Over the years I have expertly cataloged my love for Taylor Swift in many spaces, in many ways so there was no world in which I wasn’t going to discuss her wedding.
Will this be a recap? A debate? An open letter to all the haters? Or a love letter to a friend of 20 years?
Who knows!
Three years ago, Taylor didn’t know Travis. She had just ended her decades long situationship with Matty Healy, just months after coming out of a 6 year relationship with Joe Alwyn.
The Fate of Ophelia tells us that she had sworn her loyalty to ‘me, myself and I’ before he came into her life. She wasn’t looking for someone; she was hoping that The Prophecy would change but she didn’t have a reason to believe it would.
I think that Taylor was on her way to just accepting that she was going to be alone — she would be married to her career and maybe that would’ve been enough for her.
And that would’ve been fine, if it’s what she wanted..
But deep down, we know Taylor (even if we actually don’t) and there are a dozen albums highlighting just how much she wanted to be loved.
Three years ago, Taylor wrote The Prophecy, praying for someone to change her fate, to bring her someone who loved all of her. She wanted nothing else, than what she has finally gotten.
Her Eras Tour mashup of This Love x The Prophecy is one of the most beautiful performances I’ve ever seen.
These hands had to let it go free and, change the prophecy
Words have never been more true…
The Perfect Couple
We’ve spent two decades watching this woman bare her soul for all the tear at, for the media, haters and commentators to say she couldn’t keep a boyfriend, say she was a slut, she was too much and no one would date her if she kept writing songs about them.
And now she has found someone who sees both Taylor Swift, the person and Taylor Swift The Artist, and loves them equally. Travis didn’t care about anything that came before him, he risked it all in public, to try to get the attention of the most famous woman in the world and it worked.
Travis loves her out loud, he doesn’t shy away from her fame but embraces it. He is loud, cringey, supportive and fun — everything that Taylor has always been.
I’m the first to admit that I was skeptical when I saw the headlines that Travis Kelce wanted Taylor Swift’s number. I thought he was beneath her or being too loud about his desire for her.
It wasn’t until I saw her in the box at Arrowhead that I believed it was happening… and then the more I saw of them I was obsessed. They fit perfectly, they supported each other in their respective areas and then, over time, the two merged together.
As Swifties, we have never heard a man talk so proudly and loudly about Taylor and his appreciation for her. Every other man from John Mayer to Calvin Harris and especially Joe Alwyn, have criticized her. They wanted to be the star, they wanted to take her and hide her away — they didn’t love Taylor Swift in the way that Taylor Swift deserved to be loved.
They treated her like something to be embarrassed about, someone who they could they love in secret. They talked poorly about her and her music in the press, hurried into cars in fear of being seen, and didn’t wait for her off stage.
It seemed like these men treated her career like something they had to endure.
Travis celebrates it; he loves to talk about her work, to praise her and be her number one fan. He has proven that time and time again — he will dance to a song, answer any question and do whatever he can to support her.
It goes the opposite way too — think about how many times we’ve seen Taylor at a game, on the field for the championship games, at private galas and Tight End University. She loves that man and appreciates him for everything he is, does and how he loves her.
This is the kind of love Taylor has always deserved and it’s beautiful to see.
Sometimes it still shocks me, how public they have been; how they have really welcomed and shared their relationship with us while still managing to keep parts private. It’s such a stark difference from other relationships Taylor has had and that’s how I knew this was going to be different. She felt safe enough to share Travis with us.
They’ve been together for three years but for some reason, seeing them in public together still feels like a novelty.
The Wedding
The Madison Square Garden of it all has people very confused as to who Taylor Swift is. I think the Joe Alwyn/folklore and evermore eras changed people’s perception of who Taylor is.
She is not private; she loves to be famous and she loves making a scene. She is not this regal, elegant woman who is whimsical and sophisticated (she is actually all those things but it’s not the only part of her personality).
Taylor is tacky and I mean that in the most complimentary of ways. She is the millennial who doesn’t have great style, she always has a ‘fuck ass’ manicure fill with funky colors and glitter, and she loves to be loud about herself, her career and her hard work.
Her wedding was always going to be a spectacle. It was never going to be a small, intimate gathering because at her core, that is not who she is. It was always going to be an event that didn’t make sense to the public (and it doesn’t have too).
It was always going to involved a huge, random guest list because she wants to celebrate with everyone she has ever come across*. She also has the money and the space to do that — she has been waiting this for her entire life, both publicly and privately, and she was always going to make a big deal of it.
*I also think it cannot be overstated that Taylor has been in the industry for 20 years. She knows a lot of people and has worked with a lot of people. In my life, it’s very normal to invite business partners/acquaintances to weddings, even if you’re not familiar or close with them.
As we get more photos and information from inside the wedding, I’m sure a lot of it will feel tacky or ostentatious and seem over the top but none of our opinion matters — it’s her wedding. Just like our opinion of the weddings we attend in our real lives don’t matter, as long as the bride and groom are happy.
What This Marriage Means to Swifties
As I said at the start of this post, Swifties have watched Taylor write and sing about love and getting married her entire career and we have desperately wanted her to find it. No one deserved it more than her, so watching her be loved in this way means everything.
There’s a reason when she got engaged there were videos online of women crying, comments saying if Taylor has love, that’s enough for them. It felt like watching your best friend get everything she has ever wanted; it felt like watching a fairytale come to life and it felt like a glimmer of hope.
Taylor Swift has been the soundtrack to our lives. I have had Taylor Swift in my life for longer than I have been alive.
This year, we celebrate 20 years of Taylor and what is more fitting for this celebration than a marriage?
Taylor has been there for us through everything; through our first loves, our first heartbreak, our second and third and fourth heartbreaks. She’s ushered us through high school, and when we had to leave that behind she took us into college and adulthood.
She has sung about growing up, about mental health, about politics, about friendship and romance. She’s sung about cheating, about getting stood up, about a relationship you thought would last forever. She has songs about never feeling enough, about family, about being ridiculed and mocked.
There is a reason we say she has a song for everything.
No matter what you are going through, Taylor is there for you.
When someone, even someone you have never and will never meet, is there for you in that way, don’t you want the best for her?
Taylor has proven time and time again that you should never give up; don’t give up on yourself, don’t give up on your dreams and never give up on love.
Her marriage is proving that you shouldn’t settle for less than you deserve. Your person is out there and when it’s time for you to find them, you will.
Taylor’s inability to give up on love or let heartbreak jade her is going to give so many people hope that their Travis is waiting for them, that you will find what you deserve. You just need to be patient.
All the lessons you’ve learned over the years will be worth it.
The Manuscript was the last breakup song she ever wrote and I cannot imagine anything more fitting to close this chapter of her life.
Now and then I reread the manuscript
But the story isn't mine anymore
I’m sure this won’t be my last wedding post as we’re still waiting on tons of information along with so many photos so stay tuned!
I agree. I love Travis bragging about her. And they make each other laugh.
Thank you for writing everything I feel too 🫶💗