How Travis Kelce Handles Sharing Spotlight with Taylor Swift: 'Get to Be the Plus One'

In his GQ September cover issue, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end opened up about his relationship with the multi-award winning artist and how he handles the headlines.

"You can't block that [attention] out," he told the publication. "If someone says something that they don't like about you, you have to be able to understand how you are portraying yourself for them to say that. I don't want anyone to say anything negative about me. Some people don't give a f--k. I'm someone who does care."

The couple -- who have been dating since 2023 -- frequently garner the attention of media outlets, fans and even foes. From Swift supporting Kelce at his NFL games, Kelce appearing at shows around the world during The Eras Tour, to just a casual date in New York City -- these two are always being watched.

"I do want people to look at me like I'm doing good in the world," he continued. "I'm influencing and using my platform for the better, being a role model, being somebody that has done it the right way."

The duo have been navigating their relationship in the spotlight since Kelce attended Swift's Eras Tour stop at Arrowhead Stadium in July 2023, where he watched her perform on the Kansas City Chiefs' home turf. While he didn't get the chance to meet her after the show, he later revealed that he had intended to slip her his phone number by way of one of the beaded bracelets. Even though they didn't connect at the concert, Taylor still got the message and it wasn't long before dating rumors were swirling and the love story began.

Being both leaders in their industry, Kelce is learning how to share the spotlight with the star, who boasts more than 280 million Instagram followers.

"I get to be the plus one," Kelce said

"I get to go and be that fan. Because I am a fan. I'm a fan of music. I'm a fan of art. And it's so cool that I get to experience her being that plus one for me on the football field…I feel that same enjoyment every time she comes to my shows," he said.

Cameras are known to pan to the pop star to see her reaction to a play or capture the couple interacting on the field or leaving the stadium together.

The "So High School" singer isn't the only woman supporting the 3-time Super Bowl champion from the sidelines, as his mother Donna Kelce has been there from day one, with Kelce telling GQ he sees a lot of similarities between his mom and Swift.

"Their kindness, their genuineness, their ability to say hello to everyone in the room," Kelce gushed.

"Their ability to show love and support no matter what. And on top of that, their work ethic. I saw my mother reach goals that she had set for herself, go from being a teller to working all the way up in the KeyBank building. I've seen Taylor do the exact same thing of setting goals for herself and exceeding the expectations and really captivating the world in that regard."

And captivating the world she does, earlier this morning, the 14-time Grammy winning artist unveiled a new album and used her boyfriend and his brother Jason Kelce's podcast, New Heights, to do it.

The popular podcast teased that they would return from hiatus early for a "VERY" special guest. Only the guest's silhouette was shown at the time, but there was no doubt in Swiftie's minds that it was their idol, Swift.

The podcast's social media dropped a teaser clip proving the Swifties correct as their special guest -- Swift -- sat next to Kelce wearing headphones, awaiting the podcast to begin. The "Midnights" singer noted that blue looked good on her man, "Yes, I know," Travis responded. "It's the color of your eyes, sweetie. It's why we match so well."

Just a couple hours later, the podcast dropped a second teaser clip, at 12:12am ET, where Swift was shown pulling out a brief case with her T.S. initials.

"So I wanted to show you something," she told Jason, who was wearing a Taylor Swift t-shirt. As she opened the briefcase, Jason was describing the scene to listeners.

Jason said: "What do we got, a briefcase, mint green with T.S. on it... What's in it?"

"This is my brand new album, The Life of a Showgirl," Swift said calmly while holding a blurred vinyl copy of the TS12 album, before Jason and Travis erupted with excitement.

Her appearance on New Heights will mark the first time the pop star has given an interview since she was named TIME's Person of the Year in 2023.

Swift's episode drops on Wednesday, August 13 (no coincidence there) at 7:00 p.m. EST.