Though it may seem like a million years ago, it was just this past April when news broke that Swift and her boyfriend of six years, actor Joe Alwyn, had called it quits. Before Swifties could even reach a consensus on whether the very reputable reports were real (denial is the first stage of grief), Swift was spotted with The 1975’s polarizing frontman, Matty Healy. We reported on why this pairing angered fans just in time for them to break up a couple weeks later.
And after living through Taylor Swift's heartbreak time and time again through her lyrics, it's unsurprising that fans are so invested in the singer's love life — and why they still hold a grudge against her exes John Mayer and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Following a single-girl summer, Swift is now dating Travis Kelce, someone who those who care about sports tell us is very famous and important. He’s the tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs and a two-time Super Bowl champion. The Taylor Swift of football, if you will.
More important, though, he’s a nice, tall guy with a job and a car. Swifties are swooning.
The pair have appeared in public together only twice (as of this writing), but both occasions were ones for the books. Swift played the role of cheer captain (still in the bleachers, of course) at the past two Chiefs games, enthusiastically supporting her new man alongside his mom the first weekend and her own friends, including Blake Lively and Sophie Turner, the second. After the first game, T&T made a dramatic exit together, hopping into Kelce’s convertible and literally driving off into the sunset.
Some are wondering if this whole outing was a carefully crafted PR stunt. Let’s go ahead and settle that now: of course it was. Swift has demonstrated time and again that she can avoid cameras and attention when she wants to. When she is seen and photographed, it’s on purpose and usually intended to send a specific message. Her appearances at the football games were choreographed and flawlessly executed chapters in the story of her personal life.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the relationship is fake. It just means that it’s something that Swift wants her fans to know about and pay attention to.
And pay attention they did. After just one public night out together, many Swifties have declared Kelce the one, with rampant speculation that the two are "endgame." The most concrete sign of fans' approval is the fact that sales of Kelce's jersey went up 400% this past week. Fans are both emotionally and financially invested.
Why did one good date with one good guy have fans already planning the wedding? With all due respect to Kelce and his ample boyfriend material, it’s mostly because it’s been years since Swift has dated someone who is bare minimum fun and interesting.
Matty Healy incensed both his and Swift’s fans with his problematic behavior. Swift's previous partner, Alwyn, on the other hand, has been criticized by fans as being (allegedly) insecure about Swift’s fame and the fact that his own career seemed to take a backseat to the relationship. Though he did inspire many of her hit songs, any lingering fondness from the fandom was squashed when Swift released the song “You’re Losing Me.” Presumed to be about Alwyn, it contained damning lyrics such as “And I wouldn’t marry me either / A pathological people pleaser / Who only wanted you to see her.” Ouch.@rebmasel her exes are catching 100 new strays in the mentions on my feed rn i am CRYING
♬ original sound - reb for the rebrand
In contrast to Alwyn’s perceived coldness, Kelce publicly pursued and expressed admiration for Swift, attending her concert in Kansas City in hopes of giving her a friendship bracelet with his number on it. Swift has publicly expressed that despite the romantic imagery of her music, nobody has ever done a grand gesture to win her over before. Fans believe it must be nice for Swift to have someone else be the “mastermind” for once.
As is the case with everything Swift does, though, not everyone is supportive of the purported pairing. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has stated that he would prefer Swift date one of the guys on his team. At the risk of sounding biased, we can't say we're not intrigued by the prospect of Swift making regular trips to Dallas.
Others who disapprove of the union include conservative commentator Tomi Lahren. Though she did question whether Kelce was Swift's type, she mostly attacked them individually for their political beliefs. Human eye roll Candace Owens, unsurprisingly, is also a hater, and called T. Swift "immature" and a "15-year-old girl" for basking in her new relationship bliss.
Lahren's ire should give the couple plenty to laugh about next time they hang out. Ironically, Lahren — the lowest IQ test performer among her non-intellectual ilk — called Taylor "braindead."
But the singer is dividing conservatives, having a surprising defender in Sean Hannity, who decried the backlash on his Fox News show and said that Swift "seems like a lovely girl."
We could spend all day analyzing why Swift’s appearance at that Chiefs game captivated the public the way it did. At the end of the day, though, people will never get bored of seeing hot celebrities put on a juicy little show for them.
And as for the Swifties, they’re happy if their girl is happy. As long as she’s not happy with Matty Healy.
