Taylor Swift is speaking publicly about her relationship with Travis Kelce for the first time since their romance stole fans’ hearts — and she isn’t sparing any details.
Swift, 33, opened up to TIME about her record-breaking tour, love life and more after being named the magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year, giving her first major interview in nearly four years. When asked to break down the timeline of her and Kelce’s connection, Swift didn’t hold back.
“This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell,” she teased, referring to a July episode of Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast, during which he revealed that he wanted to give Swift a friendship bracelet at one of her Kansas City Eras Tour stops.
According to Kelce, 34, the pair weren’t able to meet at the concert, but Swift confirmed that the twosome “started hanging out right after that.” Sparks were already flying by the time Swift was spotted at her first Kansas City Chiefs game in September.
“We actually had a significant amount of time that no one knew, which I’m grateful for, because we got to get to know each other,” she continued. “By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple. I think some people think that they saw our first date at that game? We would never be psychotic enough to hard launch a first date.”
Swift has appeared at several of Kelce’s NFL games since, most recently cheering him on in Wisconsin on Sunday, December 3, when the Chiefs faced off against the Green Bay Packers. Kelce has returned the favor, flying to Buenos Aires, Argentina, last month to see Swift perform on the international leg of her Eras Tour.
“When you say a relationship is public, that means I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there and we don’t care,” Swift told the outlet. “The opposite of that is you have to go to an extreme amount of effort to make sure no one knows that you’re seeing someone. And we’re just proud of each other.”