It’s been one year this month since Taylor Swift confirmed her romance with American football superstar Travis Kelce while sitting next to his beloved mother to cheer him on at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
As the women embraced in the company lounge, cheers rang out from the Swiftie fraternity. For weeks, speculation had swirled that their idol was dating Travis, the handsome, hairy tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs and a multimillionaire himself.
Many hoped he would be The One. But now, 12 months later, conspiracy theories about what the nature of their romance is – or ever was – have been fueled after an apparently fake ‘contract’ outlining a strategy to manage their split by Travis’ Los Angeles-based PR team was reportedly leaked online.
It’s been a year this month since Taylor Swift confirmed her romance with American football superstar Travis Kelce
Typed on Full Scope (the PR firm) letterhead, no one reading it would initially question its legitimacy. Yet the company insisted it was a hoax and that they had their lawyers on the case.
Full Scope, founded by two Hollywood PR people, Jack Ketsoyan and Pia Malihi, even came out with a statement saying that the leaked documents were “completely false and fabricated and not prepared, issued or authorized by this agency.”
A spokesman for Full Scope, which also represents US heiress Nicky Hilton and singer Nick Carter, said they have retained lawyers, adding: “We have engaged our legal team to initiate proceedings against the individuals or entities responsible for the unlawful and damaging forgery of documents.”
Despite their denials, the false document has sent shockwaves not only in America, where Taylor and Travis were national darlings, but across the world, where Taylor herself has traveled over the past 18 months on her multi-billion dollar Eras tour.
For many, the fake document has fueled existing conspiracy theories, giving people ammunition to “prove” what they’ve always thought: that the relationship is a sham. Indeed, it has reignited conspiracy theory questions about whether their love affair, which some have sometimes seen as exaggerated, could in fact be a PR stunt.
The fake document was a sensitive subject for Travis’ publicists yesterday. The thought that fans would question the veracity of the most talked about romance on the planet prompted Ketsoyan and Malihi to speak out.
And in an angry phone call late Tuesday, one of several they had with me, Malihi made no secret of her disdain for the rumor mill.
Angry at how the story about the fake document was written for the online edition of this newspaper, she told me in a raised voice: ‘We’ve been trying to keep stories that the relationship is fake out of the media for a year. And now this.’
It’s the first time anyone close to Taylor or Travis has addressed the unfounded rumors that have been circulating online since they started dating. Malihi later listed a number of American media outlets she has “close relationships with,” and suggested that if I wanted the same thing, I should toe her line.
The singer and her American football boyfriend celebrate the Superbowl victory
There have, of course, been other obvious “clues” that Swifties have hotly debated. In July, some fans claimed to have seen Travis telling Taylor to publicly display his affection on camera.
And last November, a video of her running into Travis’ arms at the end of a concert in Argentina was accused of being fake, as she did the same with her former love, British actor Joe Alwyn. To infer from that that their relationship could be fake seems a bridge too far.
So where does Full Scope think the fake document came from? They say their lawyers discovered it was created by a “student.”
That would have been quick work, no pun intended. Ketsoyan told me earlier that they only discovered the document’s existence that morning — less than four hours before their legal team revealed its provenance.
The saga began on Wednesday when the document — now X — surfaced on Twitter. It had previously been leaked to the online forum Reddit, where followers said it was either a college project or created by AI.
Whatever the truth, it makes sensational claims. It outlines a plan to issue an official statement later this month – three days “after the break” to “let the initial media frenzy die down and provide clarity” – and even gives the date of the confirmation of the break: September 28.
It adds that the announcement will be “graceful, respectful, and with an emphasis on mutual respect.” It explains what the statement would say, continuing: “Example: Travis and Taylor have decided to separate after careful consideration. They both value and respect each other’s private lives and appreciate your respect for privacy during this time.
An apparently fake ‘contract’ outlining a strategy to settle their split by Travis’ Los Angeles-based PR team has been leaked online
“They are both committed to their careers and personal growth. They remain friends and wish each other the best.”
The fake documents also state that the announcement would focus on Mr. Kelce’s “personal growth” by presenting the split as a “natural part of life.” It would also emphasize his dedication to his career and his continued achievements in the sports industry.
