Ever since rumblings of a relationship between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce first made their way online, some people have been skeptical regarding the authenticity of the rumored romance.
With “Traylor” mania currently at an all-time high following Swift’s presence at the Kansas City Chiefs’ win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday, ESPN’s Elle Duncan provided a mainstream voice to such skeptics. On the latest episode of The Elle Duncan Show, the SportsCenter anchor was adamant in her belief that the Swift-Kelce connection simply isn’t real.
“It’s a stunt! It’s a stunt!” Duncan proclaimed. “And there was nothing more clear that it was a stunt than watching them leave the arena together.”
Following the game, WGN’s Jarrett Payton captured a now-viral video of Kelce and Swift leaving Arrowhead Stadium side by side. In the video, the All-Pro tight end acknowledges Payton with a nod and by saying “how you doing man?” while Swift added a nervous — if not awkward — “hey!”
That clip was all the evidence Duncan needed.
“He looked nervous. He looked like he had zero game,” Duncan said. “It was the most platonic walk of all time. That’s all I kept thinking when they were walking by — platonic. He’s never touched that woman. They’re not dating. This is a stunt.”
Listen. Maybe something will come of the stunt and it’ll be a Love Story . But the question that was asked before yesterday “Are Taylor and Travis Dating?” Was answered yesterday. No. Emphatically. pic.twitter.com/YkaUllc6wY
— Elle Duncan (@elleduncanESPN) September 25, 2023
Duncan certainly isn’t the first person to theorize that the world’s most-talked-about new relationship is for P.R. purposes and Kelce has obviously reached a new level — or rather, New Heights — of fame since the romance was first rumored.
As for Swift, it’s more difficult to determine what somebody who’s already selling out stadiums at an unprecedented rate would have to gain from the illusion of a relationship with an NFL star. But one could argue that in dating Kelce, the already uber-famous Swift is reaching a new audience, while others have noted that both have business relationships with Amazon, which just released a documentary about Kelce and his brother (and podcast co-host), Eagles All-Pro center Jason Kelce.
While Duncan admitted that she was wrong in her previous assertion that Travis didn’t even know Taylor, she’s standing firm in her stance that the relationship isn’t real. Meanwhile on Wednesday, Travis addressed — but didn’t 100 percent confirm — his relationship with Swift on the latest episode of New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce.
“What’s real is that it is my personal life,” Travis said. “I want to respect both of our lives. She’s not in the media as much as I am doing this show every single week and and having fun on other guys shows like The [Pat] McAfee and any other show I go on from here on out.”
