Here’s a timeline of the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce love story, born in Kansas City
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- The timeline frames the Swift–Kelce story as originating in Kansas City.
- The article presents a timeline chronicling the Swift–Kelce love story.
- The article likens their romance to a Hallmark movie and references 'Love Story'.
Even Taylor Swift couldn’t write a “Love Story” like this, though in some ways it does sound like a Hallmark movie: the pop superstar falls in love with the football star and they live happily ever after.
This story began at one of Swift’s Eras Tour shows in Kansas City in July 2023 and became a journey that captivated (to the point of obsession) media and fans around the world.
Here’s a timeline to review what has happened so far.
July 8, 2023: The Eras tour
When Swift performed at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on July 8 as part of her Eras Tour, Kelce was there, watching the show with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany.
Kelce was spotted trading friendship bracelets with other fans inside the stadium. He actually had one for Swift, he later revealed on the July 26 episode of the “New Heights” podcast he hosts with his brother, Jason.
“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. So I was a little butthurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her,” Travis Kelce said.
“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. All right now.”
Jason asked: “Your number as in 87 or your phone number?”
Travis: “You know which one. She doesn’t meet anybody and at least she didn’t want to meet me so I, um, I took that personal. But it was an unbelievable show and I’ve only seen Arrowhead filled like that for Chiefs games with that much excitement, and yeah, everybody was dressed in pink and purple going crazy. It was a wild show.”
Sept. 12, 2023: ‘Quietly hanging out’
Two months after the concert, The Messenger reported that Kelce and Swift had been “quietly hanging out” in New York.
Sept. 21, 2023: The invitation
On “The Pat McAfee Show,” Kelce admitted he and Swift had been in contact when McAfee asked if he hated all the rumors being shared.
“No, I mean it’s life, baby. I threw it out there. I threw the ball in her court,” Kelce said.
“And I told her I’ve seen you rock the stage at Arrowhead, you might have to come see me rock the stage at Arrowhead and see which one’s a little more lit. So we’ll see what happens in the near future.”
Sept. 24, 2023: Taylor Swift’s first Chiefs game
Speculation about a possible budding relationship amped up when Swift walked into Arrowhead with other Chiefs fans, largely unnoticed, on Sept. 24 for the Chicago Bears game.
Swift’s surprise appearance captivated millions of viewers. Fox Sports cameras showed Swift sharing a laugh with Kelce’s mother, Donna Kelce, in a suite.
After the game, WGN News sports anchor Jarrett Payton posted a video on X of Kelce and Swift leaving the stadium in a vintage Chevrolet Chevelle. They later partied with Kelce’s teammates and friends at Prime Social, a rooftop cocktail lounge on the Country Club Plaza.
Oct. 1, 2023: Welcome to New York
Swift attended the Chiefs game against the New York Jets in East Rutherford, New Jersey with a gaggle of famous friends in the suite with her: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Sophie Turner, Hugh Jackman and Kansas City’s own Paul Rudd.
Oct. 12, 2023: Thursday Night Football
Swift skipped the game against the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis on Oct. 8, a game in which Kelce suffered an ankle injury but came back and helped the Chiefs win 27-20.
She did attend the “Thursday Night Football” game Oct. 12 against AFC West rivals Denver Broncos, sharing a suite with Donna Kelce and Brittany Mahomes.
Oct. 14, 2023: ‘Saturday Night Live’
After the Chiefs’ win over the Broncos, Swift and Kelce went to New York City, where they both made surprise cameo appearances on the Oct. 14 episode of “Saturday Night Live.”
Later, they were seen holding hands while leaving a New York restaurant.
Oct. 18, 2023: A new house in Leawood?
Rumors swirled for months that Kelce was moving out of his Briarcliff neighborhood in Kansas City. TMZ reported Oct. 18 that he bought a new six bedroom, six bathroom home in a gated community for “just under $6 million.”
The Leawood Chamber of Commerce and the Johnson County Democratic Party each welcomed Kelce to Johnson County on their Facebook pages on Oct. 19, confirming that he had moved to their neck of the woods.
According to TMZ, Kelce moved because his home in Briarcliff became a “tourist attraction,” drawing attention because of Swift.
Oct. 22, 2023: Back at Arrowhead
Swift returned to Kansas City to watch the Chiefs face the Chargers in an AFC West clash. Before the game she hung out with Kelce’s family and friends at his home in the Northland. She also met former Cleveland Browns Pro Bowl quarterback Bernie Kosar there.
Fans began paying attention to her jewelry. That day she wore a bracelet with Kelce’s jersey number, 87, surrounded by gold beads and two red hearts. “Taylor Swift is wearing her (heart) on her sleeve at today’s Chiefs game,” E! News wrote on X.
Oct. 25, 2023: Dinner at Piropos
The Daily Mail, a British tabloid, reported that Swift and Kelce dined at Piropos, an Argentinian steakhouse in the Northland. Co-owner Gary Worden confirmed the report without much elaboration.
