Travis Kelce was in London for all of Taylor Swift’s Wembley concerts. He was mostly in the VIP tent, glad-handing celebrities and apparently doing tequila shots with Hugh Grant. Then on Sunday, Travis made his first appearance on stage at a concert. Apparently, there’s a part in the show where Taylor dresses up in some kind of bridal-esque outfit and there are two men in tuxedos carry her around? Travis was one of those men. Don’t come at me, I have no idea what this part of the show was about and I don’t really care. The point is that just days after Travis and Taylor became Instagram Official, they became Stage-Official, a secret relationship tier I didn’t even know existed. I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that Trav and Tay were being so publicly demonstrative IN LONDON, the place where many of her exes live. Meanwhile, Travis just did a podcast interview where he publicly laid claim to her, something her last five exes never did (minus Tom Hiddleston).
Travis Kelce proudly declared his love for Taylor Swift as he gushed over the ‘cool’ singer and insisted he would never try to hide their romance. In a possible dig at Joe Alwyn – who split from Taylor last year – Travis, 34, revealed he was proud that the world knew about his romance with the singer, stating: ‘You want to keep things private, but at the same time, like, I’m not here to hide anything. That’s my girl, you know what I mean? That’s my lady, so it’s like… I’m proud of that.’
Speaking on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast, Travis added that it was a delicate balance but he wasn’t too bothered about the attention, admitting: ‘I’m not sitting here trying to juggle like, “how can I keep this under wraps?” You just don’t want to let everyone into your personal life and be able to comment on it, knowing that everything she does is getting a headline.’
Gushing over his girlfriend of 10 months, Travis continued: ‘She’s very self-aware… She understands situations like that, and I think that’s why I really started to fall for her, how genuine she is just around friends and family. It can get crazy for somebody with that much attention, and she keeps it so chill and so cool, and I can admire it for sure.’
The sportsman confessed she ‘really won him over’ with how much she wants to ‘support’ his career and how she just walks into the games like anyone else and isn’t concerned about being mobbed by fans. He said: ‘The first game she came to against the Bears, I was like, “I can probably set you up with everything,” and she just walked right through the front door. There’s no like going down, talking to security, making sure she [gets to her seats]. She was like, “I just want to be around the family and friends and experience this with everybody.” I was just like, “She got points for that.” She’s in the madness. She wants to be a part of it. She wants to support me and do things like that. She really won me over with that.’
The stuff about Taylor just walking into the games… let’s be real, Taylor has great personal security and there’s a lot of work that goes on behind-the-scenes to ensure that Taylor can just “walk around” like a normal person. I’m not judging her for that – she genuinely needs security, there are some really crazy people out there. My point is that Travis is making the choice to portray Taylor as super-normal/unstressed about logistics when really, her security team is working overtime (literally) to ensure that she’s safe at NFL games and walking around New York.
As for Travis publicly claiming her and saying “that’s my girl” – I enjoy it and I hope Taylor enjoys it. Something I’ve always wondered about Taylor’s relationships is whether she actually enjoys the drama of being with a man who is a bit withholding. Travis really is a Golden Retriever Boyfriend – no drama, happy, affectionate, open, playful. This is a really new experience for her.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Getty.
