The timeline adds up.
Ever since Swelce became an item, there’s one question that fans keep coming back to: how did Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce meet? After all, it isn’t every day that these two would happen to cross paths.
Taylor revealed it all for the first time in her Time 2023 Person of The Year profile. “This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell,” Taylor revealed, referring to when Travis revealed on his New Heights podcast over the summer that he tried to give singer his number via a friendship bracelet at her Eras Tour show in Kansas City. “We started hanging out right after that,” she added. “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. ”
She also isn’t hiding anything in this relationship. “When you say a relationship is public, that means I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there and we don’t care,” she explained. “The opposite of that is you have to go to an extreme amount of effort to make sure no one knows that you’re seeing someone. And we’re just proud of each other.”
Before the big reveal, some eagle-eyed fans might have uncovered a mutual connection that could explain how Swift and Kelce ended up in each other’s lives. In a now-viral post on X, formerly known as Twitter, a Swiftie pointed out the surprising link—and it involves one of Swift’s dancers, Kameron Saunders.
Saunders, who has been performing for the Midnights star on her recent Eras Tour, is the brother of Kelce’s former Kansas City Chiefs teammate, Khalen Saunders. “WHY NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT HOW TAYLOR’S DANCER KAM SAUNDERS IS BROTHER TO KHALEN SAUNDERS THAT PLAYS WITH TRAVIS KELCE,” wrote the fan. Later, the social media user clarified, “Ok he doesn’t play there anymore but Travis and Khalen literally won this year superbowl together.”
For some more context: The Chiefs won the Super Bowl in February 2023, at which point, it’s true that Kelce and Khalen Saunders were teammates. Khalen now plays for the New Orleans Saints. Meanwhile one month after Khalen’s Super Bowl win with the Chiefs, his brother Kameron Saunders announced on Instagram that he was going on tour with none other than Swift.
“I have been holding onto this since December when I got the call,” Kameron wrote in a caption of a post shared on March 18, 2023. “We opened last night in Arizona and I am just overwhelmed by all the love messages and DMs … This is super special because just a month ago we were in this SAME stadium watching my brother win his second Super Bowl ring.”
Could it be a coincidence? Of course. But plenty of fans are now convinced that the Saunders brothers played a part in Swift and Kelce’s romance.
“Oh my gosh i wonder if somehow travis got a good word in with kam who then told taylor,” one fan wondered. Another wrote, “Now I understand why ppl think they’ve been dating for longer.”
A third social media user begged the question: “IS THIS HOW THE BRACELET GOT SHIPPED TO THE RIGHT ADDRESS???”
ICYMI, the fan is likely referring to the widely reported origin story behind Swift and Kelce’s romance. As the story goes, Kelce made a friendship bracelet with his number on it, and wanted to give it to Swift while attending one of her Eras Tour show’s at Arrowhead Stadium. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to meet Swift as planned—and he even talked about the disappointing experience on an episode of his “New Heights” podcast, which he hosts with his brother, Jason Kelce.
“I was disappointed that she doesn’t talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings,” Kelce admitted on the July 26, 2023 episode. “So, I was a little butt-hurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her.”
Two months later, however, rumors began swirling that Swift and Kelce were spending time together. According to a source who spoke to E! News at the time, the pair hung out “once” in New York. “They’ve been texting and talking here and there,” the insider shared. “It’s been very low-key as he’s been in season.”
Kelce later revealed the flirty line that seemingly landed a date with the pop star. “I threw the ball in her court,” he said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “I told her, you know, ‘I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead [Stadium], you might have to come see me rock the stage in Arrowhead and see which one’s a little more lit.’”
Soon enough, Swift did exactly that: she joined the crowd at his September 24, 2023 game against the Chicago Bears in Arrowhead Stadium, where she was photographed cheering for the NFL tight end alongside his mom, Donna Kelce. Swift went on to support her beau at the Chiefs’ match against the New York Jets on October 1, 2023, and again at their October 12, 2023 game against the Denver Broncos.
Since then, Swift and Kelce have been spotted together publicly a number of times. Most recently, the pair made separate cameos on Saturday Night Live (albeit on the same night) and joined each other at the after party later that night. Whether the Saunders brothers had something to do with their budding romance or not, it’s safe to say that things seem to be going well for these two.
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