Taylor Swift released her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, earlier this month, and it’s rumored that several of her songs mention Travis Kelce’s ex, Kayla Nicole. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end is engaged to Swift, which they announced back in August; however, it still seems that the athlete’s former relationship with Kayla Nicole remains in the spotlight.
Kayla Nicole and Kelce dated on and off from 2017-2022, and in Swift’s latest album, she seemingly mentions a viral moment from their former relationship. In the since-deleted video per Page Six, the sports journalist tells Kelce that she wouldn’t need “to seek validation from a bunch of strangers on the internet” if “someone sometimes would pay [her] attention.”
“Oh, my God,” Kelce responds seemingly annoyed at Kayla Nicole. Get off your phone. Get off your phone. … You’re not even drinking your wine anymore. Can we go?”
Swift seemingly addresses the incident on “Opalite.”
“You couldn’t understand it / Why you felt alone / You were in it for real / She was in her phone / You were just a pose…” Swift sings on the track.
Kayla Nicole addresses attention about former relationship
Kayla Nicole reacted to the increased media attention about her ex since he began his high-profile relationship with the singer back in 2023.
“It’s so weird. I can’t lie. It has definitely taken some getting used to,” she told StyleCaster in an interview published on Oct. 23. “It’s not an easy transition to make, because a lot of times, when I see the things written about me, to be honest, it comes off really dehumanizing.”
“I know what it’s like to be in that position to feel like you have to write a story and make the headlines and get the engagement,” she continued. “But I just wish that my peers, because I still consider other journalists to be my peers, would hold ourselves to a higher standard and remember there’s a human on the other side of these headlines.”
Kayla Nicole is using her platform to share how she believes the intersection of journalism and entertainment should be used.
“I understand what it’s like to be in the world of entertainment and journalism, and someone is trying to do their job,” she told the outlet. “But I just wish we wouldn’t do it at the cost of someone else’s mental health or the expense of someone else’s overall existence in life. I think we’ve normalized sensationalism and clickbait. I wish there were a better way we could all do our jobs.”
