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Taylor Swift fans were thrilled when she invited her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, to share the stage at her concert — but according to Kelce, Swifties have him to thank for the idea.
The football star gushed about his June 23 debut on the Eras Tour stage on the latest episode of his podcast "New Heights," which he cohosts with his brother, Jason Kelce.
"I initially mentioned it to Tay. I was like, 'How funny would it be if I just rolled out on one of the bikes during the "1989" album, that era,'" he explained. (Travis is a noted fan of "Blank Space," one of several hit singles from Swift's fifth studio album.)
"She started laughing. She was like, 'Would you seriously be up for doing something like that?'" Travis continued. "I was just like, 'What? I would love to do that. Are you kidding me?' I've seen the show enough — might as well put me to work here."
But Swift found a different way to slot him in. During the last of her three sold-out shows in London, Travis joined two backup dancers, Kameron Saunders and Jan Ravnik, for a skit that takes place during "The Tortured Poets Department" segment.
Travis was tasked with carrying Swift's limp body across the stage for a theatrical costume change.
"There was no bike in case I ran into somebody else or hit one of the dancers or anything," Travis said. "It was the safest option."
In fact, Travis said his biggest concern onstage was Swift's safety.
"The one thing I told myself is, 'Do not drop the baby. Do not drop Taylor on your way over to this damn couch,'" he said. "Get her to the couch safely."
Travis even recalled advice from his former coach, Eric Bieniemy, who helped lead the Kansas City Chiefs to two Super Bowl victories.
"Coach Bieniemy always used to say, 'That ball has our dreams, goals, and aspirations,'" Travis said. "You do not drop that ball."
"It's such a fun, playful part of the show," he continued. "It was the perfect area or perfect time for me to go up there, just be a ham, have some fun — not only with her, Kam, and Jan, but the crowd, and really try and get everybody excited for the rest of the show. It was awesome. I had an absolute blast."
Travis also praised Swift as a "true showman" and said it was "an honor" being onstage with her and her dancers — especially because Saunders' brother, Khalen Saunders, is a top NFL player and Travis' former teammate.
"I was up there with three professionals," Travis said. "You can do no wrong when Taylor's onstage. She's the best to do it."
Although Jason teased his brother, saying he could've ruined the show, Travis said he was pleased with his performance — and, more importantly, so was his girlfriend.
"I didn't disappoint Taylor, so that's all that really matters," he said. "That was my No. 1 goal: Do not fuck this up. Do not drop Taylor, do not fuck this up."
Travis wooed Swift last summer by giving her a shout-out on "New Heights," a move that Swift later described as "metal as hell."
The two began dating shortly after and quickly got serious, with Swift appearing at several NFL games to support the Chiefs.
"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 Time. "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."
