Travis Kelce always came to the set of his 2016 reality series “Catching Kelce” ready to work – and with his own eyedrops.
A well-placed source exclusively tells Pvnew that Taylor Swift’s latest love interest would often arrive “already well stoned” to film the popular dating series.
However, according to our insider, the production team at E! never had to worry about Kelce having bloodshot eyes – a common side effect of smoking weed – as the NFL star would bring his own set of eyedrops to hide any redness.
“He had his technique down because he would use eyedrops,” the source tells us, laughing.
“He enjoyed a bit of marijuana.”
Kelce, 33, has long enjoyed the occasional spliff and has been vocal about his usage over the years.
After high school, the Westlake, Ohio, native enrolled at the University of Cincinnati where he played for the Bearcats football team. He was suspended from playing all of his sophomore season in 2010 after failing a marijuana test.
Kelce returned to play for the Bearcats the following year and was eventually drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
In a June 2023 interview with Vanity Fair, the football tight end alleged that around 50 to 80 percent of athletes in the NFL use cannabis.
“If you just stop in the middle of July, you’re fine,” he told the outlet. “A lot of guys stop a week before and they still pass because everybody’s working out in the heat and sweating their tail off. Nobody’s really getting hit for it anymore.”
A rep for Kelce did not immediately respond to Pvnew’s request for comment.
As previously reported, Kelce starred in “Catching Kelce” for one season. The dating show featured 50 women from 50 states vying to win the athlete’s heart.
Despite being on a dating show with a plethora of women, our source remembers “great” and “kind” Kelce being nothing but a gentleman.
“He was nice and respectful,” the insider recalls. “He wasn’t trying to be weird.”
Kelce ended up choosing Maya Benberry from Kentucky at the end of the series, despite noticing some early red flags.
“I love your confidence, but, at times, it does get overconfident,” he told her at the time, according to the US Sun. “It kind of shows arrogance. I have been attracted to women like that my entire life and those relationships didn’t work because of that.”
The two dated for just a few months before calling it quits. Years later, the professional athlete mused on starring in the dating show.
“It was extremely awkward because I really didn’t have much to say about what we were doing on the show,” he said on a January episode of “The Pivot Podcast.”
He remembered “having so much fun buying whatever the hell I wanted to” that he saw the show as an opportunity to “make six figures in two weeks.”
A lot has obviously changed for the Kelce in the years since he filmed that dating series.
The star athlete has recently been making headlines for his blossoming romance with Swift, whom accepted his invite to watch him play at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., over the weekend.
The pop star, also 33, was spotted cheering Travis on in a special VIP suite with his mom, Donna Kelce.
After the game, the footballer and the “Anti-Hero” singer were snapped leaving the stadium together to go to a rooftop bar where they looked “very affectionate.”
Kelce later raved about the “Cruel Summer” singer’s appearance at the game on his podcast, calling her “amazing” and “ballsy” for having attended.
News of the high-profile romance first made headlines earlier this month when it was revealed that the pair had been “hanging out.”
