10 Ways Taylor Swift's Relationship With Travis Kelce Is Different Than All Her Others

Almost from the very first moment Taylor Swift was rumored to be dating Travis Kelce, Swifties felt something new in the air. There are countless threads on various Swift-related Reddit pages about what makes this particular relationship unlike all of her other ones. On a thread called "Why is this one different?", in a subreddit called r/TaylorAndTravis, one fan speculated, "Because he is different. In their pics Travis is protective & loving towards Taylor in the way he holds her hand in both of his, opens doors, etc." They added, "I think they share the same values."

It's not just fans who say that Swift and Kelce are an unusual couple in the "Blank Space" singer's long list of lovers. Sources suggested to People in July 2024 that the relationship feels new and exciting to Swift and Kelce, too. "They really are very, very happy together. They're very serious about each other, and the relationship feels different for both of them," a source said. In fact, the insider speculated that the reason is because the two are alike. "They both wear their hearts on their sleeves and are all-in with everything they do," the source said, "whether it's with career, family or friends."

Let's take a detailed look into more ways Taylor Swift's relationship with Travis Kelce is different than all her others.

In the past, Taylor Swift has dated some men who were famous for longer than she was. From John Mayer to Jake Gyllenhaal, a few of Swift's ex-boyfriends had careers in the entertainment industry that preceded her debut. In other words, they dated much closer to the start of her fame than their own. In the case of Travis Kelce, however, she's the one who's been a superstar for longer than he's been in the public eye. That means, as he was first getting famous, he was asked to comment on celebrities who were far outside his sphere of influence. To Kelce's credit, even long before they knew each other, he often shouted out Taylor Swift as a crush.

During one game of "Kiss, Marry, Kill" for AfterBuzzTV in 2016, Kelce was asked to choose between Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, and Katy Perry. "Ariana is kill, unfortunately," he said. "Love you, but you're gone. And then, Taylor Swift would be the kiss." In 2023, for a TikTok on the Kansas City Chiefs' account, he was asked, "Who was your celebrity crush growing up?" Kelce, who is actually a month older than Swift, didn't even have to answer before a teammate chimed in, revealing his answer was "Taylor Swift." Kelce blushed, his love of the "Love Story" singer apparently being common knowledge among his teammates even months before they started dating.

Most of Taylor Swift's previous boyfriends have been sensitive or artistic types. There's Jake Gyllenhaal, star of films like "Brokeback Mountain" and "Prisoners" (and, okay, the "Road House" remake and "Bubble Boy"). There's boy band member-turned-solo artist Harry Styles, who's proven to have quite the expansive musical palette since he left One Direction. There's even Matty Healy, the much-maligned singer of Brit pop band The 1975. 

Travis Kelce, though, doesn't get by on his creative output. Instead, fans have noticed he seems like more of a sweetheart than many of her past boyfriends, simply a supportive presence who focuses on his football career and doesn't get tied up in making art about their relationship. To that end, plenty of fans have loved digging into Kelce's past tweets, celebrating the so-called "himbo" for pure, delightful social media posts like, "I just gave a squirle a peice of bread and it straight smashed all of it!!!! I had no idea they ate bread like that!! Haha #crazy," which he wrote on X, formerly Twitter back in 2011.

The year before, he got closer to Swiftian profundity by posting, "The moon looks crazy tonight... Imma chill out here for a little and just visualize my success n vibe to the scenary." (Who cares if he can't spell "scenery"?) Sometimes, he was just straight-up relatable, like when he wrote, "I hate it when my phone is about to die!!!" Us too, Travis. Us too.

In the past, Taylor Swift mostly dated artists and actors. She's known for her relationships with folks like Harry Styles, Calvin Harris, and John Mayer on the musician front, and she's also been linked to thespians like Tom Hiddleston, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Joe Alwyn. Travis Kelce is neither of those things.

He is a football player, though, an archetype that Swift has long been fascinated by. Football guys show up in songs going back to her debut album, when she sang, "In your life, you'll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team." (These days, the line makes her laugh in concert). In the music video for "You Belong With Me," Swift played a nerdy girl in love with a football-playing neighbor, arguing he'd be much better off dating her instead of the cheer captain.

