Taylor Swift and ‘defeated’ Travis Kelce are facing ‘first real test’ in their relationship… as insiders say ‘things are changing’
Travis Kelce may have lost out on his chance to score a fourth Super Bowl win this year with the Kansas City Chiefs, but the NFL player has an even bigger impending milestone that will undoubtedly require all of his attention.
His wedding to his pop star fiancée, Taylor Swift.
But with questions surrounding his retirement still up in the air, it’s no secret that Kelce’s fate with the Chiefs has been weighing heavy on his mind.
So much so, it would appear that Kelce can’t be bothered with planning what is sure to be the wedding of the century, an inside source exclusively revealed to the Daily Mail.
That is, until he makes a decision about his retirement.
‘Travis is a bit defeated right now,’ the insider said. ‘He is used to still be playing, and he is missing not being on the field, which might bode well for his fans and the Chiefs if he decides to play another year.’
Travis Kelce (pictured on January 4) has yet to make an announcement on his future in the NFL after the Kansas City Chiefs failed to make it to the playoffs for the 2025-2026 season
Pictured, Kelce (left) and his fiancée Taylor Swift (right): The NFL star is feeling ‘defeated’ following the Chiefs’ loss, a source told the Daily Mail
The Chiefs, also led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, failed to advance to the NFL playoffs on January 4 after losing to the Las Vegas Raiders 12 to 14.
It was a devastating blow for a team that had made it all the way to the Super Bowl just one year prior, and landed a back-to-back championship win the year before that.
Now, all eyes have been on Kelce as fans eagerly wait for his official decision on whether he’ll return to the Chiefs for another season.
According to the inside source, however, that decision may come sooner rather than later.
‘Travis will make the Chiefs well aware of his future plans by early March,’ they said.
‘We will know a few weeks after the Super Bowl if he will be returning or not. That is his timeline that he has set to make a decision to play one more year or not.’
The one person that Kelce has been leaning on during such an unprecedented time in his career is none other than his 14-time Grammy winner fiancée, whom he popped the question to in August last year.
Since then, the details surrounding Kelce and Swift’s upcoming wedding have been closely guarded.
Kelce and Swift (pictured on February 11, 2024) have been together since 2023. They announced their engagement in August 2025
![Swift is focused on 'trying to put [Kelce] in a better mood' and 'not bombarding him with wedding plans,' said the source](https://dcimgw4xld8jll.archive.ph/SpDi2/23e05ff549a0b67770cf67ab16fa51bf3e263206.avif)
Swift is focused on ‘trying to put [Kelce] in a better mood’ and ‘not bombarding him with wedding plans,’ said the source
But after Kelce’s dreams of scoring another Super Bowl win came crashing down earlier this month, the Cruel Summer singer is apparently more focused on ‘trying to put him in a better mood’ than she is on wedding cakes and floral arrangements.
‘Taylor is trying to put him in a better mood by spending more time with him and not bombarding him with wedding plans,’ the insider said.
‘She would want him to focus on [the wedding] after he makes his career decision because she knows how important that is to him.’
Indeed, Swift has been a frequent face at Kelce’s games ever since the pair began dating in 2023.
The singer is often seen decked out in Chiefs gear and surrounded by Kelce’s family inside a private suite at Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri. She even rushed to the field and kissed her boyfriend on the lips when the Chiefs won the Super Bowl in 2024.
Kelce returned the support by traveling the globe with Swift as part of her record-breaking Eras Tour, making an appearance on stage during her string of shows at London’s Wembley Stadium last June.
To outsiders, it seemed that nothing could stop this power couple – between Kelce’s team dominating the NFL and Swift’s tour grossing over $1 billion worldwide.
However, it would appear that things have recently changed for the couple as they face ‘the first real test’ of their relationship ahead of Kelce’s retirement decision.
Kelce and Swift announced their engagement on August 26 with a photo of their garden proposal that was posted to Instagram (seen)
Kelce appeared on stage at Swift’s Eras Tour show at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on June 23, 2024
The source said that Kelce’s retirement decision will mark ‘the first real test’ of his relationship with Swift
‘Taylor understands that this is the first real test of their relationship,’ the source continued.
‘They have been together and in love and have enjoyed the success of her tour and career and his Super Bowls and his career. Travis hasn’t been in this position before where he is staring at his future with complete 20/20 vision,’ they said.
Between his weekly podcast New Heights, which he co-hosts with his brother Jason Kelce, and a number of TV and movie appearances already in the works, retirement wouldn’t necessarily mark the end of Kelce’s career.
‘Things are changing; he is getting to the end of what he has known all his life and dealing with potential retirement, marriage and a future family with sprinkles of a whole new life in TV,’ the insider said.
Still, they maintained that while Kelce has an ‘amazing’ array of opportunities to consider, he’s also finding the decision to be incredibly ‘stressful and life altering.’
As for Swift, who has been enjoying a well-deserved hiatus following the end of her Eras Tour in December 2024, she doesn’t want the stress of planning their wedding to ‘come between them’.
‘She is focusing on positivity right now, but she wants him to be in a place where he is happy because at the end of the day, that will make them happy,’ the source added.
It was previously reported by the Daily Mail that Kelce will likely return to the NFL in 2026 for one last season with the Chiefs.
Kelce (pictured in January 2025) will likely return to the NFL in 2026 for one last season with the Chiefs, a separate source previously told the Daily Mail
Swift and Kelce pictured celebrating the Chiefs’ AFC Championship win against the Baltimore Ravens on January 28, 2024
However, the football star has also been considering becoming an on-screen analyst if he ultimately decides to retire.
A separate source told the Daily Mail at the time: ‘There is interest from the networks to bring him in as a test trial during the playoffs to do some analyst work, and if that comes off the ground, that might influence his feelings either way on what he would like to do in the future.
‘He took the end of this season in his stride and, if it is his last, he will be content with it.’
Of course, one person who is sure to have a say in his decision is Kelce’s mother, Donna Kelce, 73.
‘She’s the type who gives her opinion even when no one is asking,’ a pal of Donna’s previously told the Daily Mail.
‘But she does it in such a sweet way that you can’t help but like her. But her sons have a little less patience than everyone else about it.’
The famously enthusiastic NFL matriarch is also over the moon about her son’s relationship with the global pop superstar.
But there is one subject in which she tries hard not to be overbearing.
Pictured from left: Scott Swift, Donna Kelce and Taylor Swift at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on January 26, 2025
Donna, 73, ‘doesn’t want to be overbearing’ when it comes to planning her son’s wedding, a pal told the Daily Mail
‘When it comes to the wedding, the planning is all on Taylor and Travis, not on Donna. I think her head knows that, even when her heart wants to be more involved,’ the friend said.
‘She told me she has to bite her tongue when it comes to the wedding plans because she has all sorts of ideas. Location, menu, the cake, the colors. She lives for that stuff. But she doesn’t want to be overbearing; she doesn’t want to overstep.
‘I don’t think there’s been any friction at all. On the contrary, it’s all good. But she just thinks about that wedding all the time,’ they added.
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Swift and Kelce for comment.
