the singer. However, his presence there, and his desire to seduce Taylor with one of her famed friendship bracelets, was not revealed until a little later.
Travis Kelce tried to seduce Taylor at her concert… to no avail.
On his New Heights podcast, which Travis hosts with his brother, Jason, Kelce addressed his failed attempts to grab Taylor’s attention at the Eras Tour concert.
“I was disappointed that she doesn’t talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings,” he said on the podcast with his brother, Jason. “So I was a little butt-hurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her.”
A post shared by New Heights (@newheightshow)
He goes on to say the bracelet featured his phone number.
Watch the clip above, as shared on the New Heights instagram.
The rumours begin, with gossip site, Deux Moi first reporting rumours the two were dating.
Meanwhile, a source told news site, The Messenger, that Taylor and Travis have been “quietly hanging out” and that she “saw him when she was in NYC a few weeks ago”.
Around the same time, Entertainment Tonight simultaneously reports comments from a source confirming Taylor and Travis are “not officially dating”.
While appearing on The Pat McAfee show, Travis shared a small update.
“I told her, you know, ‘I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead [Stadium, in Kansas City], you might have to come see me rock the stage in Arrowhead and see which one’s a little more lit,’” he joked. “So, we’ll see what happens in the near future.”
He went on to say: “It’s hilarious how much traction this has actually gotten, right now it’s like a game of telephone. No one actually knows what’s going on, especially when you got [my brother] Jason Kelce on live television telling people both sides—he doesn’t know, it’s true, this and that.”
Travis Kelce is a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs
A day later, E! reports that Taylor and Travis “met up once” in New York.
The media was abuzz in late September after Swift was seen at a Kansas City Chiefs game, donning the team’s colours (red and white) and sitting in the private box alongside Kelce’s mother.
Taylor Swift attends a game alongside Kelce’s mum, Donna (pictured).
Whether or not the two are already dating, or if Swift just took Kelce up on his offer to see the game, remains to be seen.
Nevertheless, there is some romance brewing!
Travis Kelce is treating Taylor like the queen she is by booking out an entire restaurant after she came to his game at Kansas’ Arrowhead Stadium.
According to Entertainment Tonight, the pair had a late dinner at a restaurant called Prime Social Rooftop, followed by a party with Travis’ friends and family.
“Travis bought out the restaurant for his family and team,” a source told the website. “Taylor arrived, wearing a denim dress, and was seen snacking, having some cocktails and dancing alongside Travis. The two were very affectionate with one another but kept things fun and light hearted. Travis’ teammates also showed up to the after-party, as well as his mom and dad, Donna and Ed. The party lasted until 2 a.m.”
Meanwhile diners were told they had to leave the restaurant by 8pm, and were offered free drinks at the venue’s sister restaurant downstairs.
Travis booked out an entire restaurant to party with Taylor Swift.
Despite partying away together until the wee hours of the morning, another source told Entertainment Tonight that the two new romantics are taking things slow.
“Travis has never shied away from his desire to give dating with Taylor a try, which he even said during a press conference a few months ago after seeing Swift in concert. Travis and Taylor are taking things slowly, and not rushing into anything serious. Both are very career-focused, so the focus is on that for now, but that’s not going to stop them from enjoying life when it’s the right moment.”
Travis returned for a new episode of his podcast, New Heights, with his brother Jason — the first episode since Taylor made a surprise appearance at his Kansas City game.
Unsurprisingly, Travis was full of compliments for the singer.
“Shout out to Taylor for pulling up, that was pretty ballsy!” he said.
“I just thought it was awesome how everybody in the suite had nothing but great things to say about her, the friends and family. She looked amazing. Everyone was talking about her in great light. And on top of that, the day went perfect for Chiefs fans…it was just impressive. It was impressive.”
When Jason joked about Taylor putting Travis “on the map”, Travis continued:
“To see the slow-motion chest bumps, to see the high-fives with Mom, to see how, you know, Chiefs’ kingdom was all excited that she was there… That s— was absolutely hysterical. It was definitely a game I will remember, that’s for damn sure.”
