Travis Kelce Steps Out With Taylor Swift Amid NFL Retirement Rumors

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Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce took the getaway car to a new city. 

While people are wondering what Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce will do after football, he and Taylor Swift were recently seen enjoying a dinner date at Funke restaurant in Los Angeles.

Taylor Swift, 36, turned heads on January 12th with a chic outfit featuring a white mini skirt and a large, beige blazer. She completed the look – reminiscent of office style – with straight hair that fell just below her shoulders. This appearance came after her engagement announcement to Travis in August.

The football star, also 36, matched his fiancée with his outfit of beige trousers and a dark brown silk button-down shirt. Leaving the Beverly Hills area, Travis held Taylor’s hand as he guided her back to their car.

He also debuted a fresh haircut, styled by his Los Angeles barber, Vince Garcia, who posted a photo of the athlete’s short skin fade.

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift enjoyed a date night just a week after the Kansas City Chiefs’ season ended with a loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Following the game, Travis has been addressing speculation about whether he might retire from football.

Oh my gosh, he said it! On New Heights January 7th, he was just so… vulnerable! He admitted he’s still processing everything, trying to make sense of it all, but he’s going to lean on the people who matter most – his family and friends. It was SO sweet, and honestly, it just makes me love him even more! He’s so real and genuine, sharing that he needs his support system. I’m living for it!

This isn’t the first time Taylor has spent her post-game downtime relaxing in Los Angeles, but it’s the first time fans have spotted Travis doing the same on the West Coast.

Three days before her date with the athlete, the Grammy-winning singer had dinner with her friends, the band HAIM – Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim – and singer Sombr. As they left, each of Taylor’s four friends received a gift from her: a loaf of homemade sourdough bread in a brown paper bag with a sticker that said “Original Sourdough!”

Taylor Swift, known for her hit “Life of a Showgirl,” could offer Travis Kelce some good advice on how to enjoy his time off. She recently revealed that after her incredibly successful Eras Tour finished in December 2024, she took up baking bread as a relaxing hobby.

Taylor recently shared that she’s become completely engrossed in sourdough baking. During an August podcast appearance with Travis and Jason Kelce, she described constantly baking bread and sending it to friends for feedback. She’s been experimenting with the process, tweaking things like the rise to perfect her recipes and get opinions on which loaves are best.

She added, “I’m on sourdough blogs. There’s a whole community of us, and I didn’t know it.”

For more insight into Travis and Taylor’s epic loaf story, keep reading. 

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce first connected in July 2023 when Swift’s Eras Tour visited Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.

Being a big Taylor Swift fan, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end wanted to give her a friendship bracelet with his jersey number on it at the concert. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to get it to her because she was busy getting ready for the show.

Travis explained on his podcast, New Heights, that he was a little upset Taylor Swift didn’t speak before or after her concerts because she needs to protect her voice for the 44 songs she performs. He added that he was hoping to give her one of the friendship bracelets he’d made, but didn’t get the chance.

After jokingly talking about dropping the football – something he’d later call incredibly cool – Travis decided to take a chance and invited the famous singer to come see the Chiefs play at their home stadium.

So, I was chatting on The Pat McAfee Show and I playfully challenged Taylor Swift! I basically said, ‘I’ve seen you absolutely kill it on stage at Arrowhead Stadium, now you need to come see me perform there and decide who really brings the energy!’ We’ll just have to wait and see if she takes me up on it, but I’m hoping she will soon!

You know, when I first saw Travis and Taylor together, I immediately noticed his mustache! He’d actually been growing it since training camp back in August – it was definitely a statement piece when they met, and a fun little detail everyone was talking about.

He later recalled that his mustache and number 87 jersey were a memorable look during that time, and he was wearing them when he first met Taylor.

According to a source with inside knowledge, Travis and Taylor began communicating via text and phone calls around the beginning of September, as reported by TopMob News.

“It’s been very low-key,” the insider explained, “as he’s been in season.”

Taylor Swift accepted Travis Kelce’s invitation and went to Arrowhead Stadium to see him and the Kansas City Chiefs play the Chicago Bears, accompanied by Travis’s mother, Donna Kelce. After the game, Taylor and Travis were photographed showing affection for each other at a nearby bar.

Okay, so everyone thought that meeting was the first time Taylor and Joe actually met, like, in person? But then Taylor set the record straight! She said they’d actually spent a lot of time together before that, getting to know each other. It’s just… amazing to think about all that happened before they were even publicly linked! I’ve replayed every interview and lyric a million times trying to piece it all together, and it’s so cool to know they weren’t strangers when the world finally found out!

