All The Clues That Taylor Swift And Travis Kelce's Relationship Might Be A PR Stunt
The two have continued to fuel dating rumors, but could it all be for show?
Tinseltown / Shutterstock; All-Pro Reels from District of Columbia, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce are continuing to fuel dating rumors after Swift was recently spotted attending his team's game against the Chicago Bears on September 24, 2023.
Kelce and the "Blank Space" singer have been reportedly "hanging out" since the beginning of the month after sources told Entertainment Tonight that the two are in the "talking" stage of their relationship and keeping it casual due to their busy schedules.
It seems things are now heating up between the two after Swift was spotted not only attending one of Kelce's games but was pictured sitting beside his mother, Donna, in a VIP box at Arrowhead Stadium. After the game, Kelce and Swift were even spotted leaving the stadium together and driving away in Kelce's car.
However, many of Swift's fans are skeptical about her relationship with Kelce and have pointed out that it could be all for show and publicity.
Here are 6 clues that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's relationship might just be a PR stunt.
1. Their relationship seems too perfect and is being blasted across all media channels.
One of the main reasons why many Swift fans are unconvinced that she and Kelce might be in a "real" relationship is because their relationship seems to be way too publicized, especially since Swift enjoys keeping her romantic relationships out of the public eye, at least in the beginning.
In a TikTok video, a content creator named Leilah pointed out that every detail of their emerging romance has been documented and broadcast across social media and in many different news outlets. It started after Kelce admitted during an episode of his podcast, "New Heights," that he had attended one of Swift's shows in July 2023, where he didn't get a chance to meet her despite wanting to.
"If you’re up on Taylor Swift concerts, there are friendship bracelets, and I received a bunch of them being there, but I wanted to give Taylor Swift one with my number on it,” Kelce admitted.
Leilah pointed out that Kelce's story was immediately picked up by various publications, including various sports media outlets. "Then two months later they meet up in New York and get dinner, but they're not dating," Leilah speculated. "It's too calculated. It's too perfect."
2. Kelce and Swift may be trying to cultivate new images for themselves.
In Leilah's TikTok video, she also acknowledged that this relationship between Swift and Kelce could be their strategic way of trying to shift the media's perception of them.
"I just get the vibe from Travis that when he retires out of sports, he wants to break into mainstream media and be a household name," Leilah inferred. "I think he's well on his way. He's very popular. So this Taylor Swift headline was just one step further to have an entirely new group of people discover him."
Kelce has been seemingly making career moves outside of playing for the NFL. He hosted "Saturday Night Live" back in March 2023, and has recently been promoting his new documentary "Kelce" alongside his brother, Jason, which has since premiered on Amazon Prime.
As for Swift, Leilah predicted that the "Cardigan" singer may be trying to convince the media that she's having fun and dating around, especially after her brief romance with The 1975 frontman, Matty Healy, which caused a whole bout of controversy.
3. Many fans are theorizing that Swift and Kelce's relationship is '1989-coded.'
If there's one thing Swift fans are good at, it's spotting an easter egg left by Swift herself. The latest one has to do with her album "1989," and she may be trying to imitate the themes from the 2014 project, at least with Kelce and their rumored relationship.
In a TikTok video, a content creator named Alexandra pointed out that Swift and Kelce's relationship seems to have come straight from this lyric in her song "Style": "You've got this James Dean daydream look in your eye / And I got that red lip classic thing that you like," especially since Swift was donning her signature red lip at Kelce's recent game against the Chicago Bears.
"This man is living in a fantasy," Alexandra claimed. "He's like, 'I threw the ball in her court. I put my phone number on a bracelet at her concert and tried to give it to her.'"
Alexandra, along with other fans, have also noticed that in the video of Swift and Kelce leaving the stadium together, his jacket not only matched the color palette from the "1989" album, but the name of the jacket and pants set is "1989 bedroom painting set."
Other similarities include Kelce's birth year being 1989, the same as Swift's, and that she is also gearing up to release "1989 (Taylor's Version)" on October 27, 2023.
4. This isn't the first time Swift has been associated with the NFL.
The NFL seems to be doing everything in their power to promote Swift's relationship with Kelce, including changing their bio on TikTok to the date that Swift attended the Chiefs game against the Chicago Bears, and writing, "Taylor was here."
During halftime at the game, commentator Curt Menefee also referenced one of Swift's lyrics to describe the Bears' performance. "The way the Bears are playing right now, they are never ever ever getting back in this game," he said, referring to her song from the "Red" album, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together."
This isn't the first time that Swift has seemingly partnered with the NFL to promote her music. In October 2022, before the release of her album "Midnights," Swift announced that during the game between the New Orleans Saints and the Arizona Cardinals, a sneak peek of a project would be played.
"If you tune into the Thursday Night Football game on Amazon Prime, I'm going to be showing a first look at the secret projects that I have been working on very hard for a very long time getting ready for the 'Midnights' album," she said on an Instagram video. "And you would see it before the 'Midnights' album came out. So, meet me there?"
5. Kelce recently partnered with the CDC to promote Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines.
Kelce's recent budding romance with Swift could be a way for the public to tune into a commercial he recently made with the CDC to promote Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines.
"With my schedule, saving time is key," Kelce wrote, sharing footage from the commercial across his different social media platforms. "The CDC says you can get this season's updated COVID-19 shot when you get your flu shot if you're due for both. That's why I got two shots in one stop!"
Kelce made sure to turn the comments off, seemingly predicting the controversy that would arise from him encouraging people to get vaccinated, and sure enough, the criticism followed shortly after. Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren reposted the commercial on her Twitter account, writing, "Is this what happens when you date Taylor Swift?"
6. Swift was rumored to have been in a PR relationship with Tom Hiddleston.
This isn't the first time that Swift has been speculated to be in a PR relationship. In the summer of 2016, Swift was involved in a highly-publicized and shortlived romance with actor Tom Hiddleston — three months of dating to be exact.
Their quick fling was the recipient of many PR rumors, including Hiddleston wanting to be seen with Swift to increase his chances of playing James Bond and Swift hoping to divert all of the negative attention she had been getting after her drama with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.
Swift was even spotted taking a walk with Hiddleston and his mother mere weeks into their whirlwind romance, almost in a very similar fashion to the "Cruel Summer" singer hanging out with Kelce's mother during his game, also weeks into their supposed relationship.
Amid all of the speculation and interest, Hiddleston was even asked to set the record straight during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. However, the "Loki" actor vehemently denied that he and Swift were in any sort of calculated romance.
"The truth is that Taylor Swift and I are together, and we're very happy. Thanks for asking," Hiddleston said, later adding, "That's the truth. It's not a publicity stunt."
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.