Timeline of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Love Story

Singer Taylor Swift and NFL star Travis Kelce’s wedding date appears to be set with preparations under way for the ceremony at Madison Square Garden.

The couple, who announced their engagement last August, are expected to marry at the New York City venue on Friday, after a private rehearsal dinner on Thursday.

Here, we take a look at the key moments leading up to the wedding:

– 2023

Kelce, 36, announced on his New Heights podcast, which he presents with his brother Jason, that he wanted to date Swift, also 36, after he failed to meet her when she performed at Arrowhead Stadium – home of his NFL team the Kansas City Chiefs.

Speaking on a later episode of New Heights, Swift said she considered it to be “a wild, romantic gesture” but joked he “didn’t do any proper logistical planning” to meet her at the Eras Tour show, such as get in touch with her management.

Instead, she revealed he thought his status on the team would allow him to go backstage to meet her.

Swift said: “Because he knows the elevator lady, he thought he could talk to her about just getting down to my dressing room. That’s how it works in 1973.”

In September 2023, Swift made her first trip to watch Kelce play, when she was spotted sitting next to his mother.

At an Eras Tour concert in November that year, Swift first changed the lyrics to her song Karma from “karma is the guy on the screen coming straight home to me” to “karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me”, in reference to Kelce.

– 2024

In February, Kelce’s Chiefs beats the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl and Swift was cheered by fans as she was pictured on the big screen watching on.
The pair were later seen embracing at full-time.

In April, Swift released her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, featuring the song The Alchemy, which is said to be written about Kelce. An anthology edition contained the song So High School, also said to be written about the NFL star.

Kelce appeared at one of Swift’s Eras Tour shows at London’s Wembley Stadium on June 23rd, arriving on stage as she prepared to perform The Tortured Poets Department section of the gig. Wearing a top hat and tails, he helped prepare her to sing I Can Do It With A Broken Heart.

In an Instagram post after the show, Swift said she was “still cracking up/swooning over @killatrav’s Eras Tour debut”.

– 2025

Swift once again attended the Super Bowl, but was booed by the heavily pro-Philadelphia Eagles crowd when shown on the big screens. This time Kelce was on the losing side.

In August, Swift announced on Kelce’s New Heights podcast that her 12th studio album, The Life Of A Showgirl, would be released on October 3rd.

Unveiling a copy of the new record as a guest on the show, she said: “This is my new album, The Life Of A Showgirl. It’s something I was working on while I was in Europe on the Eras Tour.”

On the podcast, Kelce said the fact Swift recorded the album while simultaneously travelling the world for her sold-out tour was “still blowing my mind”.

Swift said: “I just love music. I would be playing shows three nights in a row, then I would have three days off.

“I would fly to Sweden. Working on this, I was physically exhausted at this point in the tour, but I was so mentally stimulated and so excited to be creating.”

On August 26th, in a joint Instagram post, Swift and Kelce announced their engagement, sharing photos of the proposal and of the pair embracing in a garden.

The post read: “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”

The Life Of A Showgirl was released in October, and featured a number of songs referencing Kelce, including Opalite – which mentions his birth stone, opal.

– 2026

In July, an unnamed law enforcement official briefed on the security plans confirmed Swift and Kelce’s wedding plans, saying they had been warned about an influx of “Swifties” to New York.

They said the wedding would take place on Friday, July 4th, with a rehearsal dinner planned for the day before.

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Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding set for Friday at Madison Square Garden

In the week leading up to the event, workers were seen lifting large props into the Madison Square Garden venue including a grand piano and tree branches, while “no parking” signs were placed around the arena.

A fleet of forklift trucks and lorries were seen loading equipment into the venue, with a box with “40 mirrorball” written on it pictured in the back of a lorry.

Food was also seen being delivered to Madison Square Garden, and some items have been completely covered, including one marked “garden party”, with even delivery staff reportedly unaware of what they were carrying.