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- Stockholm, SWEDEN – Taylor Swift plays Friends Arena on Friday night. This is the first of three concerts during the “The Eras Tour” in Stockholm. Pictured: Taylor Swift BACKGRID USA 17 MAY 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Stockholm, SWEDEN – Taylor Swift plays Friends Arena on Friday night. This is the first of three concerts during the “The Eras Tour” in Stockholm. Pictured: Taylor Swift BACKGRID USA 17 MAY 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Cannes, FRANCE – NFL’ Kansas City Chief’s and Taylor Swift’s beau Travis Kelce with his brother Jason Kelce at the Cannes Lions Festival. Pictured: Travis Kelce BACKGRID USA 20 JUNE 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: Newspress / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Cannes, FRANCE – NFL’ Kansas City Chief’s and Taylor Swift’s beau Travis Kelce with his brother Jason Kelce at the Cannes Lions Festival. Pictured: Travis Kelce BACKGRID USA 20 JUNE 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: Newspress / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM – NFL Star Travis Kelce shows his support for his girlfriend as he makes an appearance on stage with Taylor Swift during Eras Tour in London, UK. Pictured: Travis Kelce, Tayor Swift BACKGRID USA 23 JUNE 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Taylor Swift performs on stage during her Eras Tour at the Murrayfield Stadium. Featuring: Taylor Swift Where: Edinburgh, United Kingdom When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Taylor Swift performs on stage during her Eras Tour at the Murrayfield Stadium. Featuring: Taylor Swift Where: Edinburgh, United Kingdom When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Taylor Swift performs on stage during her Eras Tour at the Murrayfield Stadium. Featuring: live, music, concert, performing, eras tour Where: Edinburgh, United Kingdom When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Taylor Swift performs on stage during her Eras Tour at the Murrayfield Stadium. Featuring: Taylor Swift Where: Edinburgh, United Kingdom When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
I feel like this relationship is everything taylor has ever wanted, the big public but believable love story. I like them together, and he certainly seems comfortable with the attention dating Taylor swift brings, and is well aware that she’ll always outshine him.
I think it’s reasonable Taylor wants a decent relationship. Most of her famous ones were when she was a teen or young 20s. She’s had few adult relationships. Joe was probably the main one.. It’s sad.. She’s been famous since 16 but she’s been treated like an adult ever since. Like, even here on CB, her songs are thought childish, but those songs were written when she actually was a kid.
Yeah people always use love story to say she’s childish and it’s like yeah she was 15 so it is.
I think this is what she’s wanted. And I’m happy for bees
I think you make a good point. But interestingly enough, I think the songs written when she was a child were really good. I think some of her songs now are childish. And gimicky.
The growth too—finally saying no to relationships where you’re 95% of what the guy wants and accepting healthy love that includes all of you.
I used to tell this guy I was dating that he was so NOT my type and he would say “how’d those types work out for you?”
He’s my husband now.
Him on the stage was super super cool, it was a great way for him to be included but not take away from it being her show. I am not even a swiftie, but I was impressed. With him, with her, with the security of the couple. It felt genuine, not like an influencer couple.
Can’t underestimate the value of having a partner that can glad-handle the people relevant to your career. And that goes both ways for them. Happy for them.
I’m happy for her. On paper he seems like he’s everything she wants…let’s hope she doesn’t get bored tho
There’s something about this relationship that rubs me wrong.
Thank you EM! I don’t want to be the only one who thinks like this.
Swifties, pls do not come for me. I have been silent and looking at their relationship since it became public and at first I was all in for it. But eventually that all changed for me. Just my opinion, but this is starting to look very transactional. They both benefit being in this relationship brand-wise. It put Travis on a different platform/ celebrity level, while it catapulted Taylor to a whole new level of stardom. I mean, good for them, but this doesn’t really look like it’s real.
What Catching Kelce didn’t already make him a mainstream star lol.
I do think the going to the concert and trying to give her the friendship bracelet with his phone number is a phony story. I will always believe it was their agents that got them together behind the scenes. He was looking for a celebrity girlfriend to raise his Q rating and she was wounded from Matty dumping her and the gross stories about how he spoke about women coming out. The timing could not have been better. To quiet that noise for her.
But if it was purely transactional. I think they would have been done by now. A lot of arranged marriages the couple truly do fall in love and have a happy life together. Maybe, Travis and Taylor are some mixes of the truth and good PR storytelling.
