Travis Kelce's Hair Transformation Since He Started Dating Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's high-profile relationship has taken the media by storm, with their romance making headlines ever since Swift attended her first Kansas City Chiefs game in September 2023. As all eyes have been on the celebrity couple, the media has taken notice of Kelce's eccentric sense of style. While Swift has had her fair share of fashion hits and misses, her tight end beau has his own approach when it comes to appearance. "I'm not going to be offended if somebody says I look like a clown if I got a fun hat on and some wacky jeans," he told The Wall Street Journal. "For the most part, I do it to put a smile on somebody's face."

In addition to Kelce's over-the-top fashion moments, the football player has also played around with hairstyles throughout his relationship with Swift. He started out the long-term romance with a classic fade that The New York Times controversially dubbed "the Travis Kelce" and has sported it alongside different iterations of facial hair. Since then, the star athlete has also debuted a shaggier style that is said to be Taylor Swift-approved.

The List spoke exclusively with celebrity love coach and relationship expert Nicole Moore, who let us know if Kelce switching up his look so much could spell trouble in his relationship with Swift.

While September 2023 marked Taylor Swift's first appearance at a Kansas City Chiefs game, the singer's relationship with Travis Kelce actually started earlier than this. It's believed that the couple first connected in August, with the tight end sporting his classic fade and an Andy Reid-inspired mustache at the time. On the "New Heights" podcast, which Travis hosts with his brother Jason Kelce, the star athlete opened up about the origin of the facial hairstyle.

"I did the mustache because of my head coach Andy Reid," Travis explained. "About 10 of us [Kansas City Chiefs players] came together and said, 'yeah, we're gonna come back after this off day with mustaches.'" While that group trimming was years ago, Kelce has done it every year since, choosing to break out the 'stache during training camp since doesn't have as many public appearances at that time.

His signature haircut, known as a skin fade, has been around for decades. Patrick Regan is responsible for Kelce's particular look, with the celebrity barber talking to Fox News about the logistics of the look. "I cut the top usually with a #3 guard, and then I start with the shaver completely bald on the sides," Regan said. "Then, I gradually fade it into the top with clipper guards." The hairstylist, who's also worked with rappers and UFC fighters, provided some insight on Swift's impression of the look. "Taylor loves the haircut," he said lightheartedly. "She has watched me cut his hair a bunch of times and always compliments it after." The pop star's adulation about his hair is surely a relief to Kelce, as Nicole Moore tells the list, "If you start to worry obsessively about needing to look a certain way to gain your partner's approval, that's a red flag."

Though Travis Kelce sports an Andy Reid-inspired mustache during training camp, the football player typically lets his facial hair grow into a full beard as the season progresses. So, while he sported some scruff during an October 2023 appearance with Taylor Swift, Kelce had full-fledged, but trimmed whiskers by November 2023. The Kansas City Chiefs player, alongside his brother Jason Kelce, have been longtime spokespersons for Old Spice, with the duo repping their facial hair products over the years.

"I use the Old Spice Beard Wash," Travis told GQ in 2018. "That's what made me grow it out, actually, knowing I had something that would keep my beard moisturized and not itching." The Ohio native also revealed that he has his barber trim his facial hair at least once a week. "Being able to grow a beard, I think it's my duty to make it look good," he added. While Travis keeps his beard nice and neat for a good portion of the football season, we know that his playoff look is much more unkempt.

By the time the Kansas City Chiefs achieved their fourth Super Bowl win in February 2024, Travis Kelce had grown out a super scruffy beard. The look was captured in celebratory pictures taken alongside Taylor Swift, with the high-profile duo reportedly coordinating their Super Bowl looks. Before the big win, Kelce talked about the unkempt appearance on the February 8 episode of the "New Heights" podcast, revealing that he hadn't trimmed his facial hair since before Christmas. "I feel the power of it," he said. "I've been playing way better since I've been growing it."

While his co-host Jason Kelce commented that his playoff stats had been pretty good, Travis also explained that the grown-out beard gives him a sense of progress and accomplishment. "I just feel like, when I look in the mirror, I've been working for something," he said. "Like I've been focused on something. I'm working towards getting some s*** done." The two speculated on what Travis should do with his Super Bowl beard trimmings during the February 14 episode of the podcast, with the tight end's first post-game touch-up ultimately being documented in an Instagram video.

It's easy to believe that Swift could have influenced Travis' decision to clean up his look; as Nicole Moore says, "Part of being in a relationship is physical attraction, and it's only natural for partners to have preferences about their significant other's look or style." Thankfully, it seems Kelce was more than happy for the change, explaining in the video that the trim was "just a new chapter, I guess, man," adding, "Finished the old one. Had to get it off my face, clean it up. Stop looking like a Neanderthal."

Travis Kelce kept up his facial hair tradition by bringing back the Andy Reid-inspired mustache for football's 2024 training camp. Even so, his August look included a brand-new hairstyle, with the Kansas City Chiefs forgoing the classic fade for a more grown-out look. The controversial cut, which has been memed on social media, features tapered sides with fringe-like bangs and a rounded back. "I switched it up," Kelce said on the August 28 episode of the "New Heights" podcast. "I don't got the buzz cut, and I'm not as Super Trooper. I'm more of, like, kind of like a different character with the stash."

The football player went on to explain that he was "having some fun" with the new haircut. "While I'm at training camp, I really don't care how I look," he added. "I just want to be there and try and make it the most enjoyable experience ever." Though not mentioned by Kelce, the new look may have been influenced by his music icon girlfriend, Taylor Swift. "I've been trying to get him to grow his hair out, and all of a sudden, Taylor gets him to do it," Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and good friend of Kelce, said during an interview with SiriusXM.

Though forcing your partner to change their style could be seen as controlling, celebrity love coach Nicole Moore assures that as long as both parties are on board, there's nothing to worry about. "Travis reportedly bringing back his mustache to please Taylor isn't a red flag at all but rather a sign that he cares about looking his best for his partner based on what she prefers," she told The List.

The haircut that Travis Kelce debuted in August 2024 had football fans comparing him to Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis, but the Kansas City Chiefs player styled the cut in a new way during a September outing with Taylor Swift. The two were spotted outside of the renowned Electric Lady Studios, where they attended the wedding of musician and model Karen Elson and studio co-owner Lee Foster.

Kelce wore an all-black ensemble, pairing a short-sleeved button-up with straight-leg pants. His hair was slicked back and to the side, giving a more polished appearance to the goofed-on cut and emphasizing his signature mustache. He sported a similar look when he was awarded the Polsinelli Sportsman of the Year Award at the 2024 Kansas City Sports Awards. Under clips from the event shared on X, formerly Twitter, fans compared the tight end to celebrities like Tom Selleck and Rock Hudson.

Relationship coach Nicole Moore explained to The List that it's a bad sign if you feel that your partner is trying to change you as a person or that you're losing your sense of self. In that case, she says it's important to set boundaries and "have an honest conversation ... about how their pressure is making you feel." Luckily, it seems both Kelce and Swift enjoy the NFL player's unique style, proving that experimenting with your look can be "a fun way for couples to connect."