A friendship bracelet, a dream, and a series of serendipitous moments—who knew they would lead to this engagement?
“Isn’t it just so pretty to think / all along there was some / invisible string / tying you to me?”
—Taylor Swift, “Folklore” album
In July 2023, football star Travis Kelce, like millions of attendees, participated in The Eras Tour friendship bracelet trend. His had his phone number and a determination to risk it all. Opening up to his brother Jason Kelce on their podcast New Heights, Travis admitted that he was “butt hurt” that Taylor didn’t call him back.
The timeline has blurred since then, but when Taylor Swift showed up to that Chiefs game (you know the one) in September of the same year, it was safe to say that the rest was history.
However, Swifties (myself included) knew better than to treat this as a story. Back in 2020, Taylor released a song called invisible String, which detailed the story of how she and former paramour Joe Alwyn found their way to each other. But certain evidence has led fans to believe that Travis and Taylor shared an invisible rope. The clue? More than we could count. But in true Taylor Swift fashion, we have thirteen of the best.
1. The engagement post: A tribute to the Lover album
As someone who truly identifies with the Lover era, I thought it as clear from the get go that the photos of Travis on his knees and Taylor scooping the half of him in her arms mirrored one of her album promotional photos.
Except she was sitting alone in a garden 6 years ago. She was pensive, gazing far off as if in a dream, surrounded by fresh, pink blooms. But this time around, the flowers are for her.
2. The Archer pose at Arrowhead Stadium
Here’s the second Lover reference of the day: Taylor has a song called The Archer, probably dedicated to her being a Sagittarius. During the Eras Tour, she sings the song and also does the Archer pose—arm wielded back as if to shoot an arrow towards the crowd.
Similarly, the Archer is Travis’s signature post-touchdown move. To close this Easter egg satisfyingly, Taylor sings in Cornelia Street, “As if the streetlights pointed in an arrowhead, leading us home.”
Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas was where Travis first made his move, and where Taylor first made her Chiefs game appearance. Fans also mentioned that Taylor’s first time to play at Arrowhead Stadium was for the Speak Now Tour on September 24th. The first time she saw Travis play at the same stadium was also on September 24th.
3. “But daddy, I love him!”
In an article by The Hollywood Reporter, Travis’s dad Ed shared that his son already proposed almost two weeks (or a Fortnight) ago. He was going to put it off, but with some pep talk by both Ed and Taylor’s father Scott, Travis wined and dined her before proceeding to the neighboring garden to pop the question.
The Kelce and Swift families have become close, as per the couple, and this proof goes way back to Taylor’s song “Mary’s Song (Oh My My My)” off her debut album, Taylor Swift, where she sings, “Our daddies used to joke about the two of us / Growing up and falling in love and our mamas smiled.”
Swift is also said to share a close relationship with Donna, Travis’s mom.
4. “Knew he was a killer, first time that I saw him”
Taylor is known for inserting Easter eggs into her song lyrics, and one of these is pure proof. Originally written for Joe Alwyn, this lyric is from her “Reputation” album opener, Ready for It…? But is it purely coincidental that Travis’s Instagram is killatrav?
See it for yourself.
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5. The ones with the football references
Taylor is very clear about the kind of love she dreams, and she inserts them in songs as clues (and possibly “scripting” for the future love of her life). But it’s pretty cool to see that she had some football references spread throughout the eras of her music. This, of course, includes The Alchemy and So High School which are about Travis, but let’s look at the more non-obvious ones:
Fifteen (“Fearless”)
Dedicated to her best friend Abigail, the song explores her days as a high school freshman and the adventures she had with Abigail in the ninth grade. It is truly a beautiful song about friendship, but let’s not overlook this little lyric tucked between the verses: “But in your life, you’ll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team.”
You Belong With Me (“Fearless”)
While not mentioned in the song itself, the music video stars Swift as both the protagonist and antagonist, the latter’s boyfriend a quarterback on the school’s football team.