While Kelce may be inspiring new angles for Swift's music, she's also had an impact on his sphere of celebrity. According to The Wrap, the "Lover" singer's tendency to turn up at football games boosted the NFL's viewership, even leading to a 20% increase in sponsorships for the league. Maybe he does belong with her after all!

Whereas previous boyfriends like Joe Alwyn preferred to keep things low-key, and she's certainly been photographed out and about with past flames, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's relationship has played out very much in the public eye. In fact, that's part of the reason fans have become so invested; they feel as though they've been along for the ride since the beginning.

It all began when Kelce revealed on his podcast "New Heights" that he'd made a friendship bracelet of his phone number, hoping to give it to Swift when he attended The Eras Tour. He complained to his brother, "She doesn't meet anybody, or at least she didn't want to meet me, so I took it personally." That was July 26, 2023; on September 24, 2023, Swift showed up on camera at her first Kansas City Chiefs game, and the rest is pop culture history.

Even though fans may feel that they've seen every step of the romance, Swift told TIME that wasn't the case. "By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple," she insisted. "I think some people think that they saw our first date at that game? We would never be psychotic enough to hard launch a first date." She also described their willingness to be seen together. "I'm going to see him do what he loves, we're showing up for each other, other people are there," she said, "and we don't care."

Taylor Swift and her previous boyfriends have occasionally tempted the paparazzi with some public outings that bordered on publicity stunts. Remember when Swift and Harry Styles went on a date to the zoo together? Or that time she was photographed cavorting in the ocean with "Loki" star Tom Hiddleston, who was wearing an "I ♥ TS" tank top? Those events certainly feel like they were meant to be seen by the wider public.

With Travis Kelce, on the other hand, Swift has played up their relationship to new levels. A few weeks after their first football game date, Swift and Kelce both made a surprise appearance together on "Saturday Night Live," perhaps her biggest acknowledgment ever that she was at the center of a media frenzy about one of her relationships. In a behind-the-scenes look in Variety, a source revealed the whole thing was a surprise even to "SNL's" production team. "No one knew they were coming, and they contacted a few minutes before arrival at air time," the source said. "They were happy to jump into some parts of the show when asked." Kelce appeared in the show's opening sketch, while Swift went on stage to introduce her "Karma (Remix)" collaborator Ice Spice.

Even though the two superstars showed up practically unannounced and became the biggest news story on the show, it seems everyone was happy to have them. Describing the episode's afterparty, one source told Variety, "It was a fun, celebratory night."

Even though Taylor Swift has dated some of the most famous men in the world, men who are constantly doing interviews and speaking with fans, you'd be hard-pressed to find an ex-boyfriend who is willing to go on the record about her. Even more rare are interviews from ex-boyfriends that were given while they were still dating. For the most part, the only pieces of information fans are able to gather about Swift's relationships come from the songwriter herself, who is well-known for turning her romantic exploits into song lyrics.

That's not the case with Travis Kelce, who is all too happy to talk on his podcast — which he co-hosts with his retired brother, Jason Kelce — about the latest developments in their courtship. After Swift showed up to her first football game, he gave her a glowing review on the pod. "I just thought it was awesome how everybody in the suite had nothing but great things to say about her," Travis said on "New Heights" in September 2023, referencing his friends and family. "She looked amazing, everybody was talking about her in great light, and on top of that, the day went perfect for Chiefs fans, of course." Travis and Jason agreed the situation was "electric."

By April 2024, Travis was amazed the relationship was still going strong. "I don't know how I did it 'cause she wasn't into sports," he said on the podcast. " So I don't know how the f*** I did it."

While previous Taylor Swift ex-boyfriends managed to keep their families locked down, Travis Kelce's whole family is famous in the sports world, and they've been happy to talk about their experiences with the "But Daddy I Love Him" singer in the press. Donna Kelce, Travis' mother, even went viral for what she said about her son's new girlfriend on "TODAY." She said spending time together was "okay," which many Swifties took negatively. Donna later explained to WSJ Magazine (via People) that she didn't mean anything bad by it, clarifying, "He's happier than I've seen him in a long time ... God bless him. He shot for the stars!"

