The announcement of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s engagement this morning sent the internet into a frenzy of gasping and swooning. This is huge news folks not just because of the stunning glittering engagement ring that perfectly captures Swift’s essence but also because of the love story which is particularly fulfilling for fans who have followed the pop sensation’s journey.
When Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce shockingly announced their engagement on social media their two-year relationship reached a new level. On August 26, Tuesday Swift’s song So High School was featured in a joint Instagram post by the global superstar and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end which also included the caption, “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.” The carousel included a close-up of Swift’s enormous rock and Kelce bent down under a flower arbor. While fans continue to revel in the idyllic moment Swift is not the first well-known woman to win Kelce over.
Yet the Kansas City Chiefs tight end made headlines for his other relationships before he and Swift met and revealed their brief romance to the world. Even before he met Swift his dating history was drawing attention from onlookers ranging from long-term love to reality TV fame to a brief rumored affair. Although it has been a few years since Travis Kelce first made his public debut the time has come to respectfully examine his past relationships now that he is officially engaged to Taylor Swift. Which to be honest is a little dramatic because it involves an entire E! reality show and some cheating accusations that people close to him have categorically denied.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship has long captivated the world and now that they are formally engaged to one another their obsession has only grown. Ever since she was a teenager the Cruel Summer singer’s romantic life has been in the news but it’s now obvious that she’s in a relationship that surpasses her wildest dreams. She began dating the Kansas City Chiefs tight end in the summer of 2023 and the two have become extremely close bringing Swifties and football fans closer together. The NFL has been significantly impacted by Taylor’s presence as well. Although viewers may gripe that she is a bit too much in the spotlight, the number of female viewers of the sport has increased by 9% since the previous season. They might be The Last Great American Dynasty. Is that possible?
Well venture to guess that Mastermind is Travis Kelce’s favorite song from Taylor Swift’s Midnights. He arrived at the Eras Tour with a dream and a friendship bracelet and shortly after that the Kansas City Chiefs tight end started dating the multi-Grammy winner. In the summer of 2023 35-year-old Kelce set the foundation. After he was unable to get some one-on-one time with Swift 35 when she performed in Missouri, his home state, he expressed his feelings for her. Before long everything fell into place: Swift started going to NFL games publicly supporting the Chiefs and going out on date nights in NYC with Kelce.
Despite the fact that none of Travis Kelce’s relationships were final, a close examination of his stunning ex-girlfriends provides insight into his life before Taylor. Long before Taylor came along people were talking about Kelce’s past relationships from reality TV stars to his most recent long-term relationship with media personality Kayla Nicole. Below is a list of all the people Kelce was associated with prior to Swift.
Maya Benberry (2016)
Travis Kelce, star of the dating show Catching Kelce on E! , resorted to reality TV in 2016 in search of love. He selected Kentucky native Maya Benberry out of 50 competitors. Even though they appeared to be in love on the show the relationship seemed to quickly end after filming was finished. It was the first of his high-profile romances. By early 2017 Benberry had confirmed their breakup and accused Kelce of infidelity. The relationship was brief but it marked the beginning of Kelce’s transformation from a successful NFL player to a legitimate celebrity.
Following her victory on his reality dating show Chasing Kelce in 2016 Maya Benberry briefly dated Travis and accused him of cheating on her. I wish Taylor Swift luck because she seems like a fun girl with a beautiful spirit but I wouldn’t be a girl’s girl if I didn’t advise her to be smart! the former contestant told the Daily Mail after learning of his new relationship with Swift. I’m sure she’s mastered the ability to tell who is truly supporting her and who is just taking advantage of her by now, she continued. In this case my only hope is that she emerges as the teacher rather than the pupil. However as they say once a cheater always a cheater. Only time will tell. According to Kelce’s close friends he never cheated and they only dated for a month refuting her allegations. Maya’s remarks are a poor excuse of someone trying to get her 15 minutes of fame, he said. According to an insider who spoke to Page Six the couple weren’t even together long enough for him to cheat on her dating for less than three months and being bound by a contract to keep their split a secret.
Kayla Nicole (2017–2022)
Shortly after his TV romance ended Kelce started dating sports influencer and broadcaster Kayla Nicole which would become his longest and most visible relationship. These two had a lovely relationship that lasted for years as anyone who has been a longtime fan of Kelce (or who read so many romance novels about tight ends that they became prematurely aware of his existence) will know. Outside of the game she would frequently support Kelce from the sidelines and the two seemed to lead a glamorous and opulent lifestyle. The two frequently shared the story of how they met which was allegedly on New Years Eve when Kelce slid into her Instagram direct messages. Nicole established herself as a regular at Chiefs games and events for the following five years. This is not to imply that Nicole is only well-known for that on the contrary it is not at all the case. As host of the weekly podcast The Pre-Game Podcast she is a successful sports broadcaster in her own right. She has a successful career as an influencer as well. It’s interesting that Nicole has even suggested that Travis and Swift’s relationship might have turned out to be advantageous. She said in a May podcast that it’s so much worse if the guy you loved for so long goes and dates a dud adding that it’s easier to deal with the possibility that the new girl could be really hot and pop. . Following Kelce and Swift’s announcement of their engagement on August 26 2025 fans once again conjectured about Nicole’s feelings. Nicole reposted a video of Tracee Ellis Ross talking about the power of joy on Instagram Stories shortly after their announcement. “Read about this concept years ago in a book called Choose Joy: Because Happiness Isn’t Enough. I aspire. So so good,” she wrote.
