Pro wrestling legend Jeff Jarrett gushed about the grace of a young Taylor Swift during a difficult time for his family.
During an appearance on WREG’s Live at 9 on Friday, July 5, the WWE Hall of Famer, 56, called Swift, 34, a “friend of the family” who was “very good to our family during a very, very dark period.”
Jarrett — who now competes for All Elite Wrestling — said the pop star would spend time with his three daughters while his wife and the girls’ mother, Jill Gregory, was battling breast cancer.
“Taylor was like a big sister and came over and took the girls baking cookies and just kind of hung out at the house,” Jarrett recalled. “I can’t say enough good things about Taylor.”
Gregory eventually died in May 2007, seven months after the release of Swift’s self-titled debut album.
While Swift’s profile has certainly exploded since those days, Jarrett has enjoyed keeping tabs on the singer.
“She’s just a sweetheart. I still call her ‘our girl’ and now she’s up hanging in the NFL circles,” Jarrett gushed, referencing Swift’s relationship with boyfriend Travis Kelce.
Jarrett was also quick to point out that Swift made the gesture out of the kindness of her heart without any money exchanging hands.
“I can tell you this right now, she was never on the Jeff Jarrett payroll,” he said. “So, technically not a babysitter.”
The bond between Swift and Jarrett’s three daughters — Joslyn, Jaclyn and Jerlyn — was on full display when Jaclyn appeared in the music video for Swift’s song “Mine” in 2010.
“The ‘Mine’ video is so creative and my daughter Jaclyn looked like a little Taylor,” Jarrett recalled to Fightful in 2011. “We were out on the lake, Taylor pulled up and, as bold as she always is, was just like, ‘I want Jaclyn in the video.’”
Jarrett agreed, so the family traveled to Maine to film the video. “[You] had to turn over your cell phone on set and all that stuff. It was a good experience for the kids,” Jarrett remembered.
In harkening back to the music video, Jarrett also used it as an opportunity to gush about the mega-star who has meant so much to his family.
“Not only is she uber-creative as an artist, she thinks like a businesswoman,” he said. “Those two skill sets combined, you rarely see. She deserves all the success she has.”
