Kayla Nicole, Travis Kelce‘s ex-girlfriend, has told Angel Reese she thought she was going to marry the NFL star in their on-off five-year relationship – and opened up on how his romance with Taylor Swift has impacted her life.
The influencer appeared on WNBA star Reese’s podcast to open up on her relationship with the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl winner, which ended in 2022.
‘My biggest advice in dating an athlete is to always have your own. It is really easy to get caught up in their dream, their vision for their life. Something that I had to learn early on was that the relationship could be over tomorrow and what do you have?’ she said.
‘At the time it was a long-distance relationship, I was going back-and-forth. I was in-between apartments and thought “it’s cool, we’re going to get married and I’m going to move into the house, I don’t really need an apartment”.
‘We broke up, my lease was up, my lease on my car was up all at the same time.
‘Thankfully we ended up getting back together but from that point moving forward I was like I don’t care who I date, I’m going to always have my own place, my own car. Support their career my prioritize my own goals.
Nicole suggested the public nature of the breakup and Kelce now dating one of the most famous people in the world in Swift has been difficult.
‘I think the combination of everything is the perfect storm to make you want to disappear from the world entirely,’ she said.
‘Behind closed doors, the hardest part is losing a partner, a best friend, speaking every day to cutting ties. Then you throw in social media.
‘I would be lying if I said that that level of hate and online chaos didn’t impact me, even to this day. You could go to my most recent posts and people would be debating why I am worthless.
‘It is nothing to do with me. I think there is something about that level of fame that attracts crazy people, which is unfortunate because I don’t think I have done anything to warrant that kind of backlash.’
But Nicole spoke positively about Kelce. She called him ‘the best tight end’ in the NFL and that she reflects well upon their time together.
‘It was a good time,’ Nicole said. ‘It was great. He is a great guy, it was a good time in my life. So many lessons learned.’
Nicole also joked that she would probably not date an athlete again in the future and would like to try and avoid another public relationship.
Kelce and Swift went public with their relationship in September 2023, when she appeared next to his mom Donna at a Chiefs game at Arrowhead Stadium.
