Taylor Swift was back in Travis Kelce’s house, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium, for the NFL season opener on Sept. 5.
The singer and songwriter, on a break from her record-breaking “Eras Tour,” fashioned a double-denim look, featuring a Versace corset. Her thigh-high Giuseppe Zanotti boots, which seemed perfectly made for her long legs, and lipstick were a subtle shout-out to the team’s red color.
Swift’s self-confidence was showing as she catwalked by the photo pool. We imagine her singing in her head, “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs…” as she did because she owned every well-heeled step. (Some of that swagger could have also been a wordless response to the faux Kelce-Swift breakup plan that circulated this week.) They left after the game holding hands, with insiders saying they are “solid.”
This month marks one year since Swift made this relationship public, attending her first Chiefs game on September 2023. It’s different than her past romances in all the right ways, Taylor Swift Is Life: A Superfan’s Guide to All the Things We Love About Taylor Swift author Kathleen Perricone told Yahoo Entertainment.
“For the first time in her life, she is with a man who a) is on her level and b) is on her level but not in her world. There’s no competition. There’s no crossover — unless he suddenly picks up a guitar or she picks up a football,” Perricone said.
Kelce and Swift embracing on the field after Kelce’s team the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl,Feb. 11, 2024. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Because of that, “They can support each other,” the author said.
Fans have seen that support not just at the Chiefs opener, but the 13 games Swift attended last season. For his part, Kelce has to date attended 14 of Swift’s international tour stops.
What’s also different with this relationship, now one year in, is how Kelce — who made the first move, making his infamous friendship bracelet for Swift and then giving her a shout-out on his New Heights podcast in July 2023 — is how he seems in awe of her talent like the rest of the world. Perricone points to a moment over the summer when Kelce followed Swift backstage after a show in Europe, hyping her to the cheering fans with his hand gestures.
“She has never, ever, ever, ever had a man who has even been so openly proud to be with her,” she said. “I think her last relationship,” with British actor Joe Alwyn, “we didn’t know much about because it seems he more so was very private. I think maybe she didn’t feel like she could shine. To quote her, she wasn’t ‘bejeweled.’ And Travis really does. He seems to really respect her and that’s obviously the basis of any good relationship.”
Perricone continued, “I have no idea what’s in store for them, but I hope it works out because it gives me hope that you can find that — where someone just loves and respects you. Looking at the guys she’s dated in the past, I never would have put her with someone like him — despite ‘You Belong With Me’ and the cheerleader-quarterback aspect to it. It just works.”
Kelce briefly appeared on stage at Swift’s Wembley Stadium concert, June 23. (Gareth Cattermole/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management )
Successful women are held to such a gross double standard, including when it comes to relationships, and this has undoubtedly been the case for Swift. Over the summer, a Newsweek opinion piece written by John Mac Ghlionn declared that the 14-time Grammy winner is not a good role model because she’s “unmarried and childless.” Of course, not long after that, Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance, delivered his polarizing “childless cat ladies” comment. Swifties everywhere quickly and coolly responded to both.
In her research on Swift, Perricone saw numerous examples of the higher standard Swift is held to and yet she has continued to thrive.
“I actually didn’t read the Newsweek story because it made me so mad,” Perricone said. “All I had to do was see the headlines. … This is not 1888. It was such a ridiculous [story]. Marriage and children are not the be-all and end-all of happiness, contentment and fulfillment as a person. Swift is literally making billions of dollars, every city she brings her tour to is benefiting financially and money is going to charities there. Not to mention she’s making millions of people around the world happy for three-and-a-half hours every night. And that’s the thing that you’re going after her for?”
Taylor Swift Is Life: A Superfan’s Guide, by Kathleen Perricone, is out now. (Quarto)
She added, “We know that negative stories, not positive ones, get the most engagement and attention.”
Taylor Swift Is Life: A Superfan’s Guide falls into the positive category as it shines a light on the inspiring life of the entertainer. Alongside framable illustrations of Swift in all her glorious eras, it details her rise and then full-on domination of the music industry. It delves into her discography with a chapter devoted to Easter eggs and “Taylorscopes” for every astrological sign.
Superfans will love “Swiftology A to Z,” an compendium of Taylorisms, including her love of arm lyrics, maple lattes, glitter gel pen songs and more. It also describes how, in her 30s, Swift has amplified her voice on issues that are important to her — as many hope for her to make an endorsement in the 2024 presidential race.
Perricone sees the guide — the first in publisher Quarto’s new Modern Icons series, the next generation of the best-selling Little People, Big Dreams books — as a great collector’s item for Swifties.
“The way it’s presented — the ‘invisible string,’ as Taylor says — makes it a fun read, but you’d also want to display it with your collectables or merch from her. It has a keepsake feel,” she said.
An illustration from Taylor Swift Is Life shows the singer embracing being a “childless cat lady,” modeled after a photo from her Time magazine Person of the Year photo shoot from 2023. (Quarto)
Those who haven’t devoured every lyric on every album — and connected them to everything known about her life and loves — or rolled into an “Eras Tour” show with a sleeve of bracelets and an “A lot going on at the moment” custom T-shirt, it’s an easy way to see what she’s all about and stands for.
“It educates people — whether you’re a superfan and know everything, or your children are fans and you want to know more or you know absolutely nothing,” Perricone said. “Eleven albums in, it’s overwhelming about where to start. This breaks it down to better understand the myth, the legend, the folklore of Taylor Swift.”
