Travis Kelce Defends His Viral U.S. Open ‘Partying’ with Taylor Swift

While Travis Kelce might want to fight for your right to party, the NFL star is seemingly ready to step away from having the persona of a party animal. 

In a new interview with GQ, the 35-year-old Kansas City Chiefs tight end opened up about the public’s perception of him and how it all came to a head in Sept. 2024 when he and his girlfriend, Taylor Swift, attended the U.S. Open together. 

“When you see me hanging out at the U.S. Open with Taylor, it may look like the two of us are partying,” Kelce told the magazine. “But I’m just enjoying the fun of being at this really cool event that I always wanted to go to with the person that I love.” 

The couple were spotted in the stands wearing matching red and white looks while they belted out songs playing on the speakers at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City. They were also seen cuddling up and displaying plenty of PDA as they watched the match alongside Kelce’s teammate Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany Mahomes. 

“I’ve become way more strategic in understanding what I am portraying to people.” Kelce said, later adding in the interview, “I have a good understanding of how I want to be portrayed.”

One of the images he’s shying away from is that of a party animal. Though the athlete made headlines hollering “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)” and “Viva Las Vegas,“ he’s now looking to start a different… era, you might say. 

“I’m starting to phase out of wanting to be known as the party guy,” he shared. 

Part of this change might be due to his two-year relationship with Swift, whom he compared to his mom, Donna Kelce, during the interview. 

“Their kindness, their genuineness, their ability to say hello to everyone in the room,” Travis said of their similarities. “Their ability to show love and support no matter what. And on top of that, their work ethic … I’ve seen Taylor do the exact same thing of setting goals for herself and exceeding the expectations and really captivating the world in that regard.”

The couple’s next big step will be broadcast to the world on Wednesday, Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. ET when Swift finally joins Travis for his and brother Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast. 

The “So High School” singer already revealed that she’s going to share the cover of her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, and Swifties are eagerly mining her teases for more Easter eggs. 

Fans have also loved seeing the intimate interactions between Swift and Travis as they flirt about him matching his clothes to her eye color in one clip. 

In a preview clip of the episode posted by the New Heights team, Swift told Travis, who was wearing a light blue hoodie, that blue is a nice color on him.

“Yes, I know. It’s the color of your eyes, sweetie, it’s why we match so well,” he said.