Ed Kelce, Travis' father, spoke with The Los Angeles Times about the security detail that protects the pop star. "Every game there's people crowding outside the front of that suite trying to get a glimpse of Taylor, wanting to meet Taylor. Taylor's very gracious, but she can't do everything," Ed said, noting that she listens to what her security tells her. Still, he insisted, "If it was up to her she'd be out there with everyone who wants her."

Jason Kelce, who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, is also happy to discuss his brother's relationship, even telling "The Big Podcast with Shaq" about how difficult the attention is. "The Taylor world and the pop culture world, that's a whole different level," he said. "It's a new demographic that wasn't there before."

Social media has become ever more present in all of our lives, and it's not unusual for people to "soft-launch" their relationships online by posting hints. "Hard launches" come later, when people finally post photos that announce their relationships to the world. The thinking is that soft-launching the relationship is easier to backpedal on if things don't go well, whereas a "hard launch" may need to be scrubbed if the relationship turns out to be an embarrassing one. 

In the past, Taylor Swift has been quicker to acknowledge her relationships online. When she dated Calvin Harris, for example, they were reportedly introduced in February 2015. By April, the "This Is What You Came For" producer soft-launched the couple by posting a photo of Swift's cats on his Instagram. She hard-launched in June, confirming for her social media followers that they were in a relationship a mere four months after they met.

That's not the case with Travis Kelce. They have, of course, been very public throughout their courtship, but Swift has treated this relationship differently online. Case in point: It took almost an entire year for her to post her football player boyfriend on Instagram. In June 2024, she finally shared Kelce to her Instagram grid, posting a selfie of her beau in a USA cap while posing with Prince William, Prince George, and Princess Charlotte. "London shows are off to a splendid start," she wrote.

In the past, Taylor Swift has collaborated with several of her boyfriends. They were mostly behind-the-scenes collabs, though, like when she co-wrote "This Is What You Came For" with Calvin Harris under a pseudonym. (That's right, Nils Sjöberg is Taylor Swift ... gasp!) She also brought longtime partner Joe Alwyn on board for a number of songs, and when they worked together, he too wrote under a fake name. Now, thanks to his songwriting credits on "Folklore," Alwyn is considered a Grammy winner.

In 2023, that began to change. Early that year, there was rampant speculation that Taylor Swift was dating Matty Healy, frontman of The 1975. Phoebe Bridgers opened for Swift on a number of tour dates, and in May of that year, Bridgers brought Healy out as a guest, apparently in acknowledgment that the two were in the middle of a fling.

Swift and Healy's relationship ended poorly, and by later that year, she was dating Kelce. Still, how much collaborating can a pop star do with a football player? They worked it out anyway, and in June 2024, Swift brought Kelce out on stage to be one of the dancers who carried her during "I Can Do It With A Broken Heart." On his podcast "New Heights," Kelce reflected, "It's such a fun, playful part of the show. It was the perfect area, or perfect time, for me to go up there — just be a ham and have some fun." 

Historically, when Taylor Swift has been happily coupled up, she's still been happy to do her own thing. She's gone on multiple world tours, filmed numerous film roles and music videos, and created countless albums all while being part of a relationship. That's certainly continued while she's been with Travis Kelce; since their relationship began, she's performed dozens of stops on The Eras Tour and released a staggering 34 variants of "The Tortured Poets Department."

Still, though, her friends are reportedly nervous about all the flying back and forth to be with Kelce. Sources told Life & Style they worry she's becoming too dependent on his presence at her shows, when historically Swift has been able to perform without having a boyfriend watching. "Her separation anxiety has kicked in big time and it's very worrisome for friends who think it's a bad sign that she's so panicked about having to have time apart from him," the source claimed. They added, "Before he came along, she was so excited about touring, and now it's like she can't enjoy it unless he's with her."

Looking toward the future, the source noted Swift and Kelce are feeling the intense speculation about if and when they'll get engaged. The source advised, "She needs to relax, take deep breaths and trust him and their relationship. If it's meant to be, a little time apart is only going to make things stronger." Considering this relationship is so different than Swift's previous ones, fans will just have to wait and see what happens next.