I mean, it might be a marriage of convenience. They wouldn’t be the first couple doing it. I don’t think the reason matters if they enjoy each other’s company. Not every relationship is about falling in love and “until death do us part”. Some people just choose someone sharing their values, beliefs, ambitions. I am not saying they are not in love, but there are a lot of couples who are not and live and grow old together just fine. As long as they are happy, good for them.
I think the relationship is certainly transactional – dating Taylor has raised Travis’s profile outside of the NFL in a way that his podcast didn’t. I mean I think its even raised Jason’s profile (would those pictures of him topless screaming at the Buffalo game have gone viral if Tayor wasn’t right behind him in the box?)
I’m not entirely sure how Taylor benefits here – better tickets to NFL games? LOL (I know she can buy her own tickets whenever she wants.) Maybe she appreciates that this makes her look more settled especially before releasing a breakup album about Healy and Alwyn.
But that said, a relationship can be transactional and the people in it can still be happy, which is what I think is going on here. Basically I’m not sure Travis would be dating her if she was actually the girl next door named Taylor, I think her extreme stardom and level of celebrity is part of the appeal for him, but I don’t think he’s only dating her because she’s Taylor Swift. So whatever it is, it seems to work for them and they seem happy.
I don’t disagree with you but to me it isn’t purely transactional. There is definite affection there, but maybe they each find ambition attractive so the fact that they are each so self-promoting works for them. Who knows. But it’s an excellent brand.
…and this is why.
@ Becks1- Yeah I mean, she doesn’t need her profile raised-she’s already one of the most famous people on the planet. But I do think her relationship with Travis benefits her image. Her personal life has always been gossip fodder and right or wrong, there’s been a lot of criticism of who she dates and how she handles being with that person. This is the first time she’s been very public and drama-free with a guy and people are really eating it up. So I think it does benefit her in terms of public perception–even if it doesn’t dramatically move the needle.
Bang on!
@Flamingo Nope! Travis actually had a friendship bracelet. Saw it with my own two eyes. Met him at Arrowhead Stadium the day of the concert when he came through VIP. He shook hands and greeted all the employees working the entrance. Later told my colleagues it was weird this big guy had a single friendship bracelet. When the friendship bracelet story took off, realized that was more than likely THE bracelet I saw him holding.
I very well could be wrong, but after seeing the interactions of Travis and Jason on their podcast, there doesn’t seem to be anything about the Kelces that isn’t genuine. Jason is a freaking national treasure and Travis is so emotionally mature it is mind boggling. They will call each other out on their BS with a quickness the way brothers do, but actually address it the way adults should. If you want to check it out, it is called New Heights. Jason’s wife, Kylie, seems like she takes no shit and would not be the type to play along if this wasn’t 100% real. Her interactions with Taylor are what solidify it for me.
Also, Travis Kelce may only be famous in the US, but his net worth was 10 times Joe’s before he started dating Taylor and I knew who he was before TS and I didn’t know who JA was.
I agree with you Vivica, and even if Travis wanted to I don’t think he could get the entire family to go along with it. I mean him dating Taylor sort of blew up their lives too, so if it wasn’t real I think they would be like nope not doing this.
Also Taylor isn’t signing up to be played again. But honestly that Kelce family seems just to nice to do that.
He’s just s regular decent guy. Like, I will never understand the gushing….unless you’re just a KC fan which, fair enough I guess.
I agree with you Vivica.
I think we’ve become accustomed to Taylor’s past choices not working out for her although the longevity of Joe seemed promising. But the Kelce’s seem genuine, Travis is definitely grounded and helped by Jason. Also Taylor has her family, who seem to be pretty nice as well.
They all seem happy, and so I’m happy for all of them, honestly.
I do wonder how her music is going to play out from here though .. happy endings is not her theme after all. It’s still a good thing but, am curious. Just sayin’
💯 agree. It’s kind of obnoxious.
