Your Guide to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's Love Story

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce

In spring 2023, Swifties were shaken to their core by the news that Taylor Swift had split from her boyfriend of six years, Joe Alwyn. But now, there’s a new Lover for them to track in the form of NFL star Travis Kelce, who semi-publicly shot his shot with Swift after seeing her perform The Eras Tour at his home stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. The pair have been dating since September, and have made a handful of public appearances together amid reports that things are already “getting serious.” Here’s a guide to their romance.

Who is Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce?

Kelce is a football player for the Kansas City Chiefs—specifically, he’s a tight end, and is widely considered to be one of the best in NFL history. He was born just two months before Swift, in October of 1989, attended the University of Cincinatti, Ohio, where he played college football, and was drafted by the Chiefs in 2013.

Since then, Kelce has played a significant role in the Chiefs’ multiple Super Bowl wins. Their most recent victory came in 2023 against the Philadelphia Eagles (incidentally, that’s Swift’s home team, and they got a shout-out [] in her 2020 song “Gold Rush.” Outside of his superstar performance on the field, Kelce also co-hosts a podcast titled New Heights with his brother Jason Kelce, who plays for the Eagles. Billed as “football’s funniest family duo,” the pair shoot the breeze about their latest games and NFL news in general, and sometimes drop in a little banter about their personal lives.

Related: Get to Know the Kelce Brothers' Dad, Ed Kelce

When did Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce meet?

In July 2023, Kelce went to see Swift’s Eras Tour at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. With the home-field advantage on his side, Kelce tried (unsuccessfully) to get his number to Swift that night in an extremely charming way. Throughout the months-long tour, Swift fans had been making friendship bracelets to wear and trade at the shows, in reference to a lyric from the song “You’re On Your Own Kid,” and Kelce made a bracelet that displayed his phone number on its beads. But alas, this exceptionally cute meet-cute wasn’t to be.

“I was disappointed that she doesn't talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings, so I was a little butt-hurt I didn't get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her,” Kelce explained on an episode of New Heights. “She doesn’t meet anybody—or at least she didn’t want to meet me, so I took it personal,” he joked, before calling the show “unbelievable."

But as it turned out, Swift did want to meet him. Per The Messenger, she and Kelce began “quietly hanging out” when she was in New York, following the end of the U.S. leg of the Eras Tour.

Related: Travis Kelce's Net Worth and Kansas City Chiefs Salary Can Buy Him a Lot of Fancy Getaway Cars

When was Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s first date?

It’s not clear exactly when the couple went on their first date, but per a Messenger source in mid-September, they kept things low-key to start off. “She thinks he is very charming, and they have been texting this last week. He is a little embarrassed at how much attention they are getting, but he has told her he would love to continue seeing her,” the source said.

During a later interview with WSJ magazine, Kelce revealed that somebody on Swift’s team “played Cupid” in order to get his phone number to her. Swift later reached out to him, and “told me exactly what was going on and how I got lucky enough to get her to reach out.”

He also shared some light info about their first date, recalling: “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.” His friends were more nervous than he was, he added: “Everybody around me telling me: ‘Don’t f--k this up!’ And me sitting here saying: ‘Yeah—got it.’”

On Sept. 21, after weeks of swirling rumors, Kelce revealed on The Pat McAfee Show that he’d invited Swift to watch him play. “I threw it out there, I threw the ball in her court,” he admits. “I told her, you know, I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead [Stadium], you might have to come see me rock the stage in Arrowhead and see which one’s a little more lit. So, we’ll see what happens in the near future.”

Related: A Numerologist Reveals Whether Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Are Endgame or Not

When did Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce go public?

Sure enough, Swift made an appearance at Arrowhead Stadium on Sept. 24, to watch the Chiefs play against the Chicago Bears, and sat in a box with Kelce’s mom, Donna. Afterwards, Swift and Kelce left the game together, and were later seen hanging out with the rest of the team at a local restaurant, marking their public debut as a couple.

Per several sources quoted in People, the relationship was very casual at this stage. “Taylor is very focused on work right now and hanging out with her girlfriends,” one source said at the time. “Travis invited her to the game, and of course she said yes. She just thought it was a fantastic way to spend Sunday.” Another source confirmed that this was the first time Swift had met Kelce’s parents.

Since then, Swift has attended several more of Kelce’s games during her time off from the Eras Tour, and things seem to be getting progressively more serious. They both made a surprise appearance on SNL in mid-October, and were seen together at the afterparty that night.

In November, Kelce traveled to Argentina to support Swift for the start of the international leg of her Eras tour. At the time, a source told Entertainment Tonight, “Travis and Taylor are all in. The two are very into each other and are enjoying their time together but are also planning for the future. Taylor starts her international tour in November, and Travis is planning to be there to spend time with her. Travis and Taylor are very serious about their careers, and the two bond over that and want to show support for each other whenever they can.”

Related: The Fan-Favorite Restaurant You May Spot Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce At

What has Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce said about their relationship?

Despite his brother Jason’s best efforts to get him to open up on New Heights, Kelce has largely steered clear of revealing too much about his relationship. As he explained in his WSJ Magazine interview, that was because he was wary of alienating Swift early on. “That was the biggest thing to me: make sure I don’t say anything that would push Taylor away,” he explained.

But it’s clear from the little that’s been said that Kelce is all in, and during the same interview he called Swift “a genius” and praised her family-oriented approach to life. “Everybody knows I’m a family guy,” he 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.” He also marveled at her songwriting ability, revealing: “I’ve never been a man of words. Being around her, seeing how smart Taylor is, has been f--king mind-blowing. I’m learning every day.”

What has Taylor Swift said about Travis Kelce?

Today, Swift very rarely speaks to the press—her last print interview was a 2020 Q&A with Entertainment Weekly—and no longer shares any information about her private life on social media. But she still found a memorable way to make her feelings for Kelce known.

During her Nov. 11 Eras Tour performances in Buenos Aires, with Kelce supporting her in the audience, Swift changed a key lyric in her hit 2022 song ‘Karma.” In the original, she sings: “Karma is the guy on the screen, coming straight home to me,” which is presumably a reference to her now ex-boyfriend, actor Joe Alwyn. But in Buenos Aires, she sang: “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight home to me”.

A fan captured Kelce’s incredibly sweet reaction to this surprise lyric change, and at the end of the show, Swift was seen running straight into his arms after leaving the stage. Kelce later discussed the lyric change on New Heights, admitting that while he had “a little bit of a clue” that it was coming, “when I heard it come out of her mouth it still shocked me. It blew me away. I was like, oh, she really just said that!”

In press around this time, it was clear the sparks were flying on both sides. “They’re very into each other, and it is clear to everyone around them,” a source told Entertainment Tonight. “They are both excited and giddy that they can’t even hide it, and don’t want to.”

Related: Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Garner and Tony Gonzalez React to Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift Craze

Are Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce moving in together?

Following her shows in Brazil, which wrapped up on Nov. 26, Swift is now on another hiatus from her tour until February, when she’ll kick off the rest of the international leg in Tokyo. But in the meantime, she and Kelce are reportedly planning to spend plenty of time together at his home in Kansas City.

“Their relationship is progressing in a great way,” a source told Entertainment Tonight. “Taylor is planning to spend a lot more time at Travis’ house in Kansas City while she is on a break from touring. They’re both very excited to be together, and Travis is making sure that Taylor feels comfortable and at home. They have mutual respect and admiration for one another, and their feelings for each other are sincere.”

Next, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Already Have 2024 Plans