Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have caused quite a stir since rumors started to spread in 2023 that they were “quietly hanging out.” That might be an understatement, too, as even a year later it seems fans just can’t get enough of this couple and their big reputations. The Swift and Kelce timeline actually dates back to last summer, when the NFL player admitted to shooting his shot at an Eras Tour concert by using the singer’s friendship bracelet trend to try to slip her his number. The worlds of music and sports have since collided, and many fans can’t get enough of this cute couple and what’s going on in their relationship.
Let’s take a look at where it all started and how it's going.
July 8, 2023: Travis Kelce Attends Eras Tour At Arrowhead Stadium In Kansas City
Was this the night it all started? On July 8, 2023, Taylor Swift brought her Eras Tour to Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium — a venue that now-three-time Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce knows all too well. A number of seemingly random celebrities have been spotted taking in the much-talked-about concert event, including athletes like Aaron Rodgers and J.J. Watt, and fans have since come through with proof that the Chiefs tight end was, in fact, in the house that night:
the way we have footage of travis kelce at the eras tour and taylor at a chiefs game oh this is doing so much for me pic.twitter.com/RNBC5qqQj6September 25, 2023
Anyone who got footage of Travis Kelce enjoying the July 8 show couldn’t, in their wildest dreams, have imagined what a big deal that was going to become.
July 26, 2023: Travis Kelce Recalls Shooting His Shot With Taylor Swift At Eras Tour Concert
I’ve always said, never underestimate a man who’s willing to make you homemade jewelry. Swifties were swept right off of their feet when Kelce recalled his Eras Tour experience on a July episode of New Heights, the podcast he shares with his brother, Jason Kelce, who’s now retired from the Philadelphia Eagles. Travis was all about the Eras Tour etiquette, as he fashioned quite the special friendship bracelet. Yet he admitted to being a little “butt hurt” when he wasn’t able to complete the pass, so to speak. He said:
I wanted to give Taylor Swift one with my number on it. And she doesn't meet anybody, or at least she didn't want to meet me, so I took it personal.
A cruel summer indeed! However, the move proved the Kansas City Chief was pretty fearless, and his creativity won over fans and possibly the songstress herself, because the two made a connection soon after.
September 12, 2023: Rumors Circulate That Taylor Swift And Travis Kelce Are ‘Quietly Hanging Out’
A little over two months after her Kansas City concert date, reports surfaced that Taylor Swift was “quietly hanging out” with Travis Kelce, having spent time with him in New York “a few weeks ago,” according to The Messenger. These rumors came around the same time the anonymous gossip site Deuxmoi reported rumblings of a new situation for the Midnights artist and that she’d made plans to go somewhere with the football player. However, the nature of the alleged date was not disclosed.
September 14, 2023: Jason Kelce Addresses Rumors Following NFL Game
If you can’t get the info from a gossip site, go straight to the source, right? Or, as the case may be, the source’s brother. With Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce being the talk of seemingly every media outlet in the country, it almost had to be addressed on Thursday Night Football, which aired one of Jason Kelce's games. The Eagles center was noncommittal but didn’t deny the rumors either, as he told the NFL analysts:
I don’t really know what’s going on there. So yeah, I know Travis is having fun, and we’ll see what happens with whoever he ends up with.
Some outlets later reported that Jason Kelce confirmed the relationship, when he said on a radio show that “I think they're doing great and I think it's all 100% true.” During that same chat, he quickly clarified that he was joking and didn’t actually know what was happening. However, it wasn’t long before Travis Kelce spoke out for himself.
September 21, 2023: Travis Kelce Says He Invited Taylor Swift To Kansas City Chiefs Game
While still not addressing the nature of their relationship, Travis Kelce did confirm he was in contact with Taylor Swift in one way or another, as he said on The Pat McAfee Show that he had invited the artist back to Arrowhead Stadium. The tight end said:
I threw it out there, I threw the ball in her court. I told her, ‘I’ve seen you rock the stage at Arrowhead, you might have to see me rock the stage at Arrowhead and see which one’s a little more lit.’ So we’ll see what happens in the near future.
I love this! He got to see the singer in her element. Now, it was his turn to flex.
September 24, 2023: Taylor Swift Attends Kansas City Chiefs Game
When the footballer said “in the near future,” he meant just that. Three days later, Taylor Swift was back in Arrowhead Stadium, watching him play while sitting next to his mom, Donna Kelce, in the family’s suite. She was fully ready for it, too. Swift was dropping F-bombs as she cheered Travis on, chest-bumping with her friends and having an all-out blast.
The two were seen leaving the stadium together, and they reportedly celebrated the Chiefs’ win over the Chicago Bears well into the night. Travis Kelce even rented out an entire restaurant for an afterparty attended by the songwriter, his parents and teammates, per ET.