I love their relationship, it comes across as very genuine to me. I think that, like many women, it took Taylor a while to figure out what she really wanted from a man, and she seems so happy with Travis. He’s sweet, affectionate, playful, and most importantly, he has the confidence to not be jealous that she’ll always be the bigger star, and he’s genuinely proud of her (he and Serena Williams’ husband need to give lessons on that!). Look how he’s beaming in the performance photos!
That smile really does say it all. That’s a step beyond beaming.
When a man has confidence, he will be happy that his girlfriend/wife is successful. So kudos for Travis, he has his own thing going and has zero problem expressing that he is proud of her. Always nice to see.
100%!! I saw on twitter someone say she finally found someone that likes Taylor swift and Taylor swift tm and I thought that was the perfect way to sum it up. The comparison to Serena’s husband is also great because both men are wildly successful but they aren’t their partners. I would say Zendeya’s partner is like that too.
Yes! Neither one is a good enough actor to fake the joy 😂
I will say I had the thought the other day that Joe is who she thought she was/needed (cool, mysterious, Serious Artiste), and Travis is actually her real vibe (kind of goofball, corny, smarter than you expect, shockingly good at a specific thing). I’ve been driving with my girls in the car a lot so I’ve had way more exposure to her songs than I’d choose to.
I’m Team Genuine too. Like David Beckham, the athlete fancied a pop star. Bestie Pat Mahomes said he gave Travis the Mahomes suite at Arrowhead stadium to see the Eras concert and told him “go for it, why not?”
The Kelces take a lot of pain on the pod to be authentic. To be about football and their lives and not the pop star. Among other things it would lower the value of the New Heights pod (~$100M) to hitch their wagon to Taylor, especially if or when the couple breaks up. The celebitches who are Team Transactional are great too, it’s fine to have different takes.
Travis Kelce is “emotionally mature”? LOL. My enduring image of him is in a rage, veins popping, pushing his coach at the Superbowl. It’s going to be “a while” before I can regard him with equanimity.
“no drama, happy, affectionate, open, playful. This is a really new experience for her.”
Tom Hiddleston did pap walks all around the world, got mocked for wearing “I 💗 TS” t-shirt on a spontaneous swimming adventure with paps for nothing, huh?
I still have flashbacks about this 😅
Seriously, though, TH wasn’t comfortable dancing to her “Perfect Boyfriend” tune and it showed. Good on him. Travis loves this sh*t and that shows, too.
@Get Real, I thought he was more than willing to do what Taylor asked from him and looked ecstatic while everyone was making fun of him. I remember his first interview after the breakup, the interviewer literally stopped the interview to console him because he didn’t understand what went wrong, why she broke it off.
Still, the best thing we got from that is Colbert’s Hiddleswift jokes and song.
He looked miserable trotting around Europe wearing a curated wardrobe instead of his familiar uniform, and was obviously put out when paps showed up to photograph his mother and family on the beach in Britian. And he curled up in a ball for the better part of a year over the mockery once it ended.
Ecstatic is not a word I would use for that period.
Hmm did I see different pics? Tom was smiling, laughing, happy on beach pics with his mom and Taylor. From his interview, I got that his heart was really broken. I don’t think, he didn’t know the paps were arranged. The pics were picture perfect every time. It was all arranged pap walks and he knew. He was sorry in the end because she broke up with him.
@sevenblue 100% agree with you. I thought TH was very into Taylor, like Barry is into Sabrina and Louis is into Olivia right now.
It would have been interesting if they met at this point of her life instead of after her breakup with Calvin.
Taylor has mastered the art of moving around unnoticed. In suitcases, rolling carts among the masses. And her security is very good with making the couple safe without making it seem like they are behind a wall of security. I wouldn’t be surprised if her team comprises of retired secret service agents. And uses tactics for Presidents.
Also, the London appearance was really smart. I kept seeing ‘they broke up’ posts on Tik Tok and Twitter-X. The appearance shut them up and they seem pretty solid.
