Explore the Evolution of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Romance: A Captivating Journey Through Their Relationship Timeline

Travis Kelce might have taken some notes from Taylor Swift’s Midnights track “Mastermind,” because after just two months of shooting his shot with the multi-Grammy-winning superstar, the “Anti-Hero” singer was first spotted cheering on the Kansas City Chiefs tight end at his football game in September. Talk about manifestation!

Fans are loving the unexpected pairing, and Swifties have even started a hilarious trend on TikTok of telling their male partners that Swift put Kelce “on the map.”

While the coupling between Swift and Kelce might seem random to the casual entertainment consumer, Billboard has you covered. Below, we’ve compiled a full timeline of the duo’s relationship, from the football player trying to give a friendship bracelet to Swift during her Eras Tour stop in Kansas City in July 2023, Swift revealing when she and the NFL star started dating, to the singer attending his football game with his mother and more.

One of those times created an epic pop-culture storm, with Swift descending on New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium alongside famous friends Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and Hugh Jackman on Oct. 1, 2023, to watch Kelce’s Chiefs take on the New York Jets from a star-studded suite. Things looked a lot chiller on days later on Oct. 12 during the Chiefs’ Thursday Night Football match-up against the Denver Broncos, with Swift whispering in Travis’ mom Donna Kelce’s ear in the family suite.

Let’s delve into the full timeline of events between Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift:

July 8, 2023: Kelce Attends the Eras Tour

The football star was spotted Swift’s Eras Tour stop at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium in July, marking the first public linking between the two.

July 26, 2023: Kelce Shoots His Shot & Fails

During an episode of his New Heights podcast, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end recounted his foiled plan to begin wooing the “Karma” singer. Inspired by the lyric “So make the friendship bracelets / Take the moment and taste it” from Midnight’s “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” fans have been trading homemade jewelry at each Eras Tour stop, and Kelce tried to get in on the trend.

“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 said, “so I was a little butt-hurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her.”

He went on to explain that the bracelet he wanted to give her had his phone number on it. Evidently, Kelce’s plan was not successful.

Sept. 14, 2023: Travis Is Coy About Taylor

During an interview with NFL+ host Andrew Siciliano, Travis somewhat addressed the rumors. He confirmed his story about trying to shoot his shot at Swift via an Eras Tour friendship bracelet, but that’s as far as he’d reveal. “I said what I said. And I meant what I said when I said it. And you know what, it is what it is,” he said before shutting down further conversation about the pair’s relationship status. “I’m not gonna talk about my personal life.”

Travis’ brother, Philadelphia Eagles player Jason Kelce, was also asked about the pairing during an interview. “I’ve seen these rumors, I cannot comment,” he said of romance speculation

Sept. 17, 2023: Travis Laughs Off NFL Commentary

During the game between the Chiefs and the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday (Sept. 17), NFL announcer Ian Eagle slipped in a few Swift lyric references as he called a play from Kelce. “Kelce finds a blank space for the score!” he said, a callback to Swift’s 2014 Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “Blank Space.”

NFL Network’s Rich Eisen loaded in plenty of Swift references in his pre-game coverage, as he teased, “You saw it on Thursday night, when Travis Kelce wasn’t in there, it left a ‘blank space,’ but I think he returns today and proves to be the ‘anti-hero.’ Never goes out of ‘style.’”

It was all in good fun, as Kelce himself later commented on Eisen’s medley via Instagram, writing, “Well played Rich…. Well played 👏🏻😂.”

Sept. 21, 2023: The Ball Is in Taylor’s Court

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end joined The Pat McAfee Show, where he revealed that he invited Swift to watch him play. “I threw the ball in her court,” he said. “I told her, ‘I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead, you might have to come see me rock the stage in Arrowhead.’ We’ll see what happens in the near future.”

He also expressed his surprise at how much publicity their potential relationship has gotten. “It’s hilarious how much traction this has actually got,” the 33-year-old said. “I think it’s, right now, it’s like that old game in school called ‘Telephone,’ where everybody is just whispering in each other’s ear, just hearing some random stuff.”

Sept. 24, 2023: The Big Game

Swift shocked football fans and Swifties alike when she spent the day cheering on the Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end from Kelce’s suite alongside his mom, Donna, as the team played the Chicago Bears (and won).

The two also left the stadium together, as seen in a clip sports reporter Jarrett Payton shared. In the video, the NFL star nods in greeting to the anchor and asks, “How you doin’” as Tay flashes Payton a smile and says, “Hey!”

Kelce and Swift were then spotted riding off together in his convertible, according to photos acquired by TMZ.

