All The Pressures In Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce's Relationship
Taylor Swift's album "The Tortured Poets Department" included the song "So Long, London" as its devastating fifth track. It's rumored to be about Swift's split from her longtime British boyfriend Joe Alwyn — but thankfully, the heartbreak described in that song didn't last forever. In 2023, Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce began a relationship. It's nearly impossible to have any privacy when you're as well-known as those two, but they were able to start their relationship earlier than anyone knew. Good for them!
The couple has the world enamored, and most people feel positively about Swift and Kelce. Even Swift's childhood bestie Abigail Anderson is on board with #Tayvis. However, it hasn't been an easy road. Any relationship comes with its own struggles, but the pressures are exceedingly high when you're famous (and when everyone has an opinion). What pressures are weighing on the football star and the Grammy-winning songstress?
Swift's immense fame is what contributed to a previous breakup
One thing Travis Kelce is better at than Taylor Swift's ex Joe Alwyn is public displays of affection. It's been reported by an anonymous source for Us Weekly that Alwyn and Swift broke up because of how famous she was. Although Kelce doesn't seem to mind the spotlight, Swift is reportedly anxious that the constant attention that comes with being her boyfriend will overwhelm him.
"There's very little oxygen between her life and fame," a source told Page Six. "Travis is a peacock, but he has never dated a celeb before, and she is one of the most famous women in the world. Right now he is enjoying everything and she is hoping that it stays like that." They said that Swift has her fingers crossed that "he doesn't get freaked out about the fame. That the constant-ness of it doesn't get exhausting for him."
The scary downside of Kelce and Swift's romance is that his privacy has been invaded in certain ways. Swift's nerves about Kelce getting tired of all the hullabaloo are reminiscent of her song "Peace" from her "Folklore" album. In it, she mournfully sings, "Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?"
After being accused of dating too much, Swift could feel pressure for this to work out
As a singer-songwriter, Taylor Swift writes a lot about her life and her relationships. Unfortunately, the many love songs in her discography have inspired a cruel running gag — that Swift dates too much but can't keep a man. Speaking to Vogue in 2016, Swift said, "You know, I went out on a normal amount of dates in my early 20s, and I got absolutely slaughtered for it. And it took a lot of hard work and altering my decision-making. I didn't date for two and a half years. Should I have had to do that? No" (via Time).
The history of slut-shaming that Swift has faced could be adding pressure to her current relationship with Travis Kelce. If this relationship doesn't work out, will the media fall back on their misogynistic tendencies and lambast her for it?
In addition to societal pressure, Swift may be feeling personal pressure to hold tightly onto Travis. Relationship expert Megan Weks spoke with the Daily Mail in September 2023 after Swift and Travis' mother Donna Kelce were seen sitting together at one of his football games. Weks speculated that Swift meeting the families of her beaus soon after starting a relationship might indicate "an anxious attachment style" and added, "People with anxious attachment styles cling to others because they are afraid of being abandoned."
Kelce has been spending a lot to woo Swift
Travis Kelce's relationship with Taylor Swift is his highest-profile relationship to date (despite his starring role on a short-lived dating show). There's more pressure beyond the people parasocially invested in the relationship. Reportedly, Travis has spent millions of dollars on his romance with Swift. One big purchase was for his own benefit — he moved to a new house for more privacy, although his brother Jason Kelce explained on "The Big Podcast with Shaq" that someone found out about Travis' new place. "The first day he moved into the new house — a gated community — somebody knocks on ... a window of the house," Jason said.
Travis' other big purchases were more romantic: expensive flowers, clothes, and jewelry for Swift and private jets to whisk him to some of her international Eras Tour shows. As lovely as that is, are such spending habits sustainable?
Travis has had spending issues in the past. When discussing the money from his rookie contract with Shannon Sharpe on the "Club Shay Shay" podcast, Travis said, "Man, I spent it all, Shannon." He bought expensive goodies like a Rolex watch and advised rookie football players to work with a financial advisor and save their money. "I was searching around for car deals after my first year, trying to, you know, just pay rent," he said. Although he may have learned his lesson after previous struggles, is Travis overspending to keep Swift's attention?
Conservatives have spread wild conspiracy theories about Swift and Kelce
Wild conspiracy theories about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are likely adding even more pressure to their high-profile relationship. In January 2024, conservative commentator Jesse Watters made the claim that Swift was working for the Pentagon. Yes, it was theorized that music superstar Swift was actually an asset for the U.S. government. Sabrina Singh, spokeswoman for the Pentagon, released a statement that included song puns, saying, "As for this conspiracy theory, we are going to 'shake it off'" (via Politico).
Some consider Swift a political rival for Donald Trump since she endorsed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the 2020 election. That endorsement has spawned criticism of Swift from the right. Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy brought Kelce into it in January 2024. Ramaswamy replied to a tweet on X, formerly known as Twitter, discussing Swift's political affiliation and made an outlandish claim: "I wonder who's going to win the Super Bowl next month. And I wonder if there's a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped-up couple this fall." He sarcastically called the claim "wild speculation."
The Chiefs won the 2024 Super Bowl fair and square. Neither Swift nor Kelce have endorsed a candidate for the 2024 election yet. And some Swifties are suspicious that Kelce could actually be a Trump supporter. The buzz and conspiracy theories surrounding Swift and Kelce's political opinions could strain their relationship.
Does the couple spend enough time alone together?
Quality time is one of the five love languages for a reason. A romantic relationship won't last if the couple aren't able to spend enough time together, and enough time alone together. But when you're as successful as Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, each time you're out in public, someone is bound to be watching.
In a 2016 interview with Daily Mail Online, the founder of The Dating Lounge app Samantha Daniels discussed Swift's recent breakup with Calvin Harris and the stress of having a public relationship with a well-known figure. "If you think about being affectionate, you have to wonder if someone is taking your picture," Daniels said, explaining how behavior could be misinterpreted. "You constantly have to watch how you behave, which makes a relationship less organic."
Daniels also brought up how Harris and Swift often were apart due to their careers. "They both had really busy schedules. Being in different places at different times, it's hard to have a regular relationship that people have," she said. Kelce and Swift have jam-packed schedules as well, which could cause pressure for them when they go stretches of time apart. However, Kelce has proven he's secure in his relationship with Swift and both of them have shown they'll go to great lengths to support each other and be together when they can. Maybe the pressure doesn't get to them at all.