We have officially had one year of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Where does the time go? Since Swift attended her first Chiefs game last September, so much has happened. There was a Super Bowl win, an Eras Tour guest appearance, and rumors of both the engagement and breakup variety. It is, frankly, too much for one person to remember. Luckily, for you, I’ve been keeping track. Here’s a timeline of their entire relationship. Let’s get into it!
Travis Kelce attended the Eras Tour
Last July, Travis Kelce attended an Eras Tour show in Kansas City. He made Taylor a friendship bracelet, and later lamented to his brother on their podcast that he was “butt-hurt” that he didn’t get to give her one. Later on in a Wall Street Journal profile, Kelce gave us his version of events. After he went to her show and talked about it on his podcast, someone from Swift’s team got to work. “There were definitely people she knew that knew who I was, in her corner [who said]: Yo! Did you know he was coming? I had somebody playing Cupid,” Kelce said.
Taylor Swift suddenly got really into football
A couple months later, in September, the pop star returned to Kansas City, this time to watch Kelce perform his version of a three-hour concert (a football game). Swift would go on to become a fixture at Chiefs games throughout the season, often appearing next to Kelce’s mom, Donna.
This game gave us two incredibly important moments in Swiftie lore. The first is the fact that after the game, Kelce and Swift drove off into the night in his convertible. How romantic!
The second, of course, is “seemingly ranch.”
Travis returned to the Eras Tour (Argentina’s Version)
Kelce flew down to Argentina during a November bye week to watch Swift perform. He had the time of his freaking life, dancing in the VIP tent and losing his mind when his new girlfriend changed the lyrics of “Karma” to “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs / Coming straight home to me.”
This was the same show where we got a video of her running into his arms for a big kiss after the show. I would say that this was about the time when even the naysayers couldn’t deny that this was a real relationship and not just some brilliant brainchild of Tree Paine and the NFL.
Gigi Hadid gave her stamp of approval
A few months into the relationship, the model sounded off in the comments of a Perez Hilton Instagram post, letting all of us know that Swift’s #squad was “over the moon” for their bestie.
Taylor and Travis’s first holiday as a couple was spent apart
Last fall, the fawning masses began to speculate: Where the heck would Traylor (Tayvis?) spend Thanksgiving? Would they bring their families together for the occasion? Ultimately, he hung out in Kansas City and ordered KFC with his friends while she stayed in Brazil in between Eras Tour shows. The holiday came in the wake of a Brazilian fan dying amid the intense heat, and “Page Six” reported that the tragedy had shaken Swift and thrown her Thanksgiving plans into disarray.
Taylor filled us in on how this whole thing started
In December, Taylor Swift was named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year,” to no one’s surprise. In the profile, she revealed almost exactly how she and Kelce got together. “This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell,” she said. “We started hanging out right after that. So we actually had a significant amount of time that no one knew, which I’m grateful for, because we got to get to know each other.”
“By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple,” Swift told the magazine. “I think some people think that they saw our first date at that game? We would never be psychotic enough to hard launch a first date.”
I don’t know that anyone would ever describe anything about this couple as “metal as hell,” but to each their own.
Taylor’s birthday came and went
Swift’s birthday is on December 13, and there was much speculation about what her and Kelce’s plans would be. Initially, it was reported that he would be throwing her a rager in New York. This turned out to be false, because Kelce had to “go to work” and couldn’t bail on his job to “party with Keleigh Teller.” Fair, I guess.
Swift ended up throwing her own bash, but People reported that the couple had celebrated earlier in the week at a holiday-themed bar in Kansas City.
But then Travis was maybe going to propose?
In December, “Page Six” reported that Kelce had asked Swift’s father for permission to propose (both Kelce and Swift are 34, by the way). A source told the tabloid, “Scott has been asked for his blessing and has wholeheartedly given it, and Travis has been talking to friends about a ring.”
The new year arrived, and somehow “Page Six” continued to be obsessed with the idea that these two were going to get engaged. Sources were now saying that the couple planned to get engaged over the summer, because they “don’t want it to seem like it’s rushed insanity.” I guess we’ll see if that actually does happen.
Taylor and Travis had their first on-field kiss
In a test run for the Super Bowl, Swift went onto the field and gave Kelce a smooch after the Chiefs clinched their spot in the big game.
The Super Bowl was mostly about these two
Super Bowl Sunday was the biggest it had been in years, mostly because Swift was there. Swifties even threw watch parties. Leading up to the game, there had been speculation as to whether or not she would be able to have an Eras Tour show in Tokyo on Saturday and make it to Las Vegas by Sunday. We were stupid to ever question the queen of private jets. Of course she made it.
