I could never star in a reality show, but I especially could not appear on a reality competition. If I ever went for reality programming, it would have to be a situation where I could just sit at a desk or talk on the phone while lounging in bed. But other people are built differently. Which is why there’s a show called Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test. There have already been two seasons?? Well, the third season stars Kayla Nicole as one of the competitors. Kayla is best known to most of the gossip world as “Travis Kelce’s ex-girlfriend.” Kayla and Travis dated for five years before they split around the holidays in 2022. Travis met Taylor Swift months later in 2023, and the rest is history. Except that some really awful people within Taylor’s fanbase have decided to troll, mock and insult Kayla for daring to… date Taylor’s boyfriend in the past? Obviously, Kayla addressed the situation on this Special Forces show.
Kayla Nicole is wearing her emotions on her camo sleeve. The influencer, who stars on Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test season 3, isn’t letting a past relationship define her as she continues to open up about the attention she’s received since her ex-boyfriend Travis Kelce started dating Taylor Swift.
In the second episode of Fox’s intense competition series, Nicole, 32, discussed her five-year relationship with the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 35, and the challenges she’s dealt with since their split back in 2022.
“Going through a public breakup, just to be frank, it’s been overwhelming. I’ve never experienced anything like it,” Nicole said in a confessional at the beginning of the episode, adding that she was “reduced to a headline to something so small as someone’s ex-girlfriend.”
The sports reporter said her decision to compete on Special Forces — which puts celebrity recruits to the test as they take on rigorous physical and emotional tests in Wales, home of the British Special Forces Selection — was in part to prove something to herself.
“I feel like if I complete this, it’ll be a massive impact for myself. ‘Am I doing enough? Am I enough?'” she questions. She tells fellow recruits, “I just get a lot of like s— because [Kelce] is dating such a mega superstar.”
Still, Nicole added that she “liked” Swift and thinks she’s “very talented.”
Two things can be true at once. One, Kayla has gotten a really raw deal from Taylor’s fans, and she’s been legitimately bullied and harassed, often in a really racist way. Two, she’s using the connection to Travis and Taylor to build her own brand and her name as a celebrity/influencer. The entire reason why – in my opinion – she was asked to participate in this show was to speak about Travis and Taylor. Some people might find that tacky, and maybe it is. But in her place, thinking about all of the awful sh-t people have said to her, I would probably leverage the connection too. Get something positive out of it, try to build my career.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- Travis Kelce and Kayla Nicole attends Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Sports 2018 hosted by Houston Chris Paul at The Barker Hanger on July 19, 2018 in Santa Monica, California. Where: Santa Monica, California, United States When: 19 Jul 2018 Credit: The Photo Access/Cover Images **ONLY AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE UK AND FOR COVER IMAGES SUBSCRIBERS. PLEASE CONTACT US FOR ADDITIONAL USAGES.**
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- , Santa Monica, CA -20180719 – Nickelodeon Kids Choice Sports Awards 2018 at Barker Hangar -PICTURED: Kayla Nicole and Travis Kelce -PHOTO by: Milla Cochran/startraksphoto.com This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Startraks Photo for licensing fee and rights information at sales@startraksphoto.com or call +1 212 414 9464 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Startraks Photo reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded Featuring: Kayla Nicole and Travis Kelce Where: Santa Monica, California, United States When: 19 Jul 2018 Credit: Milla Cochran/startraksphoto.com
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- – New York, NY – 01//31/2019 – Unofficial start to the Super Bowl at the annual EA Sports Bowl party. -PICTURED: Kayla Nicole -PHOTO by: Michael Simon/startraksphoto.com -MS61633 Editorial – Rights Managed Image – Please contact www.startraksphoto.com for licensing fee Startraks Photo Startraks Photo New York, NY For licensing please call 212-414-9464 or email sales@startraksphoto.com Image may not be published in any way that is or might be deemed defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification or question you may have Startraks Photo reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this image. If you violate our intellectual property you may be liable for actual damages, loss of income, and profits you derive from the use of this image, and where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or statutory damages. Featuring: Kayla Nicole Where: New York, New York, United States When: 31 Jan 2019 Credit: Michael Simon/startraksphoto.com
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- – New York, NY – 01//31/2019 – Unofficial start to the Super Bowl at the annual EA Sports Bowl party. -PICTURED: Kayla Nicole -PHOTO by: Michael Simon/startraksphoto.com -MS61632 Editorial – Rights Managed Image – Please contact www.startraksphoto.com for licensing fee Startraks Photo Startraks Photo New York, NY For licensing please call 212-414-9464 or email sales@startraksphoto.com Image may not be published in any way that is or might be deemed defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification or question you may have Startraks Photo reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this image. If you violate our intellectual property you may be liable for actual damages, loss of income, and profits you derive from the use of this image, and where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or statutory damages. Featuring: Kayla Nicole Where: New York, New York, United States When: 31 Jan 2019 Credit: Michael Simon/startraksphoto.com
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- -Miami, FL -20200203 il Wayne, J Balvin, Mecole Hardman, Cam Erving, Jamie Foxx, 2 Chainz, & Kanye West at LIV. -PICTURED: Travis Kelce, Kayla Nicole -PHOTO by: Seth Browarnik/startraksphoto.com This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Startraks Photo for licensing fee and rights information at sales@startraksphoto.com or call +1 212 414 9464 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Startraks Photo reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded Featuring: Travis Kelce, Kayla Nicole Where: Miami, Florida, United States When: 03 Feb 2020 Credit: Seth Browarnik/startraksphoto.com
This is going off subject, but good God, Travis Kelce’s style is so bad. I’m sorry but it is. Like, in the grand scheme of things it’s not harming anyone and he should be himself and all that but…oy.