He’s happy, she’s happy, it works for them. He seems like a charming affable guy on his podcast with his brother. Hope it lasts and the next dark brooding rockstar doesn’t catch her eye and she blows it all up again.
Honestly the way she has to move and live sounds miserable, no wonder she is like just let them take my picture and got tired of the everything needs to be private bullshit! Like don’t date her if you don’t want to deal with it but let her try to have some sense of normalcy and I love that unlike the last guy Travis does that. It’s clear he includes her in HIS life, with his friends and family and loves being seen with her even if that costs him some privacy.
I think the only way you can be THAT rich and THAT famous is to spend a tremendous amount of money creating bubbles of normalcy. (Hell, Michael Jackson shut down a grocery store just to walk down the aisles!)
If they like to tell themselves (and the press) she can waltz into places like a normie, despite the fact that her security rivals the President and does a tremendous amount of work to make it happen, so be it. Everyone involved knows the deal. She’s not ignorant to what she pays for and why, and I can’t image the fear and anxiety that must accompany her life.
Yes, I vaguely remember an interview years ago her speaking about how some guys find her security off putting. That they don’t understand that somewhere in the world some guy would like nothing more than to have her chained to his radiator.
Stalkers are real, they are scary, and they have killed before.
I know this is a bit of a random comment but I think Taylor looks so incredible with the bit of weight she’s gained (since her incredibly thin days earlier on in her career). Like WOW. Her body looks amazing on this tour!!
Same. She looks healthy, happy and strong.
I also love her natural wavy hair.
I also remember an interview where she said that her security teams carry “wound care” in case she gets injured or shot. That’s so scary and sad.
In her Miss Americana doc from 2018 she talks about how she used to starve herself but tell everyone she was eating. And how she thought it was normal to be so depleted after performing she could barely walk. And that a pap pic of her that was unflattering would send her into a “shame spiral”. So she retrained her brain- she does not look at pap pics of herself online, it is not good for her. And she would rather look “fat” than sick.
And that she said that in that doc- where millions of girls and young women (and men) could hear her- i thought was wonderful.
I think it is a wonderful lesson for young people.
And she has to eat to do her show now. 3 1/2 hours long! Covering that insanely large stage set up.
(which she said she started practicing for by jogging on the treadmill while singing the whole damn show).
I am new to the swiftie fandom- but i find her wildly impressive.
This is sweet. As a longtime football fan, I have been a fan of the Kelce family for awhile. They love each other, are good to community, are hilarious, and seem down to earth. Yes, Travis is interested in being famous and that’s ok, he was already very known in the league and to sports fans before this even if it is no way comparable to Taylor’s level of fame. That is not a bad thing. It probably helps them as a couple that he can survive in that environment and that it appeals to him.
All this to say, I think their relationship suits them both. In the year they’ve been together, they’ve really supported each other and blended their families. We have never seen Taylor with a partner content and able to support her this way and it’s lovely. A while back some host on a sports podcast was joking about what they talk about because they are such winners and was like, “it’s probably all, ‘proud of you, babe. Proud of you, babe!”. They seem like they probably laugh a lot together.
Ben Affleck could learn a lot from Travis Kelce.
I think a lot of us age out of drama in our relationships. It may be interesting in your 20s to be with an angsty type but at some point many of us want someone who is all-in and unafraid to openly love us.
Taylor milked the drama of her earlier relationships for her music, but she’s older now. And she’s a human being, not just a businesswoman. Travis seems perfect for her — steady, fun and kind of corny, at ease with her influence, and at the top of his own game, too. He is grounded by his closeness to his family, and I’m sure that appeals to her, too.
I hope this works out for them. This lifelong Eagles fan is still rooting for a best man speech from Jason and Kylie’s reaction.
For anyone who is interested in the context of the on-stage skit: there’s not really any wedding connotation to it, despite the outfits. This is the transition from a very dramatic number during the TTPD set, where she basically gets shot and dies on stage, into I Can Do It With A Broken Heart. The guys in showman tuxes show up and prop her up and get her changed into her showgirl outfit and shove her back out on stage.