Swift animatedly watched the game from a box with Ice Spice, Lana Del Rey, and Blake Lively. While Donna Kelce, Travis’s mom, had previously said she didn’t know where she was going to sit for the game, she ended up in the same box as Swift. Travis’s brother, Jason, and his wife, Kylie, were also there. Travis reportedly paid $1 million for the box, and it turned out to be worth it. The Chiefs won in overtime, and America got what it wanted: more footage of Swift and Kelce kissing on a football field.
After the game, Swift celebrated by bringing her parents to the club.
The couple had separate Valentine’s Days
After the high of the Super Bowl, the country’s favorite couple had to do the unthinkable. They spent Valentine’s Day apart. It was the same day as the Super Bowl parade in Kansas City, and city officials may or may not have told her to stay away from the celebration.
Taylor and Travis took Australia
In late February, football season was over, and Kelce had all the time in the world to become an Eras Tour groupie. The first stop was Down Unda, where he and Swift hung out with koalas at the zoo. Kelce also took in another Eras Tour show, because you must remember that he started this relationship as a fan. A couple weeks later, he followed her out to Singapore.
They broke their circadian rhythms to get to a party
In mid-March, 24 hours after Swift wrapped up the last of six shows in Singapore, she and Kelce were reportedly back in Los Angeles to attend Gucci’s Oscars after-party. My colleague admitted that she was concerned for their internal clocks, and I must agree. Although, if anyone has access to the latest innovations in jet-lag treatment, it’s probably Swift.
Taylor and Travis became Angelenos
After returning to the city for the Oscars parties, Kelce and Swift settled in Los Angeles. Kelce is in the City of Angels to shoot Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?, and Swift is presumably putting the final touches on The Tortured Poets Department. While in town, Kelce took in an ’N Sync show. They went to the gym together. They even went on a little vacation at one point, but quickly came back to L.A. They are now an Angeleno couple after all, which meant that they had to get ready for Coachella.
The Tortured Poets Department came out
After months of speculation surrounding Swift’s 11th album — would Joe Alwyn survive? — it turned out that the Tortured Poet in question was Matty Healy. The 31-track double album turned out to be mostly about the 1975 front man, with a smattering of Alwyn and (surprisingly) a bit of Kelce as a treat. It was with the release of TTPD that we got the now infamous Kelce-inspired line in “So High School”: “You know how to ball, I know Aristotle.”
The Eras Tour returned, this time with Travis Easter eggs
Swift took her show back on the road, embarking on the European leg of the tour in May. She moved some things around to squeeze a TTPD era into the concert, which meant that “So High School” was now on the set list. How could she resist a nod to her man? When Swift performs the song, she and her dancers swag-surf as part of the choreography, which is something the Chiefs players do when they score a touchdown.
@varietymagazine Taylor Swift performs "So High School" at the Eras Tour Show in Paris.
♬ original sound - Variety
Kelce flew to Paris to see the new version of the show, accompanied by Swift’s best friend Gigi Hadid and her boyfriend, Bradley Cooper. The couples had previously spent TTPD’s release weekend vacationing together in Big Sur for Hadid’s birthday. Even A-listers have couple friends!
Travis made his onstage debut at the Eras Tour
In June, Swift took the Eras Tour to London for three sold-out nights at Wembley Stadium. On the third night, Swift did something completely unprecedented: She brought her boyfriend out onstage. Yes, Kelce made his Eras Tour debut in a little skit during the TTPD section of the show.
Doesn’t he look like he’s having fun? From afar, the London shows seemed to be the most fun ones yet. Kelce got onstage, the VIP tent was bursting at the seams with cool famous people, and even Prince William had the time of his life. Swift may have a lot of personal baggage associated with the U.K. capital, but damn if she doesn’t seem intent on having a great time there anyway.
Someone created a breakup hoax
After spending the summer jaunting around Europe and hosting parties in Rhode Island, scandal struck the happy couple. A photo of a document titled “Comprehensive Media Plan For Travis Kelce’s Relations Following Breakup with Taylor Swift” began making the rounds on social media.
Yes, it looks fake, but people fell for it. It created enough of a stir that Full Scope, the PR company that represents Kelce and whose logo is on the fake document, made a statement. These documents are entirely false and fabricated and were not created, issued or authorized by this agency,” a representative for the agency said in a statement to People.
Football season returned
A few days after the fake document did the rounds, the NFL season kicked off in Kansas City. Swift was there to support her man, wearing a full denim look paired with thigh-high leather boots.
Right after the game, the couple jetted back to New York for a weekend full of social obligations. They got pizza at Lucali in Carroll Gardens, they went to a wedding together at Electric Lady Studios, they got rowdy at the U.S. Open, and then they capped off their whirlwind weekend with a double date with Patrick and Brittany Mahomes. These two love an outing.
This post has been updated.