I love a man who’s not afraid to play with colors and patterns, because my God, mens’ fashion can be so monotonous. The classic 3-piece suit has barely changed in nearly 200 years! But with Travis…the elements are there, but he needs help styling them properly. And now I’m wondering if he’s contagious. Taylor has worn some truly “WTF?” looks since their relationship began, and here’s these photos with Kayla in a Beetlejuice bathrobe and a cheap Yandy dress with clear heels. Maybe Travis is the Typhoid Mary of bad taste.
Fingers crossed for Kayla that she’s done with being harassed.
There are quite a few Swifties that operate the way Derangers do, making up stories in their minds — resembling scripts — and sticking to it.
Looking for easter eggs in songs, while being encouraged by Taylor, posting lies about T’s exes, and sometimes even her partner’s exes *or* about present partners of exes (TH&ZA) or continue to harass them long after everyone has moved on.
Don’t these people ever outgrow their parasocial relationships? Don’t they have partners? Don’t they know it can even make the object of their affection look bad?
I have a couple of comments- one is that there is NO WAY I WOULD SURVIVE 10 MINUTES on that World’s Toughest Test! I made it through the police academy 30 years ago, which is child’s play compared to this. I do recognize the reasoning behind total discouragement of showboating and attention seeking, those are not behaviours associated with gravitas (they do have their place, but not in life and death situations, or situations wherein it would be more effective to be quiet and think).
Another thought, I am impressed with Kayla’s comportment. She is thrust into a spotlight she didn’t ask for and opts for a gentle kindness and wish to improve HERSELF. The cruelty of the keyboard warriors is exhausting, and so damaging.
In the words of a famous (infamous?) denizen of LA, ‘can’t we all just get along?’
I guess she learned comportment at some stage after being the other woman in Teyana Taylor’s marriage to Iman Shumpert, and doing weird things to try to get under her skin like dressing up as Teyana for Halloween… then going on Angel Reese’s podcast a couple of months ago and deciding to share that with the world. Maybe that went under the radar on mainstream gossip sites… but that was all Black Twitter/basketball gossip a few months ago.
I’m not saying she has deserved the racist commentary in the least – but I don’t think we need to canonise people either.
I find the way their split is positioned and she talks about it a little weird, almost like she was blindsided by being dumped for Taylor. Kelce and she were done by mid-2022 – coming up three years ago – and the rumor was she walked out on him. And it wasn’t really a ‘public breakup’. While they might have been known in NFL circles, that was before his profile started to really lift with his second Super Bowl win against his brother’s team, his podcast taking off, hosting SNL etc. And the first rumbles about him and Taylor only started in mid-2023.
I’m sure it can’t be fun to have your ex date arguably the most famous person on the planet, but it was more than 12 months after they called it quits. He’s a rich, good-looking, unproblematic (by NFL standards), future Hall of Famer who likes being the center of attention. He was always going to move on with somebody more high profile than Kayla.
Ah well, everyone should take their opportunity to get their bag while they can, I guess. Cynically, Special Forces timed this really well with the Chiefs about to make another Super Bowl run, and Taylor headed to the Grammy Awards soon.
Well, she probably was blindsided by the often racist harassment that some of Taylor’s fans dumped on her — which has likely been more of a concern than Taylor’s fame.
I agree with everything @Mandragora said but I also agree with you, that she could have been in now way prepared for the racism and nastiness she would be subjected to by Taylor’s fans. I do feel badly for her even if building her brand on her association with Taylor and Travis is tacky as hell. I’m here for her securing the bag and I genuinely hope people leave her alone though this will probably make it harder to exit from that narrative.
Swifties are so deranged it stopped being entertaining a year ago. Especially with the not very thinly veiled racism spewed at this woman over nothing.
I’m the type of ex who would immediately say I’m a fan of both people and wish them success, health and happiness, together or apart. Blessings to all parties, nothing to see here.
I can’t fault Kayla, she’s not an accountant she’s an influencer. I kind of feel sorry for her being down bad for NBA’s Iman Shumpert *after* Travis, she went off the deep end there.