Travis Kelce has finally revealed how he officially met Taylor Swift.
The 34-year-old NFL star spoke candidly about how his relationship began during a recent interview with WSJ Magazine, while appearing on the cover of the December/January issue. During the interview, he looked back on how he first made headlines in July, when he confessed on his podcast that he attempted and failed to give Swift his number during one of her Eras Tour shows.
While he said he didn’t want to “get into all” the details about his love life, he still acknowledged that his comments about giving Swift his number didn’t go unnoticed.
“There were definitely people [Swift] knew that knew who I was, in her corner [who said]: ‘Yo! Did you know he was coming?’ I had somebody playing Cupid,” he told WSJ Magazine, before revealing that the “All Too Well” singer eventually contacted him.
“She told me exactly what was going on and how I got lucky enough to get her to reach out,” he said.
He recalled how they got to know each other on multiple occasions, including when Swift first attended the Kansas City Chief star’s game at Arrowhead Stadium in September. And, according to Kelce, some of Swift’s family members helped him get her attention during the game.
“She’ll probably hate me for saying this, but…when she came to Arrowhead, they gave her the big locker room as a dressing room, and her little cousins were taking pictures…in front of my locker,” the football tight end admitted.
Kelce also reflected on their first official date, after they’d spent some time chatting. “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,” he said.
Although he didn’t specify when that outing was, Swift and Kelce have been spotted in New York City together on multiple occasions, as they were seen on two dates on the weekend of 14 October, after making surprise appearances during the season premiere of Saturday Night Live.
Elsewhere in the interview, Kelce opened up about how much he admires Swift’s skills as a music artist. “I’ve never been a man of words. Being around her, seeing how smart Taylor is, has been f***ing mind-blowing. I’m learning every day,” he explained.
He also acknowledged the now-heavy public attention around his personal life, since he’s “never dated anyone with that kind of aura around them”. However, he specified that he’s not letting the media affect his relationship, before praising the “Blank Space” singer for how she’s handled the paparazzi over the years.
“But at the same time, I’m not running away from any of it... The scrutiny she gets, how much she has a magnifying glass on her, every single day, paparazzi outside her house, outside every restaurant she goes to, after every flight she gets off, and she’s just living, enjoying life,” Kelce said. “When she acts like that I better not be the one acting all strange.”
After describing Swift as “hilarious” and “a genius”, Kelce also pointed out another thing he has in common with his rumoured girlfriend: a deep, mutual respect for their respective families.
“Everybody knows I’m a family guy,” the athlete said. “Her team is her family. Her family does a lot of stuff in terms of the tour, the marketing, being around, so I think she has a lot of those values as well, which is right up my alley.”
Ever since July 2023, Kelce and Swift’s growing romance has continued to make headlines. After failing to give Swift his number over the summer, Kelce publicly invited her to one of his games during an episode of his podcast – which was an invitation she famously accepted in September. During the game, she even sat next to Kelce’s mother, Donna, in the Kelce family suite. Since then, the “Anti-Hero” singer has attended three more of Kelce’s games, with an event on 22 October marking her return to Arrowhead Stadium.
Kelce has also continued to support Swift’s career, as he made an appearance at Estadio River Plate in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to see her Eras Tour show on 11 November. During the concert, Swift gave a shout-out to the Chiefs player when she changed the lyrics to her hit song “Karma” to reflect their relationship.
“Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight home to me,” she sang, before she let out a laugh, as fans in the audience screamed in response. Meanwhile, another fan captured Kelce’s reaction to the lyrics change, as he watched the concert in the VIP tent with Swift’s father, Scott. After hearing the shout-out, the NFL star went on to put his hands on his head, while giving a sweet smile.
Once the show came to a close, Swift exited the stage and waved at her fans, before running into Kelce’s arms. During that moment, the pair embraced and shared a kiss, before Kelce whisked Swift away backstage.
Swift and her parents were reportedly expected to attend Kelce’s game against his brother Jason Kecle’s team – the Philadelphia Eagles – on 20 November, but she’s now missing it because her concert in Brazil is rescheduled for that day. The decision to postpone her show – which was cancelled on 18 November – came after 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides died from cardiac arrest during Swift’s first show in the country, in the grip of an intense heat wave.