“Then we just slid off in the getaway car at the end,” he added, referencing Swift’s song. “Took my Chevelle to the game and yeah. You already know, having fun, breaking all the speed limits in that thing.”
A post shared by NFL (@nfl)
However, when it came to the matter of his private life, Travis said he’s going to keep things a bit quieter from now on.
“I think what’s real is that it is my personal life and I want to respect both of our lives. She’s not in the media as much as I am doing this show every single week and having fun during the NFL season on other guys’ shows,” he said.
“I’m enjoying life, and I sure as hell enjoyed this weekend. Everything moving forward, I think me talking about sports and saying ‘Alright now’ will have to be kind of where I keep it.”
Is that a hint the relationship is over, or that there will be more to NOT talk about in the future? Hopefully we’ll find out.
It’s not over between Travis and Taylor—in fact, we suspect things are heating up.
On October 1, Taylor attended Travis’ Kansas City Chiefs game in her home town of New York. And she didn’t go alone. In fact, she came with a haul of celebrity friends.
Taylor Swift and Ryan Reynolds at the Chiefs game.
Taylor took an entourage of famous faces, including her besties Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and her new pal (and current tenant) Sophie Turner.
Sophie Turner, Taylor Swift and Ryan Reynolds enjoying the private box.
Presumably accompanying Ryan Reynolds—and, thus, the broader Swift entourage—was Hugh Jackman. Jackman recently announced his split from his wife of nearly 30 years, Deborra Lee Furness.
Taylor Swift, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.
Swift’s attendance at the game comes after reports Travis was spotted leaving Taylor Swift’s New York home on the morning of the game, even leaving in her Range Rover.
Taylor Swift at the Chiefs game at Arrowhead Stadium on October 12.
Is this going to be a weekly thing for Taylor Swift now? Is the NFL paying her to show up (like they should), or is she just a doting girlfriend? Because the day after her massive Eras Tour movie premiere, Taylor is back in the stands at Travis Kelce’s latest Chiefs game in Kansas City.
Taylor sat in the box at Arrowhead Stadium alongside Travis’ mother Donna, with the two chatting, laughing and cheering throughout the game.
Swift wore a new Kansas City Chiefs jacket over a simple black top.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce put on an affectionate display as they headed into filming an episode of Saturday Night Live on October 14. The pair both made cameos on the season premiere of the sketch show, with Taylor introducing performer Ice Spice, and Kelce making an appearance in a skit about the NFL being obsessed with the Traylor relationship.
Kelce helping Taylor out of the car.
.. And helping her back in.
However, the major headline for the night was that Taylor and Travis held hands in front of paparazzi—the first major public display of affection for the pair.
Prior to filming the show, TMZ reports the pair shared an intimate dinner at Nobu, where a gentlemanly Kelce was seen holding Taylor’s hand to help her out of the car, and later helping her put her coat on. After filming, they also held hands as they headed into Catch, the NYC club where the SNL afterparty was held.
Taylor and Travis out for dinner on October 16.
Taylor and Travis held hands again as they went for a dinner date in New York at the Waverly Inn. Taylor, in a floral mesh top by Jean Paul Gaultier with a black leather miniskirt and boots by Louis Vuitton, and Travis couldn’t help but smile as they walked hand in hand.
A sprawling mansion in Kansas City.
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift are making headlines left, right and centre, so it only makes sense that Kelce would be keen to move into a more private house.
The Kansas City Chief’s tight end, who recently had his salary increased from $2.9 million in 2022 to $11.2 million in 2023 (according to the New York Post) has just closed on a $6 million mansion in Kansas City.
Per TMZ, the mansion has six bedrooms, a swimming pool, a miniature golf course, a tennis court, and a pickleball court. We’re guessing it also has plenty of space for him to throw a football around. The dwelling provides an extensive 16,000 square feet of living area.
It’s an upgrade from his previous home, which offered 10,000 square feet, a pool, a fitness room and wine cellar. He purchased that property in 2019 for just under $1 million.
