There’s probably only one person in the world who wouldn’t recognize Taylor Swift by her blonde hair and signature red lip alone—and his name is Ed Kelce.
That’s right, the father of Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce didn’t recognize the 34-year-old pop star when they first met at his son’s home in the early stages of Traylor’s relationship. During an appearance on Audacy 92.3’s Baskin & Phelps radio show, Ed explained that when Travis has friends in town for a Kansas City Chiefs home game, the 34-year-old tight end has them all meet at his house and ride over together in a shuttle.
But when Taylor Swift walked in one day with a security guard, Ed couldn’t quite place where he knew her face from. “I mention to [my girlfriend] Maureen, I says, ‘Oh, my God, I know this kid, but I don’t know what her name is,’” he recalled. “Jeez, you know, like a real idiot.” Apparently Maureen couldn’t help but agree with that last part. Ed continued, “And she says, ‘You don’t know her? This is Taylor Swift, you idiot.’”
Since Taylor Swift started attending Travis Kelce’s football games in September 2023, Ed says his own fan encounters have increased dramatically. “I don’t know if it’s crazy.… Yes, he’s dating Taylor. Yeah, there’s eyes on you every place you go,” Ed said, noting that his notoriety has even surpassed last year’s football season when his sons, Travis and Jason Kelce, went head to head in the Super Bowl, which really put him and his ex-wife Donna Kelce on the map.
“More people recognize us since [Travis] started dating Taylor, though,” Ed said. “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.” Meanwhile, Jason Kelce just met Swift for the first time in a suite during the Chiefs’ game against the Buffalo Bills on January 21—but that didn’t stop him from ripping his shirt off and jumping straight into the crowd when his brother scored a touchdown.
Jason Kelce on January 21, 2024. Kathryn Riley/Getty Images
Even though Jason’s wife, Kylie Kelce, had asked him to be on his “best behavior” for the big introduction, his mom knew that “that wasn’t going to happen.” In an interview with People, Donna Kelce said, “Jason’s his own man, as Travis is, and once they’re determined to do something, there’s no stopping.” Of course, it didn’t matter. “Tay said she absolutely loved you,” Travis told Jason during their latest New Heights episode. How could she not?
