The blossoming relationship between NFL star Travis Kelce and pop sensation Taylor Swift is the talk of the United States at the moment.
But while many initially had reservations over the Kansas City Chiefs star about his ability to be the ideal boyfriend for Swift, he is slowly winning the public over due to his behaviour towards her, and his words about her.
Swift is seen as America’s sweetheart, so any new relationship she enters gathers a massive spotlight. Now, Kelce appears to be turning the tide of criticisms due to his good nature around her.
“I’ve never been a man of words… Being around her, seeing how smart Taylor is, has been f**king mind-blowing. I’m learning every day,” he recently stated.
“I’ve never dated anyone with that kind of aura about them. I’m not running away from any of it.”
Winning the public over
In a Daily Beast op-ed, Helen Holmes writes about how Kelce had initially been seen as a slightly ‘dumb’ athlete who didn’t have the capability to hold down a person of Swift’s stature.
To understand Travis Kelce, it’s crucial to dig into what people seem to be consistently getting wrong about him, and detractors and fans alike are laboring under the same misapprehension: that he’s a himbo. Put another way, for those over 40 who don’t understand millennial slang, the general consensus is that this dude isn’t very smart,” Holmes wrote.
“But Travis Kelce, like all distinctly media-savvy people in the public eye, is almost certainly practiced at using common misconceptions to his advantage. You’d be forgiven for mistaking him, a warm-eyed, goofy-grinned person with the demeanor of a goofy labrador retriever and the wardrobe of a rapper with an affinity for Spongebob Squarepants who also got dressed in the dark, for a dim bulb.”
Now, however, it is said that Kelce is changing opinions with his public love affair with the singer.
“In fact, there is a vast ecosystem of social media users for whom posting about the budding relationship between Swift and Kelce is not just a hobby, but a full-time vocation,” Holmes adds.
“It’s as though, with each new kiss, heartwarming shoutout and public display of affection, their collective faith in true love is being restored. In a world ravaged by shitty app dating and a parade of bad hookups, that’s no small feat.”
In a CNN op-ed, a similar sentiment is mentioned of this changing discourse.
“I don’t profess to know what is happening behind closed doors with Swift and Kelce, but what I do know is that whatever it is, it’s bringing joy to some people – and I’m team that,” Lisa Respers France wrote.
It was never going to be easy for Kelce to uphold a ‘perfect’ image when dating one of the world’s most famous people, but he is certainly gaining more respect as time goes on.
