Travis Kelce — the popular Kansas City Chiefs tight end, “New Heights” podcaster and budding actor — admitted that his performance on the football field suffered when he pivoted to Hollywood.
“I think it might have slipped a little bit because I did have a little bit more focus in trying to set myself up,” Kelce, who still beats himself over the Kansas City Chief’s 2025 Super Bowl loss, shared in an interview with GQ magazine. “Opportunities came up where I was excited to venture into a new world of acting and being an entertainer,” he added.
The Chiefs lost to the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this year in a 22 to 40 game.
Kelce, who recently appeared in “Happy Gilmore 2” and Ryan Murphy’s “Grotesquerie,” went on to say that while winning the Super Bowl is the “only goal,” he doesn’t regret opening himself up to new opportunities off the field.
“I don’t say this as ‘I shouldn’t have done it.’ I’m just saying that my work ethic is such that I have so much pride in how I do things that I never want the product to tail off, and I feel like these past two years haven’t been to my standard,” Kelce explained. “I just have such a motivation to show up this year for my guys.”
The athlete also expressed that his move into the entertainment industry was as organic as his relationship with his megastar girlfriend Taylor Swift.
“We fell in love just based off the people we were sitting in a room together with,” Kelce explained, rejecting the idea that the two’s pairing was any sort of orchestrated meet-cute. “We are two fun-loving people who have the morals to appreciate everyone for who they are. We share all those values. It kind of just took the f—k off.”
He adds that Swift’s experience with stardom creates a mutual understanding in their relationship.
“I hadn’t experienced somebody in the same shoes as me, having a partner who understands the scrutiny, understands the ups and downs of being in front of millions,” Kelce shared. “That was very relatable, seeing how exhausted she would get after shows. She may not think of herself as an athlete. She will never tell anyone that she is an athlete. But I’ve seen what she goes through. I’ve seen the amount of work that she puts on her body, and it’s mind-blowing.”
Kelce and Swift have been dating since the summer of 2023, and since then the two have supported one another’s pursuits. Kelce attended Swift’s Eras tour and Swift sat suite side at a number of Kelce’s games. Monday night, Kelce released a snippet of an upcoming episode of “New Heights,” which will feature Swift as a guest. There, she is expected to share more details about her 12th album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”
