Travis Kelce's Ex Faced Major Backlash After Speaking About Their Past Romance

Before Travis Kelce became a part of Taylor Swift's complex dating history, he was in a five-year on-and-off relationship with Kayla Nicole that began in 2017. Although the exes understandably remained tight-lipped about the reasons for their breakup, there was speculation that the NFL tight end's tendency to want to split their bills spelled trouble for the couple. When this idea came up during Nicole's appearance on the "Unapologetically Angel" podcast in 2024, she hilariously reasoned, "Do I look like I would go 50/50 on bills?" When the host, Angel Reese, answered in the negative, the sports broadcaster added, "Yeah, that was never an issue in our relationship but it was definitely a rumor on the internet." The controversial take made multiple users on X, formerly known as Twitter, glad that Kelce had walked away from what they deemed was a walking a red flag like her. 

Some commentators joked that she wouldn't have to go 50-50 anymore and instead pay 100% of the bill while other critics couldn't believe that Nicole publicly prided herself on "bringing nothing to the table" in a relationship. On a similar note, several called her out for her supposed lack of humility. Others took issue with the fact that she was still talking about her ex, even though it had been two years since they split. Of course, there were a few people who couldn't believe that Swift's fans were offended by a woman discussing a past relationship when the pop star frequently pens songs about her own heartbreak.

A few days after Kayla Nicole's "Unapologetically Angel" interview went live, she appeared on "I Am Athlete Daily" and reflected on her experience. As the model acknowledged, "I felt like there were moments where I articulated myself in a really good way, and there were moments if I could go back, I would maybe change the way that I said things because it didn't fully embody my character or my heart, but that's something I'm learning." Later in the interview, Nicole shared that the overwhelmingly negative response surprised her because she felt it had gone well overall. Fortunately, the influencer wasn't all that fazed by people twisting her words. However, Nicole teared up when she detailed how her nonchalance had dissolved after her mother called to inform her that she was upset, and strongly advised her to dodge any such questions in the future. 

Elsewhere, Nicole asserted that she had a "spicy" personality that caused people to draw wildly different conclusions about who she really was. The podcast backlash also led the model to realize that she could not predict or control how people responded to her words. Ultimately, Nicole couldn't deny that all the negativity had taken its toll. It's worth noting that there was no fallout from Travis Kelce's interview on the "Pivot" podcast, during which he reiterated that he and Nicole were always financially independent. But, of course, that was before his high-profile relationship with Taylor Swift began.