Attending Travis Kelce’s games appears to now be a habit for the singer during her limited down time. This time, Taylor attended another home game for the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
Standing next to Brittany Mahomes, Taylor cheered and danced in a Kansas City Chiefs red jumper and a pleated skirt.
Taylor Swift has officially taken her Eras Tour global, with her first concerts outside the US taking place in Argentina. And you know who came along for the ride? Travis Kelce.
Kelce attended Swift’s concert on Sunday, November 12, putting on a cute display for fans.
First, the singer changed the lyrics of her hit Midnights track, Karma, singing one line as: “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight home to me.”
Naturally, Kelce was visibly tickled. Just watch…
🎥| Travis Kelce’s reaction to “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs” pic.twitter.com/aXnJFTMhXn
Following the performance, Swift also skipped off stage and ran straight into the arms of her awaiting beau.
The two shared a kiss and a massive embrace as onlooking fans lost their minds.
It didn’t take long for the footage to make it across social media, causing the rest of the internet to be swept up in the clear romance of this adorable budding couple. Needless to say, we ship.
Gigi Hadid has stood up for her bestie’s relationship amidst rumours that Swift’s friends thought the the couple were moving too fast.
After gossip journalist Perez Hilton posted an Instagram about the rumours, Gigi commented, “I’m a couple days late to this tag. But didn’t the press try this last week w Selena? Let it be.. we are all over the moon for our girl. Period. (sic).”
The girl gang sticks together.
In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, Kelce opened up about his relationship with the star, including the first time they met.
“There were definitely people she knew that knew who I was, in her corner [who said]: Yo! Did you know he was coming? I had somebody playing Cupid,” Kelce explained.
“She told me exactly what was going on and how I got lucky enough to get her to reach out.”
Kelce also spoke about the time Swift visited Kansas Stadium over the summer.
“She’ll probably hate me for saying this, but … when she came to Arrowhead [Stadium], they gave her the big locker room as a dressing room, and her little cousins were taking pictures … in front of my locker,” he shared.
Not long after, the pair met up in New York City.
“When I met her in New York, we had already kind of been talking, so I knew we could have a nice dinner and, like, a conversation, and what goes from there will go from there,”
Kelce wasn’t the only one spilling the details, his mum also joined the interview, sharing that Kelce is “happier than I’ve seen him in a long time…God bless him, he shot for the stars.”
It’s safe to say we’re obsessed with this couple.
Travis Kelce learned an important lesson in mid November: the Internet never forgets. And if you have a dedicated fanbase like the Swifties looking you up, you better believe they’re digging deep into your online footprint!
The internet went wild after a series of hilarious and, er, roughly spelled old Tweets from the NFL star went viral.
Could “squirle” be the word of 2023?
Now, Kelce has responded to the widely commented-on news through his podcast, saying he was “tortured” all week by his old Tweets.
“What’s hilarious is that nobody followed me back then. I was just using Twitter as like a diary,” Travis admitted on the New Heights podcast. “I’m just out here just saying nonsense. ‘I just gave a squirrel a piece of bread’ and spelled squirrel like a jackass…”
He then added: “This is why I don’t tweet anymore because it’s just nonsense.”
Lesson learned, it seems!
Just when we thought we couldn’t love him any more, Travis Kelce has revealed the sweet nickname he has for girlfriend Taylor Swift.
In an episode of his and his brothers’ podcast, New Heights, the duo discussed how Taylor had shown her support for Travis by ‘liking’ an Instagram post that commemorated his recent on-field prowess.
“Thanks, Tay,” he said. “I appreciate you on the Chiefs page supporting.”
Needless to say, we’re obsessed.
Merry Swiftmas everyone! Taylor Swift and her immediate family – mother Andrea, father Scott and brother Austin Swift – all showed up in Kansas City to support Travis Kelce in the Chiefs’ Christmas Day game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Swift looked very festive in a Santa hat that had Kelce’s playing number ’87’ embroidered onto it. It was also very nice of her family to come and support the game, given they are Philadelphia Eagles supporters, a rival team in the competition, who Travis Kelce’s brother plays for.