Sept. 26, 2023: Kelce Says Swift Looked ‘Amazing’ at the Game

Jason and Travis reflected on the game in their New Heights podcast. “Shoutout to Taylor for pulling up!” Travis said. “That was pretty ballsy. That was pretty ballsy, yeah. I just thought it was awesome how everybody in the suite had nothing but great things to say about her, the friends and family — she looked amazing. Everybody was talking about her in great light and on top of that, the day went perfect for Chiefs fans, of course.”

“To see the slow-motion chest bumps, to see the high-fives with Mom, to see how Chiefs Kingdom was all excited that she was there,” he added. “It was definitely a game I’ll remember, that’s for d–n sure. Then we just slid off in the getaway car at the end. Took my Chevelle to the game.”

Sept. 29, 2023: “Welcome to New York”

Oct. 1, 2023: Taylor’s Second Football Date

The Kansas City Chiefs were set to play the New York Jets, which meant Kelce was in Swift’s area this time — she has a New York City residence. This time around, it was no surprise that the pop icon showed up at MetLife Stadium to support Kelce and his team. She arrived with a group of famous friends, including Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.

“Welcome to New York, it’s been waiting for you,” the official NFL account tweeted to Swift on X before the game began, sharing clips of her greeting others at the stadium and enjoying the game.

Oct. 12, 2023: Third Time’s the Charm

Oct. 15, 2023: Taylor & Travis Holding Hands

After weeks of a rumored romance, Swift and Kelce all but confirmed their budding relationship by arriving hand in hand for the post-show bash at Catch Steak in New York City following the Saturday Night Live season 49 premiere on Oct. 14.

During the Pete Davidson-hosted episode, the singer and NFL star made separate surprise cameos. Swift popped up to introduce musical guest Ice Spice’s second song and Kelce appeared toward the end of a hilarious sketch poking fun at NFL’s recent obsessive coverage of the singer.

Earlier in the evening, Swift and Kelce also grabbed a pre-show dinner at Nobu in NYC, according to photos published by Page Six, which show the lovebirds holding hands once again.

Oct. 22, 2023: Another Weekend at Arrowhead

Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium must be starting to feel awfully familiar to Swift, who showed up there in support of Kelce and his team again on Oct. 22 for the Chiefs-Chargers game. She’s now a repeat guest at the stadium, having attended multiple Chiefs games and having brought her own show there twice, once on her Reputation Tour and again on The Eras Tour. On Oct. 22, Swift wore a Chiefs sweatshirt and an ’87’ friendship bracelet in Kelce’s honor, and she had fun watching the game with Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Swift later left the venue with Kelce at her side, holding hands on their way out.

Oct. 23, 2023: Photo of Taylor Kissing Travis Surfaces

We still remember that look on his face when Taylor planted a kiss on his cheek! One day after the pop superstar attended the Chiefs vs. Chargers game at Arrowhead Stadium, a photo of Swift giving the Kansas City tight end a sweet smooch surfaced on Instagram courtesy of Chariah Gordon, who is dating Chiefs’ wide receiver Mecole Hardman.

Nov. 11, 2023: Onstage Official in Buenos Aires

Now that Swift is back on tour, Kelce was spotted at his first Eras show since July, which was when the two were first publicly linked. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end attended her Buenos Aires, Argentina, concert Saturday night (Nov. 11). In fan-filmed clips that were immediately posted to social media, the football star was seen in the VIP tent at Estadio River Plate — with Swift’s dad, Scott, by his side. The night before, Swift and Kelce were seen out to dinner at Argentinian steakhouse Elena, a restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel.

But it was the last act of the concert that really got the crowd’s attention: Swift swapped the “Karma” lyric “Karma is the guy in the screen coming straight home to me” for “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me,” and then ran into Kelce’s arms to kiss him once the show wrapped.

Nov. 20, 2023: Travis Opens Up

In an in-depth interview with the Wall Street Journal, Kelce explained what exactly went down in between his friendship bracelet phone number fiasco and Swift’s first game day spent at Arrowhead Stadium. Revealing that Swift reached out to him after someone on her team — or possibly a family member — put him on her radar, Kelce also shared that he and the pop star had already been talking for some time before they first met in person in New York.

Dec. 1, 2023: Double Date With The Mahomes

Taylor and Travis got in the holiday spirit together on the first of December by attending a holiday bar in Kansas City with Patrick and Brittany Mahomes. In fan pictures that surfaced from the night, hosted at Miracle Pop Up, both the “Christmas Tree Farm” singer and tight end donned festive sweaters, meanwhile the Mahomes’ sported matching reindeer onesies.

