The Biggest Rumors About Travis Kelce To Ever Hit The Internet

Swifties weren't completely blindsided by Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's relationship; their "so high school" romance all started with a rumor. From the moment he tied himself to Swift with an invisible string, Kelce became the tabloids' new favorite leading man. Unfortunately for the Kansas City Chiefs player, those who closely follow celeb scuttlebutt will always have a hard time believing him when he tries to debunk a rumor about himself due to how his relationship with Swift started.

After Kelce proved that he was an OG Swiftie by revealing that he had made an extra-special friendship bracelet for Swift, the now-defunct news website The Messenger reported that the NFL player and the entertainer had secretly spent some time together. But when Kelce appeared on "The Pat McAfee Show" in September 2023, he dismissed the sudden flurry of reporting on his love life as nothing more than regurgitated gossip. "It's like an old game in school called telephone, where everyone's just whispering in each other's ear, just hearing some random stuff," he said. Swifties would later learn that Kelce and Swift's romance began before the McAfee interview, which makes Kelce an unreliable narrator of his own life.

But even if Kelce hadn't been a bit deceitful about dating Swift, it's doubtful he could say anything that would stop the rumor mill; it has a steady flood of juicy gossip about his career and love life to keep it churning.

While Travis Kelce wasn't exactly a tabloid fixture before he became Taylor Swift's boyfriend who knows how to ball, the "Catching Kelce" star did catch the attention of some websites after he and sports journalist Kayla Nicole broke up in 2022. MediaTakeOut reported that the cause of their split was Kelce's purported refusal to splash out the cash to make his girlfriend of five years feel special. "Travis is very cheap. In the beginning he tried to make Kayla 'prove' that she wasn't with him for the money ... so she had to pay half of everything," a supposed pal of Nicole told the webloid. The source also claimed that the amount of money Kelce gave Nicole during the entirety of their relationship totaled $100.

The MediaTakeOut story caught the attention of Barstool Sports. When the latter outlet posted a link to its own report about Kelce being a tightfisted tight end on X, formerly known as Twitter, Nicole shot the rumor down. "Not sure where y'all got this nonsense from, but it's absurd and very false," she tweeted.

The rumor gained enough traction that Kelce was asked about it during a January 2023 appearance on "The Pivot Podcast." While he said that he never fully supported Nicole financially while they were dating, he denied the claim that he was making her pay half of everything. "A hundred dollars here and a hundred dollars there wasn't even thought about," he said.

When Travis Kelce started dating Taylor Swift, it undeniably upped his reputation; he was the first pro athlete to win the pop star's heart. But according to the New York Post, Travis feared that he was failing to measure up to his girlfriend's standard of living. Insiders told the outlet this is why he decided to ditch his meager dwellings in favor of a $6 million Kansas City mansion with six bedrooms and bathrooms, a pickleball court, and a pool. According to one source, getting a firsthand look at Swift's lavish lifestyle made Travis feel "self-conscious" about his living situation.

However, TMZ reported that the reason for the purchase wasn't because dating a woman wealthier than him had wounded Travis' pride. Its sources claimed that he was tired of gawkers getting too close to his home for comfort, so he moved to a gated community. On "The Big Podcast with Shaq" podcast, Jason Kelce confirmed that his baby bro upgraded his digs due to safety concerns, but Travis soon discovered that his new abode wasn't 100 percent secure, either. "The first day he moved into the new house ... somebody knocks on the back window of the house," Jason said.

According to another rumor, Swift moved in with Travis for a few weeks ahead of the 2023 holidays. A source told Life & Style that Swift was helping Travis settle into his new home while they gave cohabitating a test run.

No Swiftie wants Taylor Swift to die at the altar waiting for someone to give her a token of their devotion that's more substantial than a paper ring, so there's a big market for rumors about Taylor getting engaged. When Travis Kelce entered the picture, he was about to become the proud owner of a third significant ring, so the Super Bowl champ was perfectly cast in the role of the guy who would finally get down on one knee.

In December 2023, a source told Life & Style that Kelce's proposal could happen that month at Taylor's birthday bash. "That's what everyone, including Taylor, is hoping for," the insider said. While the singer didn't start wearing any special new bling on her hand after she celebrated turning 34, fans got some additional engagement gossip before the month's end. According to Page Six, Kelce had made the old-fashioned move of requesting a proposal blessing from Taylor's dad, Scott Swift.

In January 2024, the Daily Mail jumped in with its own exclusive reporting about Kelce's purported plan to pop the question. The outlet claimed that he was mulling over the idea of presenting Swift with some bejeweled bling that was deeply meaningful to him. A source shared, "He has thought of having a lyric or a quote engraved on the band ... and he has also floated using some of the diamonds from his Super Bowl rings."

In November 2023, Travis Kelce helped fuel rumors that his NFL retirement was on the horizon by telling The Wall Street Journal [archived link] that he mulls over the idea "more than anyone could ever imagine." He admitted that the toll professional football has taken on his body makes it seem mighty enticing, pointing out that he's undergone 10 surgical procedures due to injuries suffered during his fruitful career.

Travis let the sports world chew on that thought for a few months. Think pieces were written about why retirement was a sensible option for the Kansas City Chiefs Pro Bowler; Jason Kelce announced that he was hanging up his cleats; and former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski speculated that Travis might follow his big brother's lead. "[The Kelces are] doing great things off the field," Gronk said on the "Up & Adams" show. "They got that podcast together. I mean, it's the number one podcast in the sports world now." But in April 2024, Kelce put the retirement speculation to rest by signing a two-year contract extension that made him the league's highest-paid tight end.

While his football career wasn't over just yet, Travis was also making moves to secure a post-NFL future. They included signing on to host a "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" spinoff called "Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?" On why he found the opportunity appealing, Travis told "Extra," "I love a good challenge."

It's no secret that Travis Kelce wants to have kids someday. In a February 2023 episode of "New Heights," he declared this in a manner that probably made some listeners cringe. "I'm gonna find a breeder and I'm gonna get kids," he told Jason Kelce and their guest at the time, their mother Donna Kelce.

Travis' comments about wanting to sire at least one kid helped lend some credibility to the tabloid reports that he hoped his "breeder" would be Taylor Swift. "Travis has been so broody that he's told Taylor he's open to having kids before a wedding!" a source told Life & Style in April 2024. The insider added that the couple had already discussed how many children they'd like to have (three or four) and shared their favorite baby names. "Taylor's are pretty normal while Travis has some wild ideas," the source shared. Earlier that month, Travis had told "New Heights" guest Arnold Schwarzenegger that he might name one of his children after the actor's titular "Conan the Barbarian" character.

Travis also gave "New Heights" listeners who want a Traylor baby something to contentedly sigh about during a discussion about NBA player Victor Wembanyama's impressive size. "Lab-grown diamonds, that's a lab-grown f***king NBA player. ... Can't wait til I f***kin' make one," he said. Jason then had to remind his brother that anything he says can be used to fuel rumors about his love life.