Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce transformed a garden into a love story by proposing to his girlfriend, Taylor Swift.
And baby, she just said yes.
The couple announced the news Tuesday on Instagram along with photos from the proposal and a shot of the large diamond set in yellow gold.
"Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married," the post's caption said.
With 1 million reposts in less than six hours, the announcement made Instagram history, the company said.
Within an hour, Instagram said in a release, more than 14 million people had liked the post.
The music icon and the football star have made headlines worldwide as fans have clamored for their appearances together over the past two years.
It has been a whirlwind romance for the couple, who began dating after Swift caught Kelce’s eye at one of her Eras Tour performances in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2023.
Kelce and his brother later discussed the show on their podcast, “New Heights,” and about how Kelce had been hoping to speak to Swift backstage. But unfortunately for Kelce, it was a no-go.
“If you’re up on Taylor Swift concerts, there are friendship bracelets,” Kelce said. “And I received a bunch of them being there, but I wanted to give Taylor Swift one with my number on it.”
“Your number as in 87, or your phone number?” his brother asked.
“You know which one,” Kelce joked back.
His podcast Hail Mary paid off, however, as Swift apparently caught the remarks.
She told Time magazine in 2023 that she thought the move was “metal as hell,” and the pair began hanging out soon after. Swift made an appearance in September 2023 at the Chiefs' home game against the Chicago Bears. Kelce has said the couple had been seeing each other for about a month at that point, but it was the first time the public saw them together.
"Today is a fairytale," the Chiefs wrote Tuesday on X. "Congrats to Travis and Taylor — we’re excited to have you as a permanent member of the Chiefs Kingdom family!"
Since then, Swift has been a mainstay at Kelce’s games. She notably flew straight back to the United States after her Eras Tour show in Tokyo to make it in time to watch Kelce and the Chiefs win the 2024 Super Bowl.
The couple publicly celebrated the win, sharing affectionate moments, including snuggles and kisses, in front of broadcast cameras on the field of Allegiant Stadium.
While Swift may be used to the increased scrutiny, Kelce, a three-time Super Bowl champion, has said it was a learning experience for him, but he seemed to take it all in stride.
“I mean, the only thing we’ve talked about is as long as we’re happy, we can’t listen to anything that’s outside noise,” Kelce told reporters in January 2024. “That’s all that matters.”
Kelce was in the crowd for a few of Swift’s Eras Tour performances, including one in November 2023 in Argentina, where Swift called Kelce out mid-show — changing the lyrics in “Karma” from “Karma is the guy on the screen” to “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs.” The remix prompted a coy blush from Kelce in the VIP tent, who then blew a kiss toward the stage, and shocked laughs from her dancers onstage, who appeared just as surprised as the fans.
Kelce became further embedded in the Swiftiverse in January 2024 when, along with some of Swift’s famous friends, he changed his Instagram profile picture to a black-and-white version of his portrait. The change ended up being an Easter egg for Swift’s new album, which she announced at the Grammys the next month.
When “The Tortured Poets Department” dropped, fans were quick to deduce that two new songs were most likely about Kelce, “The Alchemy” and “So High School,” both of which are laden with football references and callouts to feelings of a new romance. Swift and Kelce's Instagram announcement used "So High School" as the soundtrack to Tuesday's engagement announcement.
She seemed to confirm those theories at her 87th (Kelce’s number) show of the Eras Tour in Paris in May, which Kelce attended. During her “1989” set, Swift sported a brand-new red top and yellow skirt, a possible nod to the Chiefs' colors, and sang “The Alchemy” as one of her surprise songs.
Kelce returned to the Eras Tour at Wembley Stadium in London in June. He traded his spot in the VIP tent for a place onstage next to Swift, acting as a dancer during the “Tortured Poets Department” set.
The Monday after the guest appearance, Swift herself gave high praise to Kelce’s performance during “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” saying on Instagram that she was “still cracking up/swooning over” his stage debut on the Eras Tour.
The couple took some time away from the spotlight after the Eras Tour ended in December 2024, but ended up back in the spotlight this month, with Swift appearing on Kelce's "New Heights" podcast, which he co-hosts with his brother, Jason Kelce.
During the two-hour-plus episode, the couple dove into their dating life and Swift's version of how they got together.
Kelce made a “wild, romantic gesture,” when he publicly announced he wanted to date her, Swift said. She said she agreed to make "New Heights" her first podcast appearance only because the show “got me a boyfriend” after Kelce made it “his personal dating app.”
Although the initial profession of love was a bit crazy for Swift, she said that they got to know each other in a very natural way and that he often made her laugh.
“This is sort of what I’ve been writing songs about wanting to happen to me since I was a teenager,” she said.