As Taylor noted, “We would never be psychotic enough to hard launch a first date.” 

To show how serious things were getting, Taylor brought a group of her friends – including Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Sophie Turner, Hugh Jackman, Sabrina Carpenter, and Antoni Porowski – to see the Kansas City Chiefs play the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Taylor Swift seems to be getting close to Brittany Mahomes, wife of Travis Kelce’s best friend and teammate, Patrick Mahomes, both at and away from NFL games. This could be another indication that Taylor and Travis are a couple.

The couple showcased their relationship on television with a surprise appearance on the October 14th episode of Saturday Night Live. They continued the fun after the show at the after-party and then enjoyed a date night at the Waverly Inn.

During his team’s break, Travis flew to Argentina to see Taylor Swift perform as part of her Eras Tour. At the November 11th show in Buenos Aires, he connected with Taylor’s father, Scott Swift, and even received a mention from Taylor while she was performing.

“Karma is that guy on the Chiefs,” Taylor sang, “coming straight home to me.”

Following the performance, Taylor Swift reportedly rushed backstage and enthusiastically kissed Travis Kelce.

Taylor addressed the lavender craze surrounding her appearances at Travis’ games.

As a lifestyle expert, I’ve always said it’s about living authentically. Recently, someone close to me shared something that really resonated with me. She described the joy of simply being with someone you care about, openly and without hiding. It’s about supporting each other and not worrying about outside judgment. It was a powerful contrast to the lengths some people go to in order to keep a relationship secret – all that effort just to avoid being seen together! It really highlighted how freeing it is to just live and enjoy connection without the need for secrecy.

 

The famous singer made Travis’ game on December 17th a family event, bringing her father along to support her boyfriend.

Taylor and Travis celebrated New Year’s Eve together and shared a kiss at midnight as the new year began.

Taylor continued getting to know Travis’ family by spending time with his brother, Jason Kelce, and Jason’s wife, Kylie, at the Kansas City Chiefs game against the Buffalo Bills.

After the Chiefs won the AFC Championship and secured their place in the 2024 Super Bowl, Taylor joined Travis on the field. They celebrated with a kiss and then told each other ‘I love you’ for the first time.

“Tay, I’m gonna enjoy with the guys,” he told her. “I love you—so much it’s not funny.”

 
 

After Travis helped the Kansas City Chiefs win on February 11, 2024, in Las Vegas, he and his partner shared a kiss on the field.

On February 12th, Taylor shared a video of Travis on social media, jokingly showing how she brought her parents to a club with him after the Super Bowl.

Taylor Swift’s first Instagram post with Travis Kelce showed the two of them posing with Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. The photo was taken backstage at Swift’s Eras Tour concert in London’s Wembley Stadium.

During Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, the NFL player surprised fans by joining his girlfriend onstage at Wembley Stadium in London. He appeared as a backup performer during her song, “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.” This was his seventh concert on the tour and the second show at that stadium.

Taylor Swift attended the Kansas City Chiefs’ first game of the 2024-25 season and seemed to recreate a sweet moment with Travis Kelce from October 2023, as shown in a photo shared by Chariah Gordon. Gordon is pictured alongside her boyfriend, Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman.

Karen Elson and Lee Foster were married in New York City, and two people attended their wedding.

The next day, the pair attended the men’s singles final match at the U.S. Open.

The two stepped out for a double dinner date with Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds in NYC.

The couple went on two dates in New York City over the final weekend of 2024, and they coordinated their outfits for both occasions.

The couple spent the NFL off-season together, including a snowy trip to Montana with sports broadcaster Erin Andrews.

In July 2025, Travis shared the first photos of him and Taylor together on Instagram. One cute picture showed them at dinner, and fans noticed their phone lock screens featured photos of each other.

Taylor Swift, a self-proclaimed big fan of the New Heights podcast, appeared on an extra-long episode with Travis and Jason Kelce on August 13th. During the nearly two-hour conversation, she openly shared details about her life with Travis, both publicly and privately, and announced the title of her upcoming twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, which will be released on October 3rd.

Over two years after Travis mentioned Taylor on his podcast – a moment fans quickly noticed – the couple announced their engagement. They playfully referenced Taylor’s song “So High School” in an August 26th Instagram post with the caption, “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” alongside photos of their engagement.

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2026-01-14 22:23