Travis Kelce’s ex-girlfriend Kayla Nicole penned a powerful open letter amid the athlete’s budding romance with Taylor Swift.
The 31-year-old clapped back at the “backlash and embarrassment” she has received while reading the lengthy statement in an Instagram video Monday.
She addressed her words to “Black women, specifically,” explaining that her aim was “not to create division but to elevate and unite” listeners.
“They may call you a traitor for falling in love,” Nicole, who dated Kelce on and off from 2017 to 2022, began. “You’ll hope the ones closest will protect you but quickly realize people don’t protect what they don’t value.
“They’ll say you’re too much … and in the same breath, tell you you’re not enough,” she continued. “Not successful enough, not wholesome enough, maybe not even intelligent enough. … They’ll even try to tie your value to your net worth.”
Nicole encouraged her followers not to “participate in this tumultuous, often one-sided journey” and not “engage.”
She explained, “Preserve your heart even when they try to quantify your character and test your boundaries. … You do not have to respond. Because there is power in your silence.”
The model added that while she has been tempted to ask “Why me?” lately, she won’t “give into this demoralizing and antiquated narrative” by clapping back.
“I know I’m not alone,” she said. “On days I feel most inadequate, I have to remind myself that I am, have been and will always be more than enough.
“When the world gets dark and time gets hard and you feel like your back is against the wall and your hands are tied and nobody knows what it’s like to be you … this is only a small chapter in your story,” Nicole concluded, stressing the important of “therapy, prayer [and] community.”
The on-air host’s followers praised her in the comments for the “beautiful, empowering, bold, authentic” letter.
One gushed, “i’m so proud of you!!! the elegance, the grace, the power!!! such an inspiration.”
Nicole’s social media upload came two weeks after Kelce, 34, and Swift, 33, went public with their romance by leaving the Sept. 24 Kansas City Chiefs versus Chicago Bears game together.
While Nicole maintained her silence at the time — and again when the Grammy winner attended Kelce’s game against the New York Jets the following week — she did unfollow Patrick Mahomes’ wife, Brittany Mahomes, after her former close friend hung out with Swift.
She also posted a cryptic Story last week about her gym time being a “therapy session.”
Another of the NFL player’s exes Maya Benberry told the Daily Mail in September that Swift should “be smart,” alleging that the tight end is a “cheater.”
The “Catching Kelce” contestant also questioned “the genuineness of the relationship” due to how often Kelce has been speaking about it, from podcast episodes to Instagram comments.
