Travis Kelce is proud to have girlfriend Taylor Swift by his side, and he doesn’t mind that the whole world is watching.
In a radio interview conducted before Super Bowl LVIII earlier this month (and just now resurfacing on social media), sports reporter Laura Okmin told Kelce, 34, “Love looks good on you,” to which he replied, “I appreciate that, thank you.”
Okmin remarked that Kelce was getting ready to step onto “the biggest stage in football” once again as the Kansas City Chiefs prepared to play the San Francisco 49ers in the big game on February 11, but she noted that his personal life has also been in the spotlight more than ever since he began dating Swift, 34, last summer.
“Well, the biggest thing for me is … I never want the people in the building to ever have the idea that I’m not focused on the game, I’m not focused on being my best at football and not having all my focus and all my attention to my craft and making sure that I’m accountable in the biggest game of our lives,” Kelce said.
The tight end acknowledged that he wanted to find the right balance in the public eye. “With that being said, I do, you know, have a guarded approach to it,” he explained. “But at the same time, I know what me and Taylor have is special, so I get [the interest].”
Okmin recalled speaking with Kelce years prior when he was “in a transformational place” in his life, remembering how he perceived people’s opinions of him. She asked whether he was “aware of the impact” his relationship with Swift has had on NFL fans throughout the season, especially when it comes to young women showing a new interest in the sport.
“I’m very aware,” Kelce said. “And obviously, this is mostly because Taylor’s in my life now and we got her [to be] part of Chiefs Kingdom, and sure enough, that brought an entire entourage of human beings who just love to support her and love to support everything that she’s about.”
Kelce added that the attention on his love life has “been a fun ride,” gushing that it was “beautiful” to see how Swift’s attendance at his games has brought dads and daughters together at home.
Continuing to reflect on his big year, Kelce said it was a time of “a lot of happiness” and “a lot of hard work” with a handful of “new challenges” along the way.
Kelce and Swift were first spotted together in September 2023 when she traveled to Kansas City to cheer on his team at Arrowhead Stadium. She attended several more games as their relationship progressed, ending the season by supporting Kelce at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Chiefs ultimately won in overtime, and Swift joined her boyfriend on the field to celebrate.
“Thank you for coming, baby,” he gushed in a sweet moment captured for The CW’s Inside the NFL. Swift showered Kelce with praise, saying, “Oh, I cannot believe that. I can’t believe you.”
During the week leading up to the Super Bowl, Kelce was pressed about his romance with Swift in a number of interviews — and was even asked to sing one of her songs on camera. He got candid about his “roller coaster” year while speaking to CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson.
“We’ve both been learning about this lifestyle,” Kelce said earlier this month. “It’s been an unexpected ride that I’ve just been having a blast with.”
