Rob Carr/Getty Images
Taylor Swift Is the ‘Happiest She’s Been in a Long Time’ With Travis Kelce: ‘He’s the One’
Back when she was 22 and dating music star Harry Styles, Taylor Swift explained why she was often drawn to bad boys. “There’s a really interesting charisma involved. They usually have a lot to say, and even if they don’t, they know how to look at you to say it all,” she shared in a 2012 interview, further confiding, “I think every girl’s dream is to find a bad boy at the right time, when he wants to not be bad anymore.”
That time has finally come. After six months of dating Travis Kelce — the reformed NFL bad boy who was suspended from his college team for smoking marijuana, made out with a bevy of women on his own 2016 dating show, Catching Kelce, and has had to deny cheating rumors with multiple ex-girlfriends — the superstar singer-songwriter is one step closer to declaring the Kansas City Chiefs player her endgame.
“Taylor is telling friends that this is the happiest she has been in a very long time,” shares a source exclusively with Life & Style. Since the future Hall of Fame tight end confessed that he tried and failed to give her his number on a friendship bracelet, she’s become a staple at his games, forged deep friendships with his teammates’ wives and girlfriends, blended their friend groups and introduced her family to his — all seamlessly. “She feels like this is her first fun, normal, healthy relationship,” says the source. “This is what Taylor has waited for. She is totally in love with Travis and has told friends he’s the one.”
Everything Changed
Her romance with actor Joe Alwyn, 32 — who inspired love songs from 2017’s Reputation through 2022’s Midnights — ended last spring after six years of secrecy. Taylor’s relationship with Travis is the complete opposite.
“We’re just proud of each other,” she said late last year, explaining why there wasn’t a need to go to “an extreme amount of effort to make sure no one knows” that she and Travis, both 34, are together. “Taylor was in love with Joe, but in retrospect, she sees how unhealthy and unbalanced their relationship was,” explains the source. “Everything was on his terms. He didn’t want to be public; he didn’t want them to go out together or talk about each other. She doesn’t want to do that again.”
While she values privacy, she’s not OK with being someone’s secret. “One of the things that made Taylor fall so hard for Travis was that he publicly declared his interest in her and he wasn’t ashamed to say how much he wanted to date her. She’s never had that before!” says the source, noting the athlete unreservedly praised the Grammy winner as “hilarious” and a “genius,” then admitted he was so into her that he was focused on ensuring “I don’t say anything that would push Taylor away.”
“He always makes her feel special and appreciated and plans romantic nights together,” says the source. “Gestures like that mean the world to her.”
Why It Works
Travis doesn’t just ooze charisma and confidence himself. He makes Taylor feel confident about them as a couple. “The way Travis is open with his friends, family and fans about his relationship makes Taylor feel secure,” explains the source. “She feels like she can be away from him and not worry about him doing anything sketchy behind her back. She trusts him; he makes her feel safe.” And “normal,” says the source. “When they go out with his friends in Kansas City, she feels like she can be a regular girlfriend. They can hang out and drink cocktails and kiss out in the open — all the things she’s always wanted to do.”
A mutual respect for each other’s career has become the foundation for what they’re building. “Since both are at the top of their professions, they understand the dedication the other person has to their work,” says the source. “They don’t have to explain anything to each other because they just get it. They can give each other space without any jealousy or hard feelings.”
They know how they feel about each other — and have learned to tune out the noise. After recent reports claimed that Travis quietly proposed over the holidays and, conversely, that they’re not as serious as some believe, the pop star cleared things up in a text to a friend, confirming there was “no proposal — yet,” says the source. But they “definitely do see marriage in their future,” adds the source. “They’re just not rushing it. Taylor and Travis are simply looking forward to a bit of alone time once his season ends — but they both think they’ll have happy news to share later this year, for sure.”
