A flash in the pan the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce relationship certainly is not—at least if the engagement-hungry reports about the couple are to be believed. As Page Six puts it, “If you thought 2023 was Taylor Swift’s year, think again—because 2024 is shaping up to be even more of a wild ride for the superstar.” The outlet even throws on the table that, by the time Swift steps onstage for her next Eras Tour performance on February 7 in Tokyo, “she may well have a new accessory: an engagement ring.”
The duo have certainly seemed happy since their public debut as a couple on September 24, when Swift arrived in Kansas City to attend one of Kelce’s Chiefs games (he plays tight end for the team). The pair began dating sometime between July and September, so at best have been together for about five months—but Page Six reports that Kelce has asked Swift’s father Scott for permission for her hand in marriage, and that it’s “very probable” they are spending the upcoming holiday together.
“Scott has been asked for his blessing and has wholeheartedly given it, and Travis has been talking to friends about a ring,” a source close to Kelce said, with Page Six adding an addendum that “there’s talk the ring is being designed or could be in his pocket already.”
The Swift/Kelce relationship is a near 180 to Swift’s six-year relationship with Joe Alwyn, which was fiercely private and ended earlier this year. Kelce is “the most extroverted guy Taylor has dated in forever,” they said. “This is so much truer to who Taylor is than any prior relationship.”
Referencing Swift’s decision to change a lyric from her song “Karma” while performing in Buenos Aires, Argentina last month (“Karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me”), they said “If Taylor wants to change the lyrics to her song after four months of dating and sing in front of 60,000 people…Travis will stand there beaming for the crowd—he’s digging it,” implying that ex-partners would, well, not be digging it as much. “Taylor finally has a partner willing and game. He’s like, ‘I’ll stand by the side of the stage and wait for you to jump in my arms—I’ll do that!’”
Her relationship now is different than the past, they said. “Taylor is so in love,” they continued. “She just hasn’t been with a guy who is so excited and proud to be with her in so long. She’d gotten used to having to hide away and lay low whenever she’s been in a relationship. Calvin [Harris, who Swift dated in 2015 and 2016] and Joe were big on hiding. So, she followed their lead. But now she’s finally with someone who is appropriately like, ‘Holy s—t, I’m with Taylor Swift! Awesome!’ and she’s so delighted that she gets to be out in the world. Don’t forget, this is a girl who made out with Harry Styles in Times Square [on New Year’s Eve 2012] and posted pictures of her fling [Tom Hiddleston in 2016] wearing an ‘I Heart TS’ t-shirt. Low key isn’t actually her preferred vibe. But when it’s been at the insistence of the guy she’s with, she’s gone along with it.”
In an interview marking her designation as TIME’s 2023 Person of the Year, Swift gave a candid interview that included a glimpse into her love life: “When you say a relationship is public, that means I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there, and we don’t care," she said. "The opposite of that is you have to go to an extreme amount of effort to make sure no one knows that you’re seeing someone. And we’re just proud of each other.”
Case in point? Swift was on hand today to support Kelce as his Chiefs faced off against the New England Patriots; she went to the game at Gillette Stadium in Boston alongside her father, Scott, Alana Haim, backup singer Melanie Nyena, and stylist Ashley Avignone, Us Weekly reports.
So, naturally, if an engagement happened, those that love Swift would be thrilled. “Whatever happens, all of Taylor’s friends are delighted for her,” they said.