Dec. 6, 2023: Taylor Speaks Out

The pop superstar opened up about when her romance with Travis Kelce began for TIME, who named her its Person of the Year. “This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell… We started hanging out right after that,” she shared of the July 26 episode of his New Heights podcast, in which he revealed that he had made a friendship bracelet with his phone number to give her when he attended her July 8 Eras Tour show at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium.

“By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple,” she revealed. “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.”

Jan. 1, 2024: New Year’s Kiss

Taylor and Travis were each other’s New Year’s kisses as they rang in 2024 at a party. The scene looked like something out of a Taylor Swift song, with the singer looking princess-like in a sparkly gown as confetti rained down overhead.

Jan. 21, 2024: Taylor Meets Jason

At the Chiefs’ playoff game against the Buffalo Bills, Taylor finally got to meet Travis’ brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, and sister-in-law Kylie Kelce. And Jason definitely made quite the impression — on both the singer-songwriter and the rest of America: Several videos of him in the box guzzling beer with his shirt off and jumping into the stands to mingle with Bills fans afterward went viral.

“Tay said she absolutely loved you,” Travis revealed after the game on the brothers’ joint podcast New Heights.

“I’m not going to lie, I gave Kylie a heads-up,” recalled Jason. “The moment we get into the suite, I said, ‘I’m taking my shirt off and jumping out of that suite.’ And she said, ‘Jason don’t you dare.’”

“She was already telling me to be on my best behavior ’cause we were meeting Taylor, so she’s like, ‘Do not. Be on your best behavior,’” he added.

Jan. 26, 2024: Travis Speaks Out

During a Kansas City Chiefs press conference, Travis gave an update about how he and Taylor are handling the public’s attention to their relationship. “As long as we’re happy, we can’t listen to anything that’s outside noise,” he told reporters.

The athlete added, “I brought this upon myself, and I do enjoy having fun with it all, and the biggest thing is making sure my focus is right here in this building.”

Jan. 28, 2024: Travis Says ‘I Love You’

Travis had Swifties in their feels when, minutes after the Chiefs won against the Baltimore Ravens at the AFC Championship game — earning Kansas City a spot in the Super Bowl for a second year in a row — he told Taylor he loved her. Other sweet moments from the game include Taylor cheering Travis on with his family in a box suite at M&T Bank Stadium in Maryland, kissing him several times on the field, and adoringly watching him give a speech to Chiefs Kingdom.

Jan. 31, 2024: Travis’ Revelation

By this point, Taylor had already confirmed that she and Travis were a couple before she ever stepped foot in Arrowhead Stadium to watch the Chiefs-Bears game in September 2023. But during a visit to The Pat McAfee Show in late January, the athlete finally revealed the near-exact starting point of the Tayvis timeline.

“We had known each other for close to a month up to that point,” he said. “It wasn’t just an out of the blue, ‘Hey, come to the game.’

“I love it when Taylor comes and supports me and enjoys the game with the fam and friends,” Kelce told McAFee. “It’s been nothing but a wonderful year, man.”

Feb. 11, 2024: The Super Bowl

Just hours after closing out her final Eras show in Tokyo, Swift arrived at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to cheer on Kelce and the Chiefs at Super Bowl LVIII. She wore a red bomber jacket, bejeweled black pants and an “87” necklace — plus her signature red lip, of course.

The pop star’s posse included Blake Lively, Ice Spice, Lana Del Rey and Swift’s parents, Scott and Andrea, who joined her in chatting with the Kelce family before the game.

Feb. 22-23, 2024: Tayvis Takes on Sydney

Ahead of Taylor’s shows in Sydney, Travis flew out to meet the star in Australia and joined her on a date to the Sydney Zoo on Feb. 22. The pair held hands and took selfies as they checked out the animals.

The next day, Travis danced along to his girlfriend’s Feb. 23 set from a VIP tent with Katy Perry, Rita Ora and Baz Luhrmann, and exchanged friendship bracelets with fans at Accor Stadium. Toward the end of her performance, Taylor once again dedicated an updated “Karma” lyric to the athlete. After the show, the singer emerged from backstage and kissed Travis in the wings.

April 19, 2024: “The Alchemy”

When The Tortured Poets Department dropped promptly at midnight April 19, 2024, fans were quick to notice that one of the 16 main tracks on Swift’s new album definitely seemed to be an ode to Kelce. That’s mainly because of the several football vocab words the pop star sprinkled throughout the track, which finds her swooning over an intense, chemically fixed attraction to a new lover.

April 27, 2024: Significant Other Status

While auctioning off four Eras Tour tickets on behalf of Swift at the 15 and The Mahomies Foundation charity gala in Las Vegas, Kelce lovingly referred to the pop star as his “significant other.” The couple also held hands as they walked through the venue, looking stunning in their evening attire.