All the same the relationship was regarded as erratic. Even though Kelce denied the cheating rumors at the time labeling them fake news they were the dominant narrative on the internet in 2020. However they did reconcile after this so maybe it was just a rumor. Even though they had several reconciliations their official breakup occurred in 2022. Nicole later talked candidly about the emotional toll of their split which makes sense given how many Swifties leave comments on her posts whenever a Swift and Kelce story is published. Nicole once again defied rumors after announcing their engagement by sharing a fundraising link on her Instagram stories probably to take advantage of the thousands of people who flocked to her page.
Barstool Sports reported on claims that Travis made Kayla pay for half of everything and was cheap when they ended their relationship permanently according to People. However he flatly denied this stating You must be insane to believe that I would never assist or give her a couple thousand dollars to buy food or that she gave me some cash to buy food. . We spent five years together. Not even a hundred dollars here and a hundred dollars there was considered. For five years the couple dated intermittently, showing up together at public events and on red carpets. They separated in 2020, got back together and finally called it quits in May 2022. Both denied rumors that their split was over money with Nicole describing the rumors as absurd and very false.
Zuri Hall (2022–2023)
Zuri Hall, the Access Hollywood correspondent, was briefly associated with Kelce after his final split from Nicole. A video of her with the NFL player in the background was shared by one of Kelce’s friends after she was seen sitting in his family’s suite during a Chiefs game. Hall’s appearance at a Chiefs game in October 2022 in Kelce’s suite sparked the rumors. Because of the appearances, fans and tabloids were speculating about the possibility of a romance. Neither Travis nor Zuri ever acknowledged whether they were dating despite the rumors and the photo opportunities that raised eyebrows. During an interview the reporter finally put an end to the rumors which had been widely reported in the media at the time. Naturally fans quickly assumed the two were romantically involved but neither Kelce nor Hall acknowledged a relationship. Hall later brushed the rumors aside saying they were funny and untrue.
Taylor Swift (2023-Present)
The romance between Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift began a little more than two years ago and they have since exchanged engagement rings and friendship bracelets. It all started on July 8 2023 when the NFL star was spotted at Taylor’s Eras Tour sparking curiosity that would soon turn into more outings. Within weeks Travis disclosed that he had attempted to give Taylor his phone number as a gift by putting it on a bracelet. By September sources told PEOPLE that Taylor had gone to Travis’ game and that the two were hanging out the following day. It must have worked because Tay started attending Chiefs games. They drove off in a getaway car and she has been hanging out with his mother. Travis soon revealed their future on his podcast two days later demonstrating to his fans that this went beyond simply getting to know her. Donna’s mother even indicated her approval by sharing that she had spent time with Taylor.
Travis subsequently acknowledged that he had someone playing Cupid to help attract Taylor’s attention while Taylor put an end to dating rumors that same month with a kiss in an Instagram picture. The pair celebrated significant occasions together over the course of the following two years including traveling to tropical destinations in between Swift’s sold-out tour dates and celebrating Kelce’s Super Bowl victory in February 2024. By Christmas Taylor’s family was spending the holiday with Travis after she first talked about the relationship in December. Taylor went to a lot of games the following year and even supported Travis at the 2024 Super Bowl. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes later acknowledged that he had acted as a matchmaker. The pair made their Instagram official on June 22 2024 and the following day Travis joined her onstage during her Eras Tour further solidifying their relationship.
Trav and Tay essentially confirmed their relationship in two different interviews after the internet went crazy over the couple. Travis claimed in an interview with WSJ Mag that they have similar values and that the Grammy winner was hilarious and a genius. He remarked Everyone knows I’m a family guy. Her family makes up her team. Since her family is heavily involved in the tour marketing and presence I believe she shares many of those values which is exactly what I’m looking for. Conversely Taylor discussed their relationship in her TIME 2023 Person of the Year cover story stating It all began when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast which I thought was metal as hell. Following more than two years of both public and private moments Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift formally announced their engagement on August 26 2025 following their red carpet debut on June 24 2025. Their love story still enthralls fans as they announced their engagement in August 2025. Swift once said that Kelce might be her End Game.
Read also: Emilie Kiser’s Story: Turning Tragedy into Awareness
