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There was a time when Travis Kelce’s dating life was the subject of entertainment media, even without Taylor Swift.
In 2016, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end had his own dating show, “Catching Kelce,” on which he tried out dating 50 women, one from each state, in an attempt to find a girlfriend. The show lasted one season.
Kelce’s former teammate, Chiefs all-time tackle leader Derrick Johnson, told Fox News Digital how the locker room reacted to Kelce’s dating show.
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Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce walks off the field after a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles during the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
“He tried not to [talk about the show in the locker room] but we kind of teased him at times, because when you’re playing for Andy Reid, there’s no distractions. You got to do your job and do it at a high level. So we were aware of the show in the locker room. We’d throw different stuff out there. But when it came to football, it was all business,” Johnson said.
Kelce turned 27 in October 2016 when the show aired, overlapping with that year’s NFL season. The tight end was in the midst of his first 1,000-yard receiving season and second-of-10-straight Pro Bowl seasons. And while the teasing for the show came in the locker room, Johnson says the team’s veterans also respected the younger Kelce’s abilities when it came to dating.
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“He had that taken care of. Good or bad, that’s the area that he needs no help in,” Johnson said.
The show’s first and only season ended with Kelce choosing a contestant from Kentucky, Maya Benberry, as his girlfriend. However, by 2017, Kelce was reported to have begun dating his next girlfriend, model Kayla Nicole.
Travis Kelce and Kayla Nicole dated off and on from 2017 through 2022. The couple is pictured at The ESPY Awards in 2018 (L) and the NFL Honors in 2022 (R). (Allen Berezovsky/Variety/Getty Images)
Kelce and Nicole reportedly dated for five years up until May 2022.
Once Kelce began his relationship with Swift in 2023, Johnson took notice.
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“He outkicked his coverage. Taylor’s big time,” Johnson said. “Kelce’s big time as well, football-wise, but she is globally. So they’re definitely a power couple.”
Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs and Taylor Swift embrace after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime during Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Johnson left the Chiefs for the rival Raiders for his final season in 2018, but his lasting influence preceded the team’s historic dynasty and three Super Bowl wins, with five total trips to the big game, from 2019 to February 2024.
Johnson was famously a team leader on defense in the early years of Kelce’s career.
“None of us knew who he could really be. He probably didn’t know it at all either. And once he got going after his second year, third year, I was like, ‘This guy is the man!’” Johnson said.
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