They’re the most-watched couple in the world, but Travis Kelce’s ex Maya Benberry still has a warning for Taylor Swift amid the pair’s whirlwind romance: “Once a cheater, always a cheater.”
Maya, 32, was the football star’s first public girlfriend, and the two started dating after meeting on his 2016 reality show Catching Kelce. It was not meant to be, however, and after admitting that the process was “extremely awkward” on the show, the two parted ways. “He didn’t have much to say about what we were doing on the show,” Maya once said about her ex, while Travis added after the fact, “It was definitely a learning experience.”
Though their paths crossed years ago, Maya was quick to weigh in when Travis, 34, and Taylor, 34, started dating. “Taylor seems like such a fun girl with a beautiful spirit, so I wish her the best of luck, but I wouldn’t be a girls’ girl if I didn’t advise her to be smart!” the Kentucky native told the Daily Mail in September 2023. “I’m sure by now she has mastered the ability to see who is really there for her—and who is just using her.”
She doubled down, separately adding, “I question the genuineness of the relationship because he’s been talking to the media a lot. I feel like Travis is a narcissist.”
Why her hot take on the beloved sports legend? According to Maya, Travis apparently cheated on her with journalist Kayla Nicole, who he would go on to have a five-year relationship with. The pair split in 2022 after making several public appearances together. As for the full picture, Catching Kelce runner-up Veronica Harwood told In Touch of Travis and his romantic timeline, “To be honest, I think he probably was already dating [Kayla] before the show, and maybe he wasn’t 100 percent with Maya.”
Travis apparently needed to take a break from the dating world, and after sparking romance rumors with Zuri Hall in October 2022, he refocused himself on football. “I’m in the free market right now,” he said while appearing on “The Pivot” podcast in January 2023. “I’m out there just enjoying life, focused on my profession. Got my feet up outside of football.”
By July of that same year, Travis’ dating life was back in the headlines in a way it never had been before. After revealing on his podcast “New Heights” with brother Jason Kelce that he wanted to give Taylor a friendship bracelet at her Eras tour stop in Kansas City with his number on it, the rest played out in the headlines. Most recently, Taylor and Travis have been traveling the world together on her tour in the aftermath of his Super Bowl 2024 win.
