It’s a love story: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are married

NEW YORK – Pop music megastars Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are married, the singer’s publicist announced on July 3 as guests attended a star-studded celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York that capped a three-year love story.

“JUST&T MARRIED,” flashed on giant screens on the exterior of the Manhattan sports arena.

Swift’s publicist confirmed via e-mail that the Grammy-winning musician had wed the Kansas City Chiefs star football player.

Comedian Adam Sandler officiated the ceremony, said the publicist’s statement under the headline “Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce Are Married!” The statement described Sandler as a friend of the couple.

Swift’s brother, Austin Swift, served as “man of honour” and Kelce’s brother, retired football star Jason Kelce, was best man, the statement said.

The bride and groom wore looks created by Christian Dior, and Swift chose jewellery by Cartier, according to the statement. No photos were released.

Stars including Jennifer Lopez, Ed Sheeran, Ethan Hawke, Jimmy Fallon and Abby Wambach were spotted entering the venue on a sweltering day when temperatures topped 38 deg C.

Onlookers including the singer’s “Swifties” fans strained to catch a glimpse of the celebrity crowd at the event dubbed “America’s royal wedding” and held amid heavy security at a site that sits atop one of New York’s major transit hubs.

One showed off a pink-and-white friendship bracelet that read “Team Bride”. Another held a handmade sign that put a spin on a Swift lyric. “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight to MSG,” it said.

Fourteen-year-old Jenntry Vaughn from Michigan and her mother Danielle stopped to look at the “JUST&T MARRIED” sign. “We follow her because we love her so much,” Jenntry said. “That’s pretty cool.”

Earlier, Jane Lowry, a 15-year-old high school student from Texas who came to New York on vacation, climbed scaffolding across the street from the Garden to catch a glimpse of arriving celebrities.

“I wanted to see Taylor Swift because I do really like her music,” Lowry said, adding that she had spotted only two football players from her vantage point.

Swift has documented her romances and break-ups in her music, and Lowry said she looked forward to the singer’s album releases during her marriage. “I think she’ll write some cute songs about it,” she said.

Lights atop the Empire State Building turned light blue on the evening of July 3, a nod to the adage that “something blue” at a wedding brings good luck, according to a social media account for the landmark.

Days of set-up

Workers spent days this week unloading food and scenery into the iconic Manhattan arena for a major event that had been shrouded in secrecy.

US media have reported the pair planning a cocktail hour for 1,000 people at the start of a long holiday weekend when the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of its Declaration of Independence from British rule.

The couple through a publicist on July 2 said they had donated US$26 million (S$33.6 million) to several charities in the city and elsewhere this week.

The pair’s love story began in 2023 when Kelce tried unsuccessfully to meet Swift backstage at one of her concerts, but succeeded in capturing her attention and warming her heart by recounting his disappointment on a podcast.

Both are 36 years old.

As the relationship grew, they appeared publicly together at her concerts, his Kansas City Chiefs games and on the Saturday Night Live comedy series, leading to an August 2025 engagement announcement on Instagram that read “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married”.

One of the most successful musicians of all time, the writer of Love Story and Shake It Off has won 14 Grammy Awards and shattered records with a global concert tour that made her a billionaire.

Kelce, among the National Football League’s best known players, helped the Kansas City Chiefs win three Super Bowls alongside star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He also co-hosts the popular sports and pop culture podcast New Heights.

The athelete first tried to meet Swift after she performed at Kansas City, Missouri’s Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the Chiefs, as part of her Eras Tour, a retrospective of her two-decade career.

He failed to make it through security and said on his podcast that he was “a little butthurt” he did not get the chance to meet Swift and give her a friendship bracelet bearing his phone number.

Swift was charmed, recounting on a later New Heights episode that the gesture reminded her of “an ’80s John Hughes movie, and he was just like, standing outside of my window with a boombox and being like, ‘I want to date you’.”

She said she thought, “If this guy isn’t crazy, which is a big if, this is sort of what I’ve been writing songs about wanting to happen to me since I was a teenager.” REUTERS