Blank Space! Travis Kelce’s Dad Didn’t Recognize Taylor Swift When They First Started Dating

Blank space, indeed! Taylor Swift might be the most famous person on the planet at the moment, and her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has dominated the news for the past several months. However, that didn’t stop Travis’s dad, Ed Kelce, from drawing a blank on the “Exile” singer the first time he met her.

“When Travis has a lot of friends coming into town to the Game, everyone meets at his house, although he’s not there,” Ed said in a guest appearance on Audacy’s 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland on January 26. “Taylor walks in with a security guy, and I look at her, and I say [to my girlfriend], ‘Oh my god, I know this kid, but I don’t know what her name is.’ Jeez, you know, like a real idiot. And [my girlfriend] says, ‘You don’t know her? This is Taylor Swift, you idiot.’”

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Ed also got candid about other aspects of Taylor’s life, including whether or not he believed that the Grammy award winner was “trying to build this big empire.”

“I don’t know that Taylor is out there trying to make money,” Ed told the station. “I think she’s out there following her passion, doing what she knows and what she enjoys, and people are just throwing money at her, you know what I mean.”

The Kelce patriarch, who Travis, 34, and brother Jason Kelce lovingly refer to as “Papa Kelce,” confessed that he’s become more recognizable to the public as the media attention continues to focus on Taylor, 34, and Travis’ relationship.

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“There’s eyes on you every place you go. It’s funny because last year, Donna and I were shown on TV screens, and we had some articles that were done,” Ed explained. “So, our [names were] out there. We were so popular, the Commissioner offered to let us sit in the box for the Super Bowl… More people recognize us since he started dating Taylor, though — I’ll be [in] the grocery store, somebody will smile and say, ‘Hey!’ Come over and say [hi], and I have no idea who they are. That has certainly picked up and become more frequent by a long shot than the before Taylor days.”

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The Kelce brothers have both joked about their dad’s relationship with Taylor, and in an October 2023 episode of their podcast, “New Heights,” Travis revealed that Ed had started listening to her music more. Jason, 36, then took a moment to reenact what he thought Ed said to the pop star during one of their meetings at a Chiefs Game.

“He said, ‘Now I’ve taken all of your CDs out at the local library, and I’ve burned them onto my computer,'” Jason said jokingly. “Because that is legal, as a tax paying citizen.”