Years before dating Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift predicted in 2009 that she’d be with a partner with “passion and ambition,” saying they’d fly back and forth to watch each other shine.
Perhaps Taylor Swift does belong with Travis Kelce forevermore.
Swifties uncovered one of the singer’s old interviews that shows she has long been looking for a romance that seems eerily similar to the one she now has with the Kansas City Chiefs player.
When asked if she’d need to date someone who is at “a similar level of success,” Taylor told Glamour in 2009 that “it’s more a question of confidence.”
“I wouldn’t want to be with a pushover who would let me make all the plans and have all the control,” the then-19-year-old confessed. “It’s really natural for me to go into planning mode, but I’d rather be with someone who has his own voice and passion and ambition.”
When envisioning what a relationship would look like for her, Taylor explained it’s “always going to be long-distance” for her because of her jet-setting career.
“I’ll by flying to see him and flying him places to see me,” she shared. “It feels like it would involve more scheduling, and I already deal with a lot of scheduling in my life. Of course, if I met somebody who was worth it, I would probably stop thinking that way!”
It certainly seems she’s found that with Travis, considering she’s flown out to Kansas City, Mo. as well as New York and Boston, to see him play in multiple NFL games over the past three months. He, too, has made the trek to see her perform in stadiums of her own, flying to Argentina in November to watch her Eras Tour show.
That’s why fans believe Travis may be end game for Taylor, with one social media user noting that the Grammy winner’s past wish seems to be “100% applicable” now. Meanwhile, another fan pointed out that it’s “another string” connecting the couple.
And this time, Taylor isn’t shying away from enjoying every last kiss and public outing with her lover.
“When you say a relationship is public, that means I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there and we don’t care,” the 34-year-old told TIME in December. “The opposite of that is you have to go to an extreme amount of effort to make sure no one knows that you’re seeing someone. And we’re just proud of each other.”
For more reasons Travis might be the true king of her heart, read on.
No. 1: He’s a Swiftie
Long before Taylor Swift’s attendance at the Kansas City Chief’s Sept. 24 game became one of the definitive pop culture moments of the year, Travis Kelce was an admirer of the Grammy winner.
The star tight end’s interest in Taylor was first revealed by one of his teammates in a TikTok video posted by the Chiefs in August (which, in hindsight, was when the pair were secretly dating).
Before Travis could answer the prompt of who his celebrity crush was, wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling spilled, “Taylor Swift!”
Travis smiled at the camera before holding his finger up to his moustache, saying, “Alright now!”
Plus, Travis was just one of many celebs to attend Taylor’s record-breaking Eras Tour this summer. But more on that enchanting moment in a bit…
No. 2: He’s Not Her Usual Type (on Paper)
While he does have that daydream look in his eyes (especially when he sees Taylor on the big-screen at one of his games), Travis stands out a bit when you look back at Taylor’s dating history.
She is typically attracted to creative types, including actors (Joe Alwyn, Jake Gyllenhaal, Taylor Lautner and Tom Hiddleston) and musicians (Calvin Harris, John Mayer, Harry Styles and, most recently, Matt Healey).
But perhaps that’s why her romance with the lighthearted and cheeky athlete—who signed a four-year deal with the Chiefs worth $57 million in 2020—feels like such a refreshing option for Taylor after her six-year uber-private relationship with Joe came to an end this past April.
No. 3: He Publicly Pursued Her
Looks like the eight-time Pro Bowler’s wishes came true after he all but manifested his rumored romance with the superstar through sheer will, determination and declarations of infatuation.
Travis publicly aired his failed attempt to shoot his shot and talk to Taylor when he attended the Kansas City stop on her Eras Tour July 7. As it turns out, he had a special gift for her: A friendship bracelet bearing his “number” that he hoped to give Taylor. (He wouldn’t definitely say if it was his jersey number or phone number.)
Despite his claim that he was “disappointed” he failed to meet her after the concert, Taylor confirmed to TIME that she belatedly caught his podcast pass.
“Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell,” she recalled. “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.”
So, that whole theory about the Sept. 24 game being their first official hang? As Taylor clarified to TIME, “We would never be psychotic enough to hard launch a first date.”
No. 4: She Isn’t In Hiding
Since her breakup with Joe, Taylor has been seen in public much more frequently, including outings with friends in New York City and jubilant appearances at award shows, like the 2023 MTV VMAs.
But her most talked-about appearance? Sitting in Travis’ suite at the Kansas City Chief’s Sept. 24 home game against the Chicago Bears.
Rather than shy away from the attention, Taylor cheered, screamed “Let’s f–king go!” when Travis scored a touchdown. Like the public, even Travis admitted he was caught off-guard by Taylor accepting his invite.
“Shoutout to Taylor for pulling up, that was pretty ballsy,” Travis said during the Sept. 27 episode of the New Heights podcast. “I just thought it was awesome how everyone in the suite had nothing but great things to say about her, the friends and family.”
“She looked amazing,” he added. ” It was definitely a game I will remember, that’s for damn sure.”
Since then, Taylor and Travis have been photographed hand-in-hand on dates in New York City and have made multiple visits to a Christmas bar in Kansas City, where they were not shy about showing PDA.
And, after revealing to TIME that she retreated from the spotlight after Kim Kardashian’s infamous leaked phone call in 2016, Taylor is going out tonight…and every night, if she wants to, thank you very much.
“Life is short,” she said. “Have adventures. Me locking myself away in my house for a lot of years—I’ll never get that time back. I’m more trusting now than I was six years ago.”
No. 5: He Knows When to Pull Back
While Travis isn’t afraid to spill some tea on his podcast about his interactions with Taylor, he still expressed his boundaries about addressing his personal life moving forward.
“I know I brought all this attention to me,” he explained. “I did the whole friendship bracelet thing and told everyone how butthurt I was that I didn’t get to meet Taylor.” However, he continued, he didn’t plan to give a full play-by-play of their relationship.
“What’s real is that it is my personal life and I want to respect both of our lives,” he explained. “I’m enjoying life and I sure as hell enjoyed this weekend. So everything moving forward, I think me talking about sports and saying ‘alright nah’ will have to be where I keep it.”
He doubled-down on his desire to play it cool in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
“Everybody around me telling me: Don’t f–k this up! And me sitting here saying: Yeah—got it,” he told the outlet, before addressing the media attention. “That was the biggest thing to me: make sure I don’t say anything that would push Taylor away.”
But that doesn’t mean he’s been able to resist publicly talking about his girlfriend—crediting her for the boost in sales of his jersey and calling her “amazing” after she was booed by New England Patriots fans at his Dec. 17 game.
“I’ve never been a man of words,” he admitted to WSJ. “Being around her, seeing how smart Taylor is, has been f–king mind-blowing. I’m learning every day.”
