To be or not to be about Travis Kelce … The Life of a Showgirl answers with a resounding “Well, yes!” Taylor Swift’s latest album is out now, and as Swift reunites with Max Martin and Shellback, we are left wondering: Will “Opalite” replace “Blank Space” as Kelce’s favorite Tay Tay track? Considering that almost half of the album is all love songs inspired by him (and she’s working with the same producers as 1989), there’s a good chance that Trav will have a new staple to jam out to in the locker room. Below, all the references found onstage and in the green room featuring Taylor Swift’s fiancé, Travis Kelce.
“The Fate of Ophelia”
“I heard you calling on the megaphone”
Just one month after her breakup with The 1975’s Matty Healy, the guy on the Chiefs went to the Eras Tour in Kansas City in July 2023 and was smitten by the pop star. Kelce, in Swift’s words, “made it everyone’s problem” when he didn’t get a chance to meet her at the concert. On her podcast debut with New Heights, Swift was enchanted by Kelce’s public declaration that he wanted to ask her on a date with a friendship bracelet. She said, “This felt more like an ’80s John Hughes movie, and he was standing outside my window with a boom box screaming, ‘I wanna date you!’”
“And if you had never come for me
I might’ve drowned in the melancholy”
Fresh off the breakup and based on her emotional acoustic performances, like her tearful rendition of “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever,” Swift probably wasn’t in the mood to date, but Kelce won her over.
“Elizabeth Taylor”
“That view from Portofino was on my mind
when you called me at the Plaza Athénéé”
Last summer, for her first Eras Tour stop in Europe, Swift performed in Paris and reportedly stayed at the Hôtel De Crillon with Kelce, who came to support her shows. While she name-drops a different Parisian hotel just a few blocks away, maybe the two had dinner at the Michelin-starred restaurant at the Plaza Athénée. The couple also took a trip to Lake Como, where they sparked engagement rumors after taking pictures together on a boat. While on the European leg of the tour, Swift probably saw Portofino from her window and thought of Trav.
“What could you possibly get for the girl who has everything and nothing all at once?
Babe I would trade the Cartier for someone to trust … Just kidding”
Thankfully, Swift doesn’t have to compromise on luxury and loyalty. Shortly after their relationship went public, Kelce purchased a $6 million mansion in Kansas City in October 2023, allowing the couple to have more privacy. Earlier this year, he spent over $100,000 on Valentine’s Day gifts for Swift, and how can we forget her engagement ring, estimated to be worth more than $800,000.
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“Opalite”
“You couldn’t understand it
Why you felt alone
You were in it for real
She was in her phone
And you were just a pose”
It’s understandable for couples to talk about what didn’t work in their previous relationship. Kelce met his ex Kayla Nicole, via Instagram, and she slid into his DMs first after he was “Insta-flirting” with her by liking her pictures. They broke up in 2022, and while Nicole is done dating athletes, she says in a podcast that she is “attracted to men in positions of power” and her ideal date night is “courtside at the Lakers game.”
“This is just a temporary bump
But failure brings you freedom”
She might be referencing the Chiefs brutal Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this year and probably connected with him about her own award losses and ability to turn that into something positive, like eventually creating the highest-grossing concert tour.
“I think ‘Opalite’ might be my favorite. At least right now, every time it comes on, I catch myself like this,” Kelce dances as he brags to his brother, Jason, that he can listen to the album whenever he wants.
“Wood”
“Girls, I don’t need to catch a bouquet to know a hard rock is on the way”
Ed Kelce, Travis’s father, was spilling all the beans after their engagement was announced, teasing how both of their families knew a marriage was inevitable. “I was talking to Scott Swift, and Travis went to ask him for permission, and this was probably a month ago, and Scott said, ‘Well come on, when are you going to get this done?’” Ed told an Australian radio show. Swift is a mastermind, she knew Trav was the one.
“New heights of manhood”
Trav’s podcast is called New Heights. Fork found in kitchen.
“Honey”
“They were finding ways not to praise me
But you say it like you’re in awe of me”
Kelce loves Swift loudly and proudly. He endlessly praises her, from her training for the Eras Tour (“I’ve seen the amount of work that she puts on her body, and it’s mind-blowing”) to her character (“She looked amazing and everybody was talking about her in a great light”).
“Wi$hLi$t”
“Please God bring me a best friend who I think is hot
I thought I had it right once, twice but I did not
You caught me off guard
I hope I get what I want”
Swift and Kelce dropped an Easter egg during their New Heights episode, when the couple was describing Kelce’s public courting. “I was sitting there at the Eras Tour listening to every single one of those songs. I know what she wants me to do,” Kelce explains on his plan of action. “This is just her wish list,” Swift adds as Kelce gives a little smirk.
