Taylor Swift's Sweet VMAs Shoutout to 'My Boyfriend' Travis Kelce Is the First Time She's Ever Said His Name Publicly

Swift said that everything the athlete "touches turns to happiness and fun and magic"

Taylor swift travis kelce new york US open tennis 09 08 24
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce at the US Open in New York City on Sept. 8. Photo:

Jamie Squire/Getty

Taylor Swift has put Travis Kelce’s name at the top of her list!

The “Fortnight” singer gave her NFL star boyfriend a sweet shoutout at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards — and it marked the first time she’s publicly said his name aloud.

“The thing is, this video seems very sad when you watch it, but actually it was like, the most fun video to make,” Swift, 34, said while accepting the win for video of the year. “Something that I’ll always remember is that when I would finish a take and I’d say ‘Cut,’ and we’d be done with that take, I would always just hear someone like, cheering, and like, ‘Woo!’ Like from across the studio where we were shooting it and that one person was my boyfriend Travis.”

At the mention of Kelce, 34, the crowd at UBS Arena — including host Megan Thee Stallion — went wild, clapping and cheering for so long that Swift had to stop speaking to let them applaud.

“Everything this man touches turns to happiness and fun and magic so I want to thank him for adding that to our shoot, because I’ll always remember that,” she said.

Kelce later "liked" a post shared by MTV of Swift giving the speech.

The Kansas City Chiefs star speaks often about his relationship with Swift, often calling her “Tay” on his podcast New Heights, which he hosts with his brother Jason Kelce.

“Hopefully Taylor can walk away with a few [Moon Person trophies]. She’s nominated for about 10 of those things tonight,” he said on a recent episode about her VMAs chances.

During a recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, he even called her “Tay Tay” while talking about the time he joined Swift onstage at the Eras Tour in London in June.

Taylor Swift looks on from the upper level during an NFL football game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs
Taylor Swift attends the Chiefs-Ravens game on Sept. 5.

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"There was definitely that extra like, 'Wait, are you sure you want to do this?' But she was so fun about it, and you know, I'm always down to have some fun on stage with Tay Tay,” he said.

Swift, meanwhile, has shown her support for Kelce through actions, appearing at nearly all of his Chiefs games since they started dating, including the Super Bowl in February.

She did mention the athlete by name in a Time magazine cover story for Person of the Year in December, as she talked about becoming a fixture in the suites at Arrowhead Stadium.

“I’m just there to support Travis. I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads and Chads,” she said. “Football is awesome, it turns out. I’ve been missing out my whole life.”

Travis Kelce Taylor Swift after defeating the San Francisco
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift embrace after the Chiefs win the Super Bowl in February 2024.

Ezra Shaw/Getty

She also gave him a shoutout by name later in the interview, as she said their relationship began “when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast,” which she thought was “metal as hell.”

“When you say a relationship is public, that means I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there and we don’t care,” she said. “The opposite of that is you have to go to an extreme amount of effort to make sure no one knows that you’re seeing someone. And we’re just proud of each other.”

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