If you thought 2023 was Taylor Swift’s year, think again — because 2024 is shaping up to be even more of a wild ride for the superstar.
By the time Swift steps on stage in Tokyo for the next date of her “Eras” tour on February 7, she may well have a new accessory: an engagement ring.
Don’t get too excited yet, but Page Six hears that her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, has asked the singer’s father Scott Swift’s permission for her hand in marriage. It’s also “very probable” they are spending the holiday together.
A source close to Kelce claimed: “Scott has been asked for his blessing and has wholeheartedly given it, and Travis has been talking to friends about a ring.”
There’s talk the ring is being designed or could be in his pocket already.
Swift and Kelce’s reps are keeping mum, but it’s very clear that their relationship is only going one way … from hot to even hotter.
Kelce, 34, is “the most extroverted guy Taylor has dated in forever,” said the source. “This is so much truer to who Taylor is than any prior relationship.”
Indeed, the couple has not shied away from flaunting their romance, which is a big change from many of the singer’s other relationships — including with her last boyfriend, actor Joe Alwyn — that have mainly been conducted under a cloak of secrecy.
“If Taylor wants to change the lyrics to her song after four months of dating and sing in front of 60,000 people … Travis will stand there beaming for the crowd — he’s digging it,” said the source, referencing a November 13 Buenos Aires, Argentina, tour stop when Swift altered the lyrics to her song “Karma”: Karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me.”
“Taylor finally has a partner willing and game,” the source said. “He’s like, ‘I’ll stand by the side of the stage and wait for you to jump in my arms — I’ll do that!'”
In April, it was revealed that Swift’s six-year relationship with British actor Alwyn had ended. The pair had been living quietly in London and spent COVID lockdown together writing songs that appeared on Swift’s hit pandemic albums “Folklore” and “Evermore.” They were rarely seen in public together.
“Joe would rather cut off his arm than go to Zero Bond,” said an industry source, referring to the exclusive NYC club where Swift kicked off her 34th birthday celebrations with pals Selena Gomez and Miles Teller and his wife, Keleigh Sperry, on Tuesday.
A Swift insider added: “Taylor is so in love. She just hasn’t been with a guy who is so excited and proud to be with her in so long. She’d gotten used to having to hide away and lay low whenever she’s been in a relationship.
“Calvin [Harris, the DJ Swift dated in 2015 and 2016] and Joe were BIG on hiding. So she followed their lead,” the Swift insider said. “But now she’s finally with someone who is appropriately like, ‘Holy s–t, I’m with Taylor Swift! Awesome!’ and she’s so delighted that she gets to be out in the world.
“Don’t forget, this is a girl who made out with Harry Styles in Times Square [on New Year’s Eve 2012] and posted pictures of her fling [actor Tom Hiddleston, in 2016] wearing an ‘I heart TS’ T-shirt. Low key isn’t actually her preferred vibe. But when it’s been at the insistence of the guy she’s with, she’s gone along with it.”
When Swift was recently named Time’s 2023 Person of the Year, she gave the magazine a candid interview about everything from her past feuds to her love life.
In it, she revealed how her romance with Kelce came to be, saying it “all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell.”
Swift added: “When you say a relationship is public, that means I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there and we don’t care … The opposite of that is you have to go to an extreme amount of effort to make sure no one knows that you’re seeing someone. And we’re just proud of each other.”
On September 24, the singer was first spotted decked out in Chiefs colors to watch the team take on the Chicago Bears at KC’s Arrowhead Stadium.
During the game, she chatted with Kelce’s mom, Donna, in a box and cheered along when he scored a touchdown.
Afterward, Swift and Kelce were seen driving off in his 1970 Chevelle 408 Stroker convertible.
“I think some people think that they saw our first date at that game? We would never be psychotic enough to hard launch a first date,” Swift told Time.
The couple further confirmed their romance in October when they stepped out holding hands at a “Saturday Night Live” afterparty after both making surprise cameos on the show.
While the pair may be heading for the altar, as friends hope, it comes amid controversy over whether this will actually be Swift’s first engagement.
In her 2020 Netflix documentary, “Miss Americana”, Swift sparked rumors that she was engaged to Alwyn by sporting a huge diamond ring on her wedding finger.
But earlier this month, Swift’s longtime publicist Tree Paine slammed online rumors that Swift and Alwyn had tied the knot.
“There was NEVER a marriage or ceremony of ANY kind,” Paine posted on X.
The statement came on the heels of the 12-time Grammy winner officially releasing her latest song “You’re Losing Me” on all streaming platforms.
Widely considered to be a breakup anthem about Alwyn, the song — which contains the lyric “I wouldn’t marry me either” — set tongues wagging when Swift’s producer Jack Antonoff posted on Instagram that Swift had written it in 2021, when the two were still together.
Alwyn barely even said Swift’s name in interviews, and has only talked about her a handful of times.
When her “Folklore” was released in 2020, Swift’s fans discovered that her co-writer William Bowery was a nom-de-plume for Alwyn.
The actor then last year told Vulture he and Swift had started working together during COVID.
“It was completely off the cuff, an accident,” he said of playing a piano riff. “She said, ‘Can we try and sit down and get to the end together?’ And so we did. It was as basic as some people made sourdough.”
Alwyn ended up co-writing two songs on “Folklore” — “Exile” and “Betty” — and three on “Evermore” (“Champagne Problems,” “Coney Island” and the title track).
While Kelce was in training lockdown this week and could not join Zoe Kravitz, Blake Lively and Gigi Hadid to celebrate Swift’s birthday at The Box on Manhattan’s Lower East Side Wednesday, Swift will see him this weekend: She’s due to attend the Chiefs clash against the New England Patriots at the latter’s Foxborough Stadium.
“Taylor always knew she would celebrate without Travis,” said the Kelce source. “This is an intensely stressful time for him.”
The couple will also have to travel frequently to see each other next year as Swift’s tour will take her from Asia to Australia and the UK and Europe.
But amid talk of a marriage proposal, the Swift source said: “Whatever happens, all of Taylor’s friends are delighted for her.”
