Travis Kelce has always been ready for a high-profile romance like the one he has with Taylor Swift, thanks to his mentality about shaking off bullies on social media and in real life.
“Social media is the ultimate practice in terms of your self-esteem. Social media always wins. It is undefeated. It will murder you at the lowest moments of your life,” the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 34, began in a resurfaced interview clip via X.
Noting that he’s experienced his fair share of hate on various platforms – especially as one of the most closely watched players in the NFL – Kelce explained why he’s able to keep his head up despite the negativity he sometimes receives.
“You can laugh about it because that person – who is that person? They don’t matter,” he continued. “I could care less about what that person says. I could care less about who reads about what that person said. You just have to have that mindset of, ‘Who cares?'”
When asked if blocking out the negative comments was something that can be learned or if it was in his DNA, Kelce replied, “It’s definitely something you can learn. Without a doubt, it’s something you can learn.”
He added, “What it comes down to is just grasping the idea of, ‘They’re doing it to get that attention because there’s something going on over there.’ And if you ever get yourself caught in that, the bullying or just being attacked over some silly reason or any reason, just ask [the person], ‘Is everything going on alright in your life?'”
Travis kelce been unfazed by all the social media shit drunk nfl fans on Sundays say far worse shit to him on the internet than some gaylors and pr truthers pic.twitter.com/16hw28uBgG
— zach fulk (@zachfulk3) May 2, 2024
Kelce’s longtime mindset about not listening to people he doesn’t know or hold in high regard appears to mimic dad Ed Kelce‘s mentality.
After Real Housewives of New York alum Bethenny Frankel criticized his son’s relationship with the 14-time Grammy Award winner in February, Ed took to his Facebook page to respond to her comments.
“Who TF is this troll?” he wrote.
Swift has also been outspoken about ignoring the hate she’s received when it comes to her relationship with the three-time Super Bowl champion – especially when she’s in the crowd at his games. (Over the course of the 2023-2024 season, Swift attended 13 of Kelce’s Chiefs games. Kelce also defended Swift being booed at a December game against the Patriots.)
“There’s a camera, like, a half-mile away, and you don’t know where it is, and you have no idea when the camera is putting you in the broadcast, so I don’t know if I’m being shown 17 times or once,” she said in her 2023 TIME Magazine Person of the Year profile. “I’m just there to support Travis. I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads, and Chads.”
She added, “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. 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.”
Meanwhile, Kelce has openly talked about the media attention he’s gotten since going public with the Tortured Poets Department artist and how he’s learned to take it in stride.
“As all the attention comes, it feels like I was on top of the world after the Super Bowl and right now, even more on top of the world. So it’s fun,” he told reporters at an October 2023 press conference before addressing the cameras following him.
“We’re learning with the paparazzi just taking photos from all over the place. But at the same time, it comes with it,” he continued. “You got a lot of people that care about Taylor for good reason. You just got to keep living and learning and enjoying the moments. At the end of the day, I’ve always been pretty good at compartmentalizing and being able to stay focused in this building.”