In connection to this, Lucas Till, the actor who played the football player in the music video, was in the Hannah Montana movie (where Taylor contributed some songs as well) and was Miley Cyrus’s love interest—a cowboy named Travis.
Stay, Stay, Stay (“Red”)
“That’s when you came in, wearing a football helmet, and said ‘Okay, let’s talk.’”
Willow (“Evermore”)
The song is a bewitching take on falling in love with someone, but one can’t overlook these lyrics: “Like you were a trophy or a champion ring / but there was a prize I’d cheat to win”
Gold Rush (“Evermore”)
In this song (which is a personal favorite of mine), she waxes poetic about detaching from someone whom everyone finds attractive. This may be another Joe song, but there is a little nugget that somehow ties her to Travis’s family: “I see me padding across your wooden floors with my Eagles T-shirt hanging from the door.”
Not only is Taylor a huge Eagles fan, Travis’ brother Jason had a 13-year stint (!!) with the Philadelphia Eagles, and even played against his brother during the Chiefs vs. Eagles game in 2023 before retiring in 2024.
6. “Are you gonna marry, kiss or kill me?”
Perfectly preserved in her song called So High School off “The Tortured Poets Department,” Taylor croons, “Are you gonna marry, kiss or kill me?” She references a resurfaced interview of Travis saying that if he had to choose, he would kiss Taylor. And now, he gets to kiss and marry her!
7. Written in the stars: zodiac compatibility and birthdays
Taylor and Travis exemplify the Air Sign and Fire Sign tandem, usually one of the most compatible pairs according to astrology enthusiasts. What’s even better is Travis is a Libra, said to be the perfect match to Taylor’s fiery Sagittarius.
Also, with Taylor’s recent fights for justice, it’s nice to know that she married the sign of justice personified (which, subsequently, is the designated tarot card for Libra). Similarly, Taylor’s designated tarot card for her sign is Temperance, which showcases an angel mixing two liquids together – the practice of alchemy. As Taylor said in her song of the same name, “Who are we to fight the alchemy?”
They are also both born in the year, 1989, with Travis just two months older than her. His birthday is October 5, which he shares with Taylor’s late grandmother, Marjorie Finlay.
8. Love by the numbers
I’m not one for math, but I found it pretty cool that Travis’ 87 jersey number and Taylor’s lucky number 13 add up, it totals to 100. Fans also shared that during the first Chiefs game Taylor watched, the Chiefs were up by 31 points, which is an inverted 13.
9. A Halloween love story
According to The New York Times, a couple in Oklahoma dressed up as Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift in 2020, three years shy of the real ones coupling up. According to Makayla Stephens, she never dreamed that the two would cross paths.
10. “You’re at Home with the Chiefs’
Fans over the years have shared photos of the singer pictured with the Chiefs signage. But Chase Daniel, a former player for the Kansas City Chiefs, passed on an “89” Chiefs jersey as a gift after catching her 1989 World Tour concert.
Her Eras Tour backup dancer Kam Saunders’ brother Khalen also played for the Kansas City Chiefs with Travis.
11. It’s in the cards
Fans also shared on TikTok that Taylor attended a party hosted by Questlove of The Roots and played UNO with her friends. In one photo taken during the night, two cards formed the number 87 in red and yellow, which are the official colors of the Kansas City Chiefs.
12. “We watched it Begin Again”
In Taylor’s song Begin Again off her album “Red,” she talks about beginning another love story on a Wednesday. Though it didn’t happen in a cafe, but rather in a stadium, Travis reveals that he shoots his shot on a podcast episode on Wednesday.
13. “I’ll be 87, you’ll be 89”
This still remains to be one of my favorite Easter eggs to date. In Taylor’s song Mary’s Song (Oh My My My) off “Taylor Swift,” she ends the song with “I’ll be 87, you’ll be 89.” 87 is the jersey number of Travis and Taylor alludes to ‘89 consistently, which is her birth year (and his too!) and the title of her fifth studio album.
The invisible string is looking to be a tight rope at this point, but one thing’s for sure: it will always be this close, forever and ever.
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