Who Was Travis Kelce With Before Taylor? Inside His Relationship History

Travis Kelce's past romances are widely considered to be in stark contrast to Taylor Swift's complex dating history. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end has only had two known partners since he rose to prominence. In 2016, Kelce struck up a romantic connection with Maya Benberry, the winner of his reality TV dating show "Catching Kelce." During the big finale, the NFL star confessed that although history had taught him that going for ultra-confident women hadn't served him well, Kelce still couldn't help falling for her. 

As a result, no one was surprised to learn that the couple had parted ways after just a few months of dating. Ever since Benberry's whirlwind romance with Kelce ended, she has had nothing but negative things to say about him publicly. In a series of since-deleted tweets from May 2017, Benberry accused the star tight end of cheating on her with Kayla Nicole, sniping, "When you and your ex broke up 5 months ago but you find out via social media that he has supposedly been in another relationship for 6," (via Instagram). 

After news of Kelce's high-profile relationship with Swift broke in September 2023, she spoke out again, warning the Daily Mail that the globe-trotting pop star ought to proceed with caution with the supposed serial cheater. However, a Page Six insider strongly denied the infidelity allegations, writing them off as a desperate attempt to steal the spotlight. Notably, the life coach also criticized her ex in a September 2023 Inside Edition interview, opining, "I feel like Travis is a narcissist. Most narcissists don't change."

While speaking to E! News in February 2022, Travis Kelce opened up about how his on-and-off relationship with Kayla Nicole began. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end recalled how he had stumbled upon the sports broadcaster's Instagram profile and wasted no time in making his interest clear by liking several of her photos and keeping a close eye on her Stories. By January 2017, Nicole had noticed his efforts and she reached out to him, also on Instagram. After the media personality deleted snaps of Kelce from her account in August 2020, people started speculating that the couple had split up because he had cheated on her. In a since-deleted tweet, the NFL star confirmed that their romance was over while insisting that there was no infidelity involved. 

However, Kelce and Nicole's relationship was back on shortly afterward. While responding to a fan during an Instagram Q&A, in January 2021, the sports broadcaster confirmed that although she wasn't ready to be a mother, she would be more than happy to be someone's wife. Unfortunately, those dreams didn't come true with the pro athlete as they finally parted ways for good in May 2022. 

Kelce's ex faced major backlash for speaking about their past romance in the coming years. During an April 2025 episode of "The Pre-Game" podcast, Nicole hinted that infidelity had indeed played a part in their relationship's downfall without mentioning her ex's name, disclosing only, "I don't have very many successful, monogamous relationships without any element of cheating." Suffice it to say that Kelce's rumored history of cheating is one red flag in his Taylor Swift romance we can't ignore.