What a difference a year makes. On February 9, a somber Taylor Swift watched as boyfriend Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs got pummeled by the Philadelphia Eagles during Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The vibe had been dramatically different in 2024 when an elated Swift shared a sweet victory kiss with Kelce on the field, and the two went on to celebrate with pals Patrick and Brittany Mahomes at an afterparty on the Las Vegas strip.
It wasn’t the outcome either had hoped for, and it came on the heels of Swift being snubbed one week prior at the 67th Grammy Awards. (She won two trophies in 2024.) The back-to-back losses led to online chatter about Swift and Kelce’s charmed run coming to an end. But a source exclusively tells Us Weekly the couple, both 35, have other things on their minds, namely the chance to finally spend some serious quality time together. (Swift began her nearly two-year Eras Tour in March 2023, a few months before she and the tight end started dating and football season kicked off.)
“I think we get past the Super Bowl, I think it’s going to be a very good period for the two of them without the NFL season, without the Eras Tour,” Kelce’s dad, Ed, told Australia’s Today show in early February. “Just them alone, really connecting more. And I think that can only be a good thing.”
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A source tells Us “there’s a sense of relief” for the couple, noting that their plans include “laying low” and figuring out their next steps. Adds a second source: “There’s no way to have a relationship when they’re all over the place with work. It’s going to be easier now to find time to go over plans and make sure everything aligns.”
No Distractions
Swift’s had a head start since wrapping up her epic 149-date tour in December. While Kelce finished out the season, she spent time at her NYC pad and catching up with friends. “Taylor’s been recouping from the tour,” a source told Us earlier this year. “She’s taking time to ease back into things.”
They’re both excited to have an extended stretch of downtime — away from the spotlight and public scrutiny. According to the first source, they’ll head to Kansas City to unwind for a few months. “They both want to rest and decompress. Neither of them have huge commitments coming up,” the first source adds. The second source says they have plans to travel as well. (Last March, they jetted off to a luxe, $15,000-a-night private resort in the Bahamas.) “Taylor wants to go to multiple places in Europe and somewhere tropical.”
At home, they’re just like any other couple — they cook, hang out and watch TV. (Kelce revealed on his “New Heights” podcast last September that they’d watched his brother, Jason, make his Monday Night Football broadcasting debut together, telling him that they “were dying laughing” when he said “tits” on live TV.) “They do love going out to dinner and getting drinks with friends, but when they get the chance to be home together, they are very low-key,” says the first source, adding that Swift “cooks a lot for Travis. It’s his love language.” During a February 3 pre-Superbowl media event, Kelce told a reporter Swift is “quite the cook,” adding that his favorite dish of hers is her homemade Pop-Tarts. “I’m a breakfast guy. Man, her Pop-Tarts are unbelievable,” he gushed.
Swift has been helping Kelce lick his wounds since the big game. During the February 12 episode of “New Heights,” a bummed-out Kelce told Jason that losing was a “tough pill to swallow” but said having his loved ones there made it “a little easier.” The first source says Swift is “just trying to be there for Travis as much as possible” and that fellow WAG Brittany “helped guide her through everything that comes along with being with someone in the NFL. They’ve become very close.”
Kelce and Swift may do some house-hunting while in Kansas City. “They want to look at real estate,” a source told Us in early February. “They’ve talked about buying a home together.” Swift has also been busy renovating her $17 million Rhode Island mansion, where she hosted friends, including the Mahomes and Jason and Kylie Kelce, last summer.
Putting a Ring On It
In the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, there was talk Kelce would propose if the Chiefs won. The NFL star played coy with reporters who asked him whether he’d pop the question at halftime. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” he said, smiling at the camera. His dad told Australia’s Jimmy & Nath Breakfast Show that he’d steer his son away from doing something so publicly. “My advice to him would be… I think your engagement needs to be separate from any other event,” Ed said. “It has to be about the two of you.”
Meanwhile, fans and friends alike are speculating about (and hoping for) an impending proposal. “Those close to them actually think [Travis may do it] while they’re on vacation,” the second source says, with the first adding, “They are both on the same page about taking the next step.”
Kelce’s career plans will be a factor timing-wise. The first source tells Us the athlete “was hoping he’d end his career on a high.” But after the blowout Super Bowl loss, “he’s reconsidering what he wants moving forward. He may come back next season.” (The tight end is still currently under contract with the Chiefs for 2025.) On “New Heights,” Kelce said he’s “gonna take some time” to think about retiring. “Right now, I’m just kicking everything down the road,” he shared, admitting the “wear and tear” football’s had on his body. “I’m not making any crazy decisions.”
Kelce also has plenty going on off the field: After hosting Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? and appearing on Ryan Murphy’s Grotesquerie, he’ll pop up in Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore 2 later this year. Last August, he and Jason signed a three-year deal with Wondery for their “New Heights” podcast, reportedly worth over $100 million.
No matter what Kelce decides, he’ll have Swift by his side. “Taylor will support him either way,” says the first source. Adds the second: “Taylor and Travis work so well [together]. They’re still madly in love, and their relationship just keeps getting better and better.”
For more on Taylor and Travis, watch the exclusive video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly — on newsstands now.
Us Weekly
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