“Travis has been to Piropos a number of times and we were delighted to have him and Taylor visit earlier in the week,” Worden told The Star. “Everyone was excited to have them in the restaurant.”
Nov. 3, 2023: ‘Are you in love?’
While in Frankfurt, Germany, for the Chiefs’ game against the Miami Dolphins on Nov. 5, reporters peppered Kelce with questions about Swift and their relationship.
“What is the latest status,” one female reporter asked, “and are you in love?”
Kelce’s teammates, sitting next to him, seemed shocked at the blunt query.
“Oooh-wee,” Chris Jones said. “Spicing it up!”
Chiefs safety Justin Reid smiled and took a drink of water, while kicker Harrison Butker leaned back in his chair and laughed.
“The latest status is I got to see her last week,” Kelce said. “That’s the latest status right there.”
The reporter followed up: “Are you in love?”
“I’m going to keep my personal relationship personal,” Kelce told her.
Nov. 11, 2023: ‘Karma is the guy on the Chiefs’
Kelce used a bye week to see Swift perform overseas in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the first time since the show in Arrowhead he watched her work.
A lyric change in the song, “Karma,” sent fans into a frenzy.
She usually sings: “Karma is the guy on the screen/Coming straight home to me.”
That night she sang: “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs/Coming straight home to me.”
After the concert, fans recorded Swift running into Kelce’s arms as he waited offstage.
Dec. 6, 2023: Time’s ‘Person of the Year’
Time magazine named Swift “Person of the Year” for 2023. She talked about her relationship with Kelce in the accompanying interview, revealing they were already a couple by the time she sauntered into Arrowhead on Sept. 24.
“This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell,” she told Time.
“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. 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.”
Dec. 25, 2023: Christmas in Kansas City
Swift showed up at the Chiefs’ Christmas Day game at Arrowhead Stadium wearing a Santa hat with Kelce’s No. 87 on it. It was a newsworthy family outing. Her brother, Austin Swift, came dressed as Santa. Her parents, Scott and Andrea Swift, spent time in an Arrowhead suite with Kelce’s dad, Ed Kelce.
Jan. 1, 2024
Swift and Kelce rang in the New Year with a kiss at midnight at a party in Kansas City.
Later that month she traveled to Buffalo to watch the Chiefs play the Bills. Kelce went viral when he made a hand-heart gesture and blew a kiss to Swift after scoring a touchdown.
She traveled to Baltimore on Jan. 28 and watched the Chiefs beat the Ravens for the AFC Championship, punching their ticket to Super Bowl LVIII.
Cameras captured them kissing and hugging on the field after the game. Swift wore a custom diamond and gold bracelet, a gift from Kelce, that had the initials “TNT” — Taylor and Travis.
Feb. 11, 2024: The Super Bowl
Swift, who was in Tokyo with the Eras Tour, flew back to the States to watch the Chiefs play in the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The couple enjoyed more PDA on the field and after-parties on the Vegas Strip after the Chiefs snagged their second consecutive title and third in five seasons.
Feb. 22, 2024: Off to Australia
Kelce flew to Sydney, Australia for the Eras Tour where paparazzi snapped photos of them visiting the Sydney Zoo with their arms around each other.
In one of the more memorable moments of their early relationship captured by a fan at the concert, Swift threw herself into Kelce’s arms after the show. They had one more date before Kelce flew back to Vegas for more Super Bowl celebrations with his teammates.
He rejoined her on tour in early March, flying to Singapore. Also in early March they quietly flew to Los Angeles where they attended Madonna’s Oscars after-party out of sight of the paparazzi. A week later photos popped up of them on a seaside vacation. A source told People they were in the Bahamas for several days.
April 19, 2024: A tortured poet
To mark the release of her 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” Swift shared a brief compilation of clips, one of which showed Kelce kissing her in the kitchen as she cooked.
Swifties quickly noticed several songs seemed to reference him, including several football references on “The Alchemy.”
A few days later, before the Eras Tour resumed in Europe, Swift and Kelce stole away to Carmel-by-the-Sea, California with friends Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper.
May 12, 2024: A summer of travel
Kelce racked up hours and hours of frequent traveler miles as he followed Swift around the globe on tour. France in May, where he, Hadid and Cooper watch the concert in Nanterre.
London in June, where he infamously stole the show one night in a surprise appearance on stage in top hat and tuxedo. Social media barely survived the crush of excitement that day.
At the first two shows in Dublin later in June, fans roared when Swift made the archer pose that Kelce makes before Chiefs games. Kelce flew from L.A. to Dublin for the third show there, then over the Fourth of July weekend went to shows in Amsterdam. Patrick and Brittany Mahomes were in the audience one night.
Before returning to Kansas City for training camp in late July he went to two of her shows in Gelsenkirchen, Germany,
Aug. 24, 2024: He bought a horse
They reunited at Swift’s seaside mansion in Rhode Island where she threw a birthday party for her friend, actress Blake Lively. A few days later news broke that Kelce bought an ownership stake in a race horse named Swift Delivery.
