Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s love affair is “so high school” in the best way.
Not only have they given fans and followers something to be dreamy about, but there’s also the anticipation of whether Kelce will put a ring on it (and not one of his Super Bowl championship ones).
Here’s a look back at the alchemy that got us to this era:
Kelce is very familiar with Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium since that’s where his team, the Kansas City Chiefs, play. But on July 8, 2023, he was there for a different reason – to see Swift perform as part of her “Eras Tour.”
A few weeks later he shared the story on his podcast “New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce,” which he co-hosts with his brother, about how he had attempted to get Swift his phone number via a Swiftie-style friendship bracelet.
“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 told the world after his brother Jason asked about attending the concert. “So I was a little butthurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her.”
“If you’re up on Taylor Swift concerts, there are friendship bracelets, and I received a bunch of them being there, but I wanted to give Taylor Swift one with my number on it,” Kelce said.
When Jason asked if his brother meant his jersey number or his phone number, the Kansas City tight end quipped, “You know which one.”
September 2023
From there, Kelce found himself fielding questions about what, if anything, was going on between him and Swift.
“I’m not gonna talk about my personal life,” he said during an interview with NFL+ host Andrew Siciliano.
That didn’t stop the speculation that the pair were dating, and Kelce shared during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” that he had invited Swift to watch him play
“I threw the ball in her court,” the football player said. “I told her, ‘I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead, you might have to come see me rock the stage in Arrowhead.’ We’ll see what happens in the near future.”
Swift eventually took him up on it and appeared at his game on September 24, sitting next to his mother, Donna Kelce, in the family suite.
Swifties, as her hardcore fan base is known, promptly lost it, heralding the kickoff of mania over the pair.
October 2023
The NFL began leaning in to “Traylor,” “Tayvis,” “Swelce” or whatever you choose to use as their couple nickname.
The league’s official X account posted about her plenty when on October 1 Swift and some of her famous friends including Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds cheered Kelce and his team on against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
Everyone felt swept up in the excitement over the two, and Donna Kelce told CNN that all the attention surrounding her son and Swift felt “unreal.”
“I tell everyone that it’s kind of like an alternate universe that I just happened to be in,” Donna Kelce said. “Like, I went through a third wall into another dimension. That’s what it feels like.”
And in a case of “we can show you better than we can tell you,” Kelce and Swift appeared to confirm their coupledom when they were photographed holding hands in New York City after they both made separate surprise appearances on “Saturday Night Live’s” season 49 premiere on October 14.
Kelce gave us the behind the scenes of his surprise debut, sharing on his podcast that “It was an absolute blast.”
“It was such a fun, playful part of the show and it was like the perfect time for me to go up there, just be a ham and have some fun, not only with [Swift]… but the crowd and really try and get everybody excited for the rest of the show,” he said. “It was awesome.”
His main focus? Not to fumble.
“The golden rule was ‘Do not drop Taylor. Get her to the couch safe,’” he said.
“Do not drop the baby” is what he thought, and as usual, Kelce won.
