First and foremost, Travis Kelce is a Swiftie. The 34-year-old football star previously attended Taylor’s Eras Tour stop in Kansas City, Missouri, earlier this year, well before they met and became an item. Now, he’s sharing his pick for Taylor’s best Era and song.
In an interview with WSJ. Magazine, Travis says he was most excited for the 1989 portion of Taylor’s set — which is named for the year in which she, and he, were born.
“‘Blank Space’ was the one I wanted to hear live for sure,” he spills. “‘I could make a bad guy good for the weekend.’ That’s a helluva line!”
He’s not wrong. The song topped the charts following its late 2014 release, and was eventually nominated for three GRAMMY Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance. Taylor recently re-recorded the track for last month’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) release.
Travis has famously said that he had attempted — unsuccessfully — to give Taylor his phone number on a friendship bracelet when he attended her concert. He later issued a public invitation for the songstress to join him at one of his NFL games and, in September, she took him up on it.
At the time, a source confirmed to ET that Travis and Taylor had been hanging out prior to their public debut at his game. “Travis and Taylor have a lot in common and they are having a great time getting to know each other. They have similar values,” the source said at the time.
In his new cover story for WSJ. Magazine’s December/January issue, on newsstands Dec. 9, Travis is interviewed by Pulitzer-winning author J.R. Moehringer — who recently co-authored Prince Harry‘s memoir, Spare. During the interview, Travis gushes over the impact Taylor has through her songwriting skills, calling her a “genius.”
“She writes catchy jingles,” he quips. “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.”
Including, he says, how to navigate a new level of fame.
“Obviously I’ve never dated anyone with that kind of aura about them… I’ve never dealt with it,” he shares. “But at the same time, I’m not running away from any of it… The scrutiny she gets, how much she has a magnifying glass on her, every single day, paparazzi outside her house, outside every restaurant she goes to, after every flight she gets off, and she’s just living, enjoying life. When she acts like that I better not be the one acting all strange.”
Travis attended Taylor’s Eras tour again earlier this month in Argentina. With his Chiefs on a bye week, the athlete enjoyed a whirlwind trip south of the equator to enjoy her shows alongside the singer’s dad, Scott Kingsley Swift. At one point, the songstress switched up her “Karma” lyrics to sing about “the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me.” Later, as the show ended, Taylor was spotted hugging and kissing Travis at the side of the stage.
“It was a whole bunch of fun,” he told his brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, on last week’s episode of their New Heights podcast.
“How does it feel to officially be ‘The guy on the Chiefs’?” Jason teased him on the podcast.
With a laugh, Travis said that he had “no clue” Taylor planned to mention him during her show.
“Well, I might have had a little bit of a clue,” he then admitted. “But definitely when I heard it come out of her mouth, [it] still shocked me.”
Last week, a source told ET that Travis and Taylor are planning to spend time together as the GRAMMY winner is on a two-month hiatus from touring. In addition to celebrating the holiday season, Taylor’s 34th birthday is on Dec. 13.
“Taylor and Travis are on the same page and have a lot in common,” the source added. “Both are extremely close to their families and share morals and views on a lot of things.”
A source also recently told ET that the couple is deep in the lavender haze when it comes to each other.
“They’re very into each other and it is clear to everyone around them. They are both excited and giddy that they can’t even hide it, and don’t want to,” the source told ET. “Their family and friends are very happy for them and think they are great together.”
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