September 27, 2023: Travis Kelce Speaks Out About Taylor Swift On His Podcast
Taylor Swift’s presence at the Chiefs game took things to a whole new level, and forget No. 13; Travis Kelce’s No. 87 became the number to be enchanted with. Sales of his jersey reportedly jumped 400% in the aftermath of her Arrowhead appearance. Kelce spoke out again on New Heights to address all of his supposed new fans, calling it “ballsy” that Swift accepted his invitation, and relaying that everyone had only great things to say about her, calling it “a game I’ll remember.”
He also addressed the media frenzy a bit, admitting that he had brought all the attention on himself. He also pointed out that the Speak Now singer lived more privately than he generally did with football, press conferences, his podcast and other events. So, he vowed that moving forward publicly, he would just be “talking about sports and saying 'alright now' will have to be kind of where I keep it.” Good luck with that, sir!
October 14, 2023: Taylor And Travis Make Surprise Cameos On SNL
When Season 49 of Saturday Night Live premiered, it was no surprise that there was a sketch about what a spectacle Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship had become. What was surprising was that Kelce made a surprise cameo in the sketch, and Swift later appeared on the episode to introduce SNL’s musical guest Ice Spice. The couple was also seen later that night attending the afterparty, where the tight end was quite the gentleman as he helped his lady from the car.
October 2023: Travis Kelce Moves Into A Gated Community, Reportedly For More Privacy
With fanfare surrounding the couple not dying down, Travis Kelce reportedly made a pretty big move for Taylor Swift — literally, as the Chief reportedly dropped just under $6 million on a new 16,000-square-foot mansion. Kelce’s new digs are in a gated community in Kansas City, which became a necessity, as security had become an issue with fans and paparazzi parking outside of his former home trying to catch a glimpse of the “Delicate” singer.
November 11, 2023: Taylor Swift Changes ‘Karma’ Lyrics During The Eras Tour, With Travis In Attendance
After the pop star attended several Kansas City football games, it was Travis Kelce’s turn to see his girlfriend in action. The Super Bowl winner traveled to Argentina to see her on the international leg of her Eras Tour. Not only did Taylor Swift perform “End Game” as one of her surprise songs — lighting up concertgoers’ bracelets in the Chiefs’ red and gold colors — she changed the lyrics of “Karma” to reference “the guy on the Chiefs,” which had fans freaking all the way out.
December 6, 2023: Taylor Speaks Out About Relationship In Time Magazine Interview
Taylor Swift spoke publicly for the first time about Travis Kelce in her interview with Time magazine after she was named 2023 Person of the Year. She discussed the “dads, Brads, and Chads” who got upset at her going to Chiefs games, and she shared her thoughts on being called out on the Kelce brothers’ podcast, saying:
This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell. We started hanging out right after that. So we actually had a significant amount of time that no one knew, which I’m grateful for, because we got to get to know each other. By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple. I think some people think that they saw our first date at that game? We would never be psychotic enough to hard launch a first date.
She went on to say that her going to football games and him attending The Eras Tour was their way of showing up for each other because “we’re just proud of each other.”
December 25, 2023: Taylor Swift And Travis Kelce Spend The Holidays Together
The couple was still going strong when the holidays rolled around, and with the Kansas City Chiefs playing on Christmas Day, Ms. Swift was in attendance to watch the game — accompanied by her brother Austin, who was dressed as Santa. Despite Travis Kelce’s team suffering a loss, it sounds like their two families had a great time together, as the athlete received a sweet gift from Austin Swift. A week later, the couple rang in the new year together with a kiss at midnight.
April 19, 2024: Taylor Swift’s New Album Includes Songs That Appear To Be About Travis Kelce
Swifties were expecting The Tortured Poets Department to be full of heartbreaking lyrics, but what a treat it was to find at least a couple of songs that appeared to be written about her current relationship. “The Alchemy” includes a bridge that says:
Cheers chanted, cause they said / There was no chance, trying to be / The greatest in the league / Where's the trophy? / He just comes running over to me.
“So High School” also includes many references to the heart eyes Swift and Kelce have for each other, as the artist seemingly mentions her boyfriend’s now-infamous “Kiss, Marry, Kill” interview as well as “that impression you did of your dad,” which the Kelce brothers acknowledged on New Heights.
May 9, 2024: Travis’ Touchdown Celebrations Appear To Be Incorporated Into The New Eras Tour Choreography
When the Eras Tour resumed on May 9 following the release of The Tortured Poets Department, Paris concert goers were the first to be treated to a whole new set to incorporate the new songs. “Tayvis” lovers quickly picked up on the fact that much of the choreography performed during “So High School” seemed to be inspired by Travis Kelce’s infamous touchdown dances. Other cute Easter eggs in the new dances appear to reference her and Blake Lively watching a Chiefs game together, several of Taylor’s viral facial expressions and her tendency to point at Trav on the field.
We’ll have to see if these two turn out to be end game, and in the meantime, we’ll all be keeping our eyes on those Kansas City Chiefs games as we prepare for all of the upcoming projects for Swifties to be excited about.