The whole TTPD section is gorgeously staged, and this particular section is a great interlude to disguise a costume change and to introduce the feeling for ICDIWABH. The costume changes throughout were impressive but this is probably my favourite because it made it part of the show.
He’s probably a good guy, but he definitely isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer.
That’s okay for some women, I know, but it wouldn’t be okay for me.
For someone as musically talented as Taylor Swift is, there is a part of her that is definitely intellectual. Music at this level is a complex thing (stated in terms that Travis can appreciate).
I wonder what they talk about? That’s what gets you through the years when the sparkly infatuation stuff dries up.
But, it’s her life if she wants to hang out with some jock. Just get a pre-nup girrrl if you marry him…
Don’t underestimate his intelligence just because he’s not great with the written word. I’m pretty sure he has some form of dyslexia. He’s smarter than people give him credit for. More importantly, he’s curious. And he’s a college graduate. He is not just a dumb jock.
Fair enough, although I’d have to say that the football players where I went to school-UNC Chapel Hill, where I lived in an athletic dorm for two years-were not exactly challenged academically.
Travis graduated from Cincinnati, which is comparable.
Curious is good, though…
He didn’t complete his degree while playing for the school, though. He left to go to the NFL. He went back and finished it while already making millions for the Chiefs. He wasn’t just given a degree as a football participation trophy. At the very least, the fact that he prioritized finishing the degree when he didn’t need to speaks to his interest in education for its own sake.
1. One of the conditions that Cincinnati insisted upon for Travis to be reinstated to the football team/ regain his scholarship was that he make the dean’s list. And he did.
2. I agree about the dyslexia. In the early days of the podcast when a word was used that he didn’t understand he’d spell it out loud. I’m not sure why he stopped. (I’m an NFL fan from Cleveland so I’ve been a Kelce family supporter from the beginning.)
3 I’ve got an Ivy League education and can be uppity/snobby about intelligence. Don’t be fooled by TK’s sophomoric behavior. It’s merely a small part of who he is. He is thoughtful and intelligent.
Ivy Leagues are rife with legacy admissions, typically 30-40%. Would never ever use that as a gauge of intelligence or ability to judge intelligence.
I know Taylor Swift’s stuff in bits n bobs, but, the impression I got from seeing video-clip of that Travis Kelce stage appearance is not of a wedding dress but at that at this point she’s telling a story of being fed up and just wanting to sleep, but the tuxedo-clad men are hoisting her up, putting her in her next costume, and pushing her out there to tap dance. No matter what – the show must go on! This is what you signed up for!
Nailed it!
I have come to believe that Taylor is a beard. A girlfriend for hire for actors, celebs that want to appear hetero. I think this relationship is transactional, and both are enjoying it. Do I think Travis is gay. Don’t know, don’t care. I think he wants an acting career, and she is helping raise his profile.
Therese, interesting take. I never thought of this, but it could very well be true (or not). They both seem to be enjoying the hell out of their interactions, so God bless them, whatever is really going on.
Is “golden retriever boyfriend” a thing? I thought I was coining something new when I said I had a golden retriever husband: he’s usually up earlier than me, but when he hears me open the roller blinds behind the bed, he scrambles into the room and showers me with kisses.
Wring every bit of publicity you can out of this Travie baby!
I also never believed the friendship bracelet etc (per comments above). Taylor and Travis prob already met by that point tbh and already got on well. My prediction though of her coming back home to find a more serious and confident bf has been correct, someone who is not afraid or intimidated of her success(just like Emma and Jennifer Lawrence). I think though Hiddleston just came in the wrong time – it was a rebound that happened after her tumultuous relationship with Calvin, interesting if they would have met now. But things happen for a reason and Tom and Calvin are happy with their own relationships and families. And Taylor looks to be very happy with Travis.