The Pro Athlete Who Gave Travis Kelce A Warning About His Taylor Swift Romance

Few pop-culture phenomena of 2023 took the world by storm quite like the unlikely pairing of footballer Travis Kelce with international pop icon Taylor Swift. Indeed, it seems like everyone has an opinion or speculative take on the A-list romance, and former Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Lamar Odom is no exception. 

The celebrity basketball player, who was married to Khloe Kardashian from 2009 to 2016, offered some unsolicited advice to the Kansas City Chiefs tight end about his relationship with Swift, which started in the summer of 2023 on the heels of Swift's immensely popular Eras Tour. While speaking to The Messenger, Odom said, "My advice [to Kelce] would be to be strong and stay by her and be as close as possible."

"He just has to be strong and stick by his girl, and he'll be alright," Odom continued. His advice certainly seemed hard-earned when one considers the years-long infidelity and addiction scandals that marred his relationship with the youngest Kardashian sister.

Taylor Swift's relationship with Travis Kelce has been under intense scrutiny since its onset, something Lamar Odom is keenly familiar with after his marriage to Khloe Kardashian. And according to Odom, that poses a significant struggle in relationships like Swift and Kelce's. "There are going to be millions of women that want to taste what Taylor Swift is tasting, and it can be overwhelming because we're men," Odom said. 

The former Lakers basketball player's subtle reference to the temptation of infidelity brought back memories of his on-and-off relationship with Kardashian. Odom and Kardashian married in 2009 after dating for less than one month, but rampant rumors of Odom's adultery eventually broke the couple apart. Klohe Kardashian filed for divorce in 2013 following the release of a video revealing Odom bragging about cheating on his wife while high on drugs. The couple's messy divorce dragged on for three years before finalizing in 2016.

Odom has since expressed regret for how his relationship ended, describing his remorse at length in the 2023 Hulu special "TMZ Presents: Lamar Odom: Sex, Drugs & Kardashians" (via Entertainment Tonight). So, if anyone were qualified to give the Chiefs' tight end some "been there, done that" tough love, it would be Odom, whose remorse was evident in his words of wisdom to Kelce.

Fellow celebrities aren't the only ones finding ways to root for and support Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. Before there was even a relationship for Lamar Odom to comment on, Swift's friends and family reportedly banded together to hook her up with Kelce. In a cover story for the Washington Street Journal, Kelce revealed that Swift was tipped off to the footballer's attendance at her Kansas City Eras Tour show.

"There were definitely people she knew that knew who I was, in her corner [who said]: 'Yo! Did you know he was coming?' I had somebody playing Cupid," the athlete recalled. How could he be so sure? His girlfriend told him so. "[Taylor] told me exactly what was going on and how I got lucky enough to get her to reach out," Kelce explained (via People). However, not everyone in Swift's corner has been as eager to facilitate Kelce and Swift's relationship.

Gigi Hadid and Selena Gomez, two members of Swift's girl squad, are both allegedly worried about Swift's Travis Kelce romance. An inside source told Page Six that Gomez thought, "Taylor going to games and galavanting through New York immediately after just meeting Travis is something that is very unlike her." A different source told Us Weekly that Hadid felt the same. Still, only time will tell if everyone's relationship advice was unwarranted or a peek into the future of the celebrity power couple.