Sept. 3, 2024: Nagging rumors
When rumors began to spread that Swift and Kelce broke up, Kelce’s public relations firm released a statement saying the social media stories were “entirely false and fabricated and were not created, issued or authorized by this agency.”
A few days later they are seen in New York City together after the Chiefs beat the Ravens in the first game of the season. They also pop up at the U.S. Open tennis tournament with Brittany and Patrick Mahomes. Just days later Swift is back at Arrowhead with her mom, brother and two aunts to watch the Chiefs’ second game of the new season.
The couple was seen kissing in a suite after the game.
November 2024: Giving thanks
Kelce attended his first Eras Tour show in the United States, traveling to Indianapolis. Swift returned the favor, attending the Chiefs-Raiders game the day after Thanksgiving with Kelce’s mother, Donna Kelce. It came out later that Swift and Kelce spent Thanksgiving together in Nashville with their families.
December 2024: That’s a wrap
Pictures emerged of a tour wrap-up party Kelce threw for Swift where Brittany and Patrick Mahomes showed up dressed like Swift and Kelce.
January 2025: Back at Arrowhead
Swift returned to Kansas City on Jan. 18 to watch the Chiefs beat the Texans to advance to another AFC Championship game. In an interview after the game Kelce shouted lyrics from Swift’s song, “22,” when a reporter asked him if he felt “25 again” after such a good game
“Twenty-two, baby, 22.”
Feb. 4, 2025: Can’t win them all
At the Super Bowl, reporters asked a coy Kelce questions about his relationship with Swift and whether an engagement was in the offing.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he told one reporter.
One tidbit he did share: “She is quite the cook. I mean I’m a breakfast guy, man. Her pop tarts are unbelievable, man. Her homemade pop tarts are unbelievable.”
Swift watches the Chiefs lose in a suite with long-time friend Ashley Avignone and the singing Haim sisters — Alana and Este.
June 12, 2025: Let’s try hockey
Swift and Kelce sat in box seats at Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Florida, where they chatted up hockey great Wayne Gretzky.
Two weeks later they made a surprise, grand entrance at Tight End University’s welcome reception in Nashville where she also sang at the TEU concert.
August 2025: He’s on the cover of GQ
Kelce got personal when he spoke of Swift in GQ’s September cover story.
“Whenever I’m with her, it feels like we’re just regular people,” he said. “When there is not a camera on us, we’re just two people that are in love. It can be perceived as something else because of how much it is talked about and how much we are tracked whenever we do go out, but I would say that... it happened very organically, even though from a media standpoint it was being tracked. It still happened very organically.”
He continued, “Nothing I’ve ever done has been a controlled, organized process. When I say it was so organic, we fell in love just based off the people we were sitting in a room together with. We are two fun-loving people who have the morals to appreciate everyone for who they are. We share all those values. It kind of just took the (bleep) off.”
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Aug. 13, 2025: Reaching new heights
Swift made her podcast debut on “New Heights” with Kelce where she shared news about another album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”
On a lesser note, we also learned of Swift’s affinity for sourdough bread and Kelce’s love of otters.
Aug. 26, 2025: We’re getting married!
They revealed he proposed in his backyard in Leawood, Kansas in a beautiful garden setting.
“Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” they wrote on the Instagram announcement. Two days later they showed up together at Arrowhead to watch Kelce’s alma mater, the Cincinnati Bearcats, play the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Sept. 9, 2025: Grand opening
According to TMZ, Swift attended the soft opening of 1587 Prime Steakhouse, the restaurant Kelce and Patrick Mahomes opened in downtown Kansas City. And, wouldn’t you know it, there is a drink named after her, “The Alchemy.”
Dec. 12, 2025: Best teammates
In her Disney+ docuseries, “The End of an Era,” Swift showed a phone call between her and Kelce while she was in London and he was at training camp. They talked about how their careers were similar.
“You got teammates, I got teammates,” Kelce said.
“You’ve got Coach Reid, I’ve got my mom,” she said.
March 26, 2026: Award show appearance
Swift and Kelce attended their first awards show at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles where they sat in the front row.
“This album probably also feels very happy and confident and free because that’s the way that I get to feel every single day of my life because of my fiancé, who’s here tonight,” she said while accepting the award for Pop Album of the Year.
June 2026: Another TEU performance
Swift joined Kelce in Nashville for another Tight End University, the annual event he co-founded with George Kittle and Greg Olsen.
Kittle told People that the wedding was nigh — and that the happy couple asked guests to skip the gifts.
“She’s just such an awesome person to give us her time this close to their wedding,” Kittle said. “So we’re just so thankful that they’re here.”
And once again, Swift performed, this time with country star Lainey Wilson, singing — of course — “Love Story.”
July 2026: The big day?
And, so, what began with a rejected friendship bracelet will end with two wedding rings. Kelce and Swift will celebrate their love at Madison Square Garden.
A thousand friends and family, from famous rock stars and athletes to aunts, uncles and cousins will join together to raise a glass to the couple, which has become the toast of the country and, really, much of the world.
What a ride it has been.
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