Travis Kelce’s ex-girlfriend, Maya Benberry, has shared her doubts over the authenticity of his rumoured romance with Taylor Swift.
The 31-year-old, who first met the NFL player while appearing on his E! dating show Catching Kelce in 2016 and dated him for several months afterwards, said that she questioned her ex’s intentions as he is “talking to the media a lot”.
Speaking to Inside Edition, Benberry went on to describe the Kansas City Chiefs star as a “narcissist”, and also claimed that she has been receiving negative comments on social media from Swift’s fans.
“The only reason that I question the genuineness of the relationship is because he’s talking to the media a lot,” she said, before adding: “Certain qualities don’t change in men. I feel like Travis is a narcissist so most narcissists don’t change.”
“I don’t know Taylor Swift, but I’m a fan of her music,” she said. “I don’t feel any way about her dating Travis … She’s beautiful. She’s successful. We’re in two different lanes.”
She described Taylor’s fanbase as “aggressive”, “very negative” and “very hypocritical”, telling Inside Edition: “It’s really crazy to me that someone I think is positive and really nice has such a negative and angry fan base.”
Benberry, who works as a life coach, went on to take issue with suggestions that she is “jealous” or “bitter” about her ex’s budding relationship with Swift.
Kelce, 33, made headlines back in July when he revealed that he had tried to give Swift, 33, his phone number by giving her a personalised friendship bracelet at one of her Eras Tour concerts.
“I was a little butthurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her,” he told his brother Jason on their podcast New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce. “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.”
Swift recently made headlines when she was pictured attending one of Kelce’s football games last week, with photos showing the singer cheering him on alongside his family and friends.
In a podcast episode released soon after, Kelce suggested that he would be keeping details of his fledgling romance under wraps, in order to “respect” the star.
Taylor Swift attends Kansas City Chiefs game— (Getty Images)
“What’s real is that it is my personal life,” he said. “I want to respect both of our lives. She’s not in the media as much as I am.”
Benberry’s comments come after she previously claimed that Kelce cheated on her during their relationship. “I’m sure by now [Swift] has mastered the ability to see who is really there for her and who is just using her,” she told the Daily Mail. “Only time will tell, but like the saying always goes: Once a cheater always a cheater.”
A source close to Kelce later denied the cheating accusations, telling TMZ that he and Benberry only dated for a month after Chasing Kelce ended, claiming that they couldn’t publicly announce their split due to an arrangement with the TV network. They also hit out at her comments as “a poor excuse of someone trying to get her 15 min[utes] of fame”.
