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Taylor Swift and Donna Kelce’s friendship first made headlines when they were seen together at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium.
Swift started dating Travis Kelce, the youngest son of Donna and ex-husband Ed Kelce, in summer 2023. The following September, she went to cheer him on during one of the Kansas City Chiefs’ home football games. Swift sat beside Donna in a private suite, where they sweetly high-fived after one of Travis’ touchdowns.
As Swift and Travis’ romance kept progressing, so did her bond with Donna.
“Taylor has really been integrated into the family,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly in March 2024, noting Travis’ brother, Jason Kelce, and Jason’s wife, Kylie Kelce, have also welcomed Swift into their cheering section with open arms. “They have fully embraced her. It’s a whole new world and chapter for her.”
Swift joined Ed, Donna, Jason and Kylie in a private suite at both the 2024 AFC championship and Super Bowl LVIII. After the Chiefs won both games, Swift hit the field with the Kelces to congratulate Travis.
Seeing Swift bond with his family has been especially meaningful to Travis.
“Everybody knows how close Travis is with his family,” a second source told Us in January 2024. “So it really means everything to him how seamlessly Taylor blends in with all of them. His family is all about just hanging out, joking and having a great time. It’s almost like she’s known his family forever, and he loves that about her.”
Keep scrolling to revisit Swift’s best moments with Donna:
September 2023
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Swift went to her first Chiefs game on September 24, sitting next to Donna in a private suite. While Donna wore Travis’ No. 87 jersey and matching team-branded earrings, Swift sported a white corset-style tank with a red Chiefs hoodie.
October 2023
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Donna once again sat with Swift during the Chiefs’ October 1 away game in New Jersey. Days later, she was asked about the pop star dating her son during an interview on the Today show.
“It’s fairly new, so I don’t like to talk about it,” Donna said on the morning show. “I honestly can’t tell you. It’s just too new.”
Donna also said it “was OK” interacting with Swift, but she later regretted being so blasé. According to Travis’ WSJ. Magazine profile in November 2023, he called Donna “immediately” after the broadcast and reassured his mom that “she did a super job.”
January 2024
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Throughout the NFL season, Donna alternates between attending Travis and Jason’s team games. (Jason retired from the Philadelphia Eagles in early 2024.) When she hits up Travis’ games, she is often seated with Swift in a private suite.
The two women notably sat next to each other at the AFC Wild Card playoffs on January 13 and the AFC championship on January 28. During the latter, Swift wore a ring with a replica of Travis’ jersey that had been a gift from Donna.
After the game, Donna updated her Facebook banner photo with a snap with Taylor and the rest of their suitemates in the box.
“That was a picture where all of us were so excited that we’re in the suite,” Donna told Today in early February. “And we were so excited that they made it to the Super Bowl that we took a shot of everybody that was there, so it wasn’t anything calculating or anything like that.”
She added, “It was just everybody that was supporting my son and I was so happy to put that picture on Facebook, yes.”
February 2024
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The Chiefs won the Super Bowl, marking the team’s second Lombardi Trophy in a row, on February 11 in Las Vegas. After the game ended, Donna and Swift walked on the field holding hands.
April 2024
Swift dropped her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, on April 19, and Donna listened to all 31 songs that same day.
TTPD features several songs that seemingly have Travis-coded references, though Donna played coy about whether her son was indeed Swift’s muse.
“I know there’s a few that some people think are about Travis, but we’ll just see,” Donna quipped to Us. “You know, I’ll have to ask her when I see her.”