The family looked in great spirits as they cheered Travis on, with her brother Austin Swift even dressed in a full Santa outfit including fake beard, pictured alongside his girlfriend Sydney Ness. Talk about a family affair!
New year, same cute couple. Ever the supporting girlfriend, Taylor made a super sweet appearance at the Chief’s win against the Baltimore Ravens — a game that secured them a spot in the 2024 Super Bowl.
She joined Travis on the field at the end of the match, celebrating the win with plenty of PDA. As one fan pointed out on X (formerly Twitter), in footage from the evening, Taylor and Travis even appeared to exchange an ‘I love you.’
📹| “Tay, I’m gonna enjoy with the guys. I love you. So much fun! […] I’ll see you in a little bit.”
– Travis to Taylor as he was heading to the locker room after the game 🥰 pic.twitter.com/uPR3wyD6Wh
The Super Bowl is scheduled to kick off around 10.30am on Monday February 12, and we bet all eyes will be on Taylor Swift — if she manages to attend the game amid her busy Eras Tour schedule.
Taylor Swift made it to the 2024 Super Bowl from the Tokyo leg of her Eras Tour. Swift arrived with pals Blake Lively and Ice Spice — wearing Australian designer Dion Lee.
Kelce’s team the Chiefs went on to win the game, with Taylor planting a smooch on her man on the field after the trophy ceremony.
Kelce flew into Sydney on February 22 to be with Taylor for her Eras Tour shows in Sydney from the 23rd to the 26th.
We know Swift has already dined at one popular Sydney restaurant… will the lovers hit up other Sydney sights?
Taylor and Travis have had an exciting summer of holidaying in the Bahamas, dining at Nobu (multiple times) and, now, making out at Coachella.
The pair reportedly couldn’t keep their hands off each other as they danced to a band called The Bleachers.
“Taylor and Travis were in the wings of the stage watching the Bleachers set,” a source told Us Weekly. “Taylor and Travis were screaming, dancing and full-on making out during the set.”
🎥 I Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce at the Mahomies Foundation Gala! ❤️
pic.twitter.com/qA5ECrQW8X
Taylor and Travis looked every bit the happy couple attending a charity gala run by Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Austin Mahomes.
The duo even did their bit for the Mahomies Foundation, who auctioned off various prizes throughout the evening, with Travis taking to the stage announcing there was one more unexpected item to be auctioned off.
“I think, um, I was just talking to my significant other, and uh, we might have one other auction item that wasn’t on the docket,” he said.
“Has anyone heard of the Eras Tour?”
Unsurprisingly, the crowd erupted at this news, with the tickets ending up going for a bid of $80,000 (around $122,500 AUD.)
While it’s hard to surprise us these days, we certainly weren’t expecting Travis to make an appearance on stage at the Eras Tour. The NFL star was brought on stage by Taylor during the ‘Tortured Poets Department’ section of the concert at Wembley stadium, taking the place of two of her backup dancers who normally carry her on stage to perform her hit, ‘I Can Do It With A Broken Heart.’
Could a career as a backup dancer be part of Travis’ retirement plan? We’ll have to wait and see…
Rebecca Mitchell is a senior writer at ELLE Australia. She graduated from Charles Sturt University in 2011 already with solid media experience under her belt. She started her career in broadcast news, simultaneously hosting the Never Talk Politics radio programme on 2MCE and as a reporter at WIN News. After returning to her hometown of Sydney, she worked as a journalist in lifestyle media, including at Mamamia, SheSaid, and Foxtel’s Lifestyle group. Formerly a freelance journalist, you can find her words at Refinery29, Urban List, Broadsheet, and more.
Kirsty is a digital writer at ELLE and Marie Claire. Having completed a Bachelor of Arts at The University of Melbourne (English Literature/Sociology), Kirsty set her sights on a career in the Australian media industry. After relocating to Sydney, she spent time working in print at JONES Magazine, before turning her focus to the digital landscape. When she’s not dissecting the latest fashion and culture trends, you can usually find her ticking off restaurants on her ever-growing bucket list, or on the hunt for Sydney's best beach.
If she reads, she reads ELLE
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