A plan is also outlined to ensure “broad coverage” by sending out a press release to major media outlets.
While the Nashville singer’s team has yet to comment on the document, Team Travis was outraged by the inclusion of quotes from Ketsoyan in a follow-up article online, in which he explained how he had previously created fake romances with celebrities.
In 2019, Ketsoyan said on an Australian podcast called The Quicky, produced by women’s media company Mamamia, that fake romances are usually set up when a celebrity wants to promote a film or new project or distract from bad publicity.
He admitted to having staged at least two relationships during his career and used them to distract the public from negative headlines.
While he didn’t name names, the Hollywood insider said it’s not uncommon for stars to sign a “love contract” that stipulates they must “date” each other for at least a year.
Ketsoyan explained that fake relationships used to be used to cover up the fact that a popular actor was gay, but now it’s mostly about generating buzz.
“It’s all about being able to sell the hype – whether it’s a concert, an album, getting people to go to the movies, right now it’s all about the hype,” he explained.
He claimed that a minor female star got a “career boost” from such an arrangement and is now a “household name” thanks to her years-long relationship with an actor.
Today, however, it seems that Ketsoyan would have preferred to keep his secrets from the past a secret. “They are not relevant to the piece, they should be removed,” Malihi told me succinctly on Tuesday. “We have publications in America that follow this and that causes a lot of problems.” She questioned my integrity and insisted that if I wanted to work with her in the future, I had to make the changes regarding Travis—or TK as she called him.
What could both parties theoretically get out of a relationship?
Travis has been described as a “future hall of famer” (suggesting that Kelce, 34, could be inducted into a group of top NFL footballers after he retires), but he doesn’t have £1billion in the bank like Taylor. He earns £12million a year and has amassed a fortune of £68million.
Their relationship has undeniably boosted his profile – and his podcast following.
The show, called New Heights, which he co-hosts with his brother Jason, has gone from 1.5 million when it launched in 2022 to 11.2 million today. Last week they even signed a deal with Amazon worth more than £80 million.
Taylor quickly immersed herself in the world of the NFL, the American football league.
She took center stage at the Super Bowl in February and earlier this week, when the organization released its promotional video for the upcoming season, Taylor was the star of the clip.
On Tuesday, Travis revealed in an interview with US talk show The Rich Eisen Show how Taylor creates “plays” for him, which – somewhat surprisingly – means she tells him where to run when he catches the ball.
A sports expert tells me: ‘Imagine if David and Victoria Beckham were at the beginning of their relationship, she’s a Spice Girl and David plays for Manchester United, and she’s in the Premier League promotional video. And let’s go back and imagine how one of David’s managers would feel if he told them Victoria was telling him how to take his free kicks or his penalties. They would be furious.
“It’s all very strange. It’s so strange that they’d let a singer be such a big part of the NFL. It’s been suggested that the league is really happy that Taylor has made the sport much more attractive to women.
Taylor quickly immersed himself in the world of the NFL, the American Football League
“And it all went very smoothly, with the Kansas City Chiefs winning the Super Bowl this year.”
As for the future, I can assure you that Taylor, 34, will not be commenting on the nature of her relationship or the fake documents.
Behind the scenes, she has assembled a close-knit team of experts to help her control the details of her private life, including a terrifying American publicist named Tree Paine.
Her personal management company, 13 Management, is run by her parents, Scott and Andrea, and her brother Austin, who, along with her legal counsel, handle the finances of her major business decisions.
Since 2014, publicist Paine has been working for the singer and is a regular at her side at all major work events. She is described by my sources as “terrifying” and “unwaveringly loyal.”
With her striking fiery red hair, she previously worked for Interscope Records with stars including No Doubt, Snoop Dogg and Marilyn Manson before meeting her one and only client, Taylor, for the first time in 2007. She joined her full-time ahead of the release of the singer’s breakthrough album, 1989.
As for the next album, Taylor likes to base her lyrics on her failed relationships. This could be the moment we finally learn the truth about TayTay and TK’s public relationship.