Travis Kelce's Podcast Played A Major Role In Kickstarting His Romance With Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's fairytale romance may not have happened if not for his "New Heights" podcast. We first heard the Kansas City Chiefs tight end mention his future partner on the show in a February 2023 episode while Travis and his brother, Jason Kelce, were giving out a SeatGeek discount code. The former Philadelphia Eagles center noted that viewers could use the code to get tickets for Swift's Eras Tour. Travis then launched into a silly song about bagging the infamously tough-to-get tickets at lower prices.

It seems like the little tune wasn't entirely in jest because Travis attended his first Eras Tour concert at the Arrowhead Stadium in July. A few days later, Jason asked about his experience on another "New Heights" episode. Travis answered honestly, "I was disappointed that she doesn't talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings," (via X, formerly known as Twitter). The NFL star continued, "So I was a little butt-hurt I didn't get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her."

Travis further asserted that his friendship bracelet was extra special because it had his phone number on it. His elder brother joked that the "Blank Space" hitmaker may have intentionally snubbed Travis because the Chiefs defeated her beloved Eagles at the 2023 Super Bowl. At the time, everybody believed that the tight end had shot his shot and failed, but little did we know that Swift had heard his words and, more importantly, taken them to heart. 

Nearly three months after Travis Kelce shouted out Taylor Swift on "New Heights," she surprised everyone by showing up to a Kansas City Chiefs game. Back then, some believed that the public encounter was their first time meeting, but the world-conquering pop star later clarified that their relationship started much earlier. In her 2023 TIME Person of the Year interview, Swift briefly touched on the early days of her unlikely romance, revealing, "This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell." She confirmed, "We started hanging out right after that." 

The "Bad Blood" singer noted that she was relieved that they could keep their relationship under the radar for a little bit because it allowed them to fall in love without any added pressure. Meanwhile, on a March 2024 "New Heights" episode, the Kelce brothers subtly acknowledged Travis' manifestation skills. While they discussed guest, and Eagles running back, Saquon Barkley's dream to appear in action movies, Jason Kelce made a reference to how his brother got Swift with the podcast mention. "Seriously, just throw it out there," he urged. "Stuff happens when it goes out on 'New Heights.' Speak it into existence."

However, when Lil Dicky brought up the high-profile relationship during an April 2024 appearance on "New Heights," Travis confessed that he wasn't sure how he managed to impress the "Style" hitmaker because she wasn't a football fan before they met. When the rapper pointed out that it began with the podcast mention, Travis jokingly claimed that he masterminded it all.

While Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift's relationship technically only started because he shot his shot on "New Heights," the seeds appear to have been planted a long time ago. When the pro-athlete played Marry, Kiss or Kill with AfterBuzz TV in 2016, Travis affirmed that he would lock lips with the "Shake It Off" hitmaker. While Swifties shared the clip on social media, they also began to spot other little things that tied their beloved singer to the tight end. For instance, her 2006 track "Mary's Song," off the pop star's self-titled debut album, referenced Travis's future jersey number and her birth year with the lyrics, "I'll be 87; You'll be 89." Elsewhere, when Swift dreamed of an idealistic relationship in her 2012 song "Stay, Stay, Stay," she notably wrote, "That's when you came in wearing a football helmet." 

Fans also reckon that the tight end matches the "22" songstress' description of her ideal partner in interviews. When the Grammy winner appeared on the British talk show "Alan Carr: Chatty Man" in 2012, Swift shared that she didn't want to go to great lengths to hide her relationships. Over a decade later, the pop star met Travis, who took cues from Swift about public scrutiny and didn't try to keep their romance a secret. Likewise, in her 2009 Glamour interview, she basically described him by reasoning, "I'd rather be with someone who has his own voice and passion and ambition." Additionally, fans noticed that Travis' signature archer move closely resembled the gesture Swift made at the Eras Tour while performing her song, "The Archer."