Why Travis Kelce Wasn’t at Taylor Swift’s Last Gelsenkirchen Show

Travis Kelce was not at Taylor Swift’s final show at Gelsenkirchen’s Veltins Arena on Friday, July 19, after attending both Wednesday and Thursday’s shows. The football player is expected back for Kansas City Chiefs training camp in Missouri this week and flew home to prepare.

But even though Kelce wasn’t there, he seemed to be on Swift’s mind. She sang a mashup of her songs “Paper Rings” from Lover and “Stay Stay Stay,” which she re-released in 2021 on Red (Taylor’s Version). The remix of the lyrics seemed to be about her football player boyfriend.

“I like shiny things, but I’d marry you with paper rings, that’s right, you’re the one I want,” she sang. “That’s when you came in wearing a football helmet.”

On Wednesday, before Kelce headed home and back to work, the couple were seen in footage on X, formerly Twitter, leaving the stadium together. In the short video, Kelce had his arm around her. He has been seen heading out of venues before, most recently in Amsterdam on July 6. The next night, Kelce was seen watching Swift’s second show from the VIP box before going backstage and walking out with her again.

The couple have had a lot of big moments during this leg of Swift’s tour, despite Kelce’s obligations in the states that had him flying back and forth to catch up with his girlfriend. They went Instagram official with a photo of Swift on her timeline that included not only Kelce, but Prince William and his two eldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

He also appeared on stage with her during a show at Wembley in London, dressed in a tuxedo and top hat like one of her dancers. He participated in a transition skit before carrying her off stage.