Taylor Swift has a history of speaking out against the publicity her romantic relationships tend to get, but when it comes to Travis Kelce, she has a different perspective.
Swift, 33, was named Time‘s 2023 Person of the Year on Wednesday, and opened up for the first time about her romance with Kelce, 34, which has taken over the world in the months since she first attended a Kansas City Chiefs game to cheer on her beau in September.
Addressing her high-profile visits to Arrowhead Stadium, among other venues, to see Kelce play, the singer said, “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,” she added. “We’re just proud of each other.”
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Taylor Swift on the cover of TIME as the 2023 Person of the Year.Inez and Vinoodh for TIME
When it comes to attending Chiefs games — which Swift is now somewhat of a pro at, having attended five of the team’s games in the last three months — she also opened up about what it’s like having so many cameras on her when she’s in the crowd.
“I don’t know how they know what suite I’m in,” she admitted, referring to the family suites she typically sits in — sometimes with Kelce’s mom, Donna, other times with fellow Chiefs player Patrick Mahomes’ wife, Brittany.
“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,” Swift added.
Taylor Swift kisses Travis Kelce on the cheek after Chiefs-Chargers game.Chariah Gordon/Instagram
The 12-time Grammy winner clarified that she is totally unaware of how often (or not) she’s on TV when she’s at one of Kelce’s games. Her only focus is on her beau.
“I’m just there to support Travis,” Swift said. “I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads, and Chads.”
Football, generally, is “awesome, it turns out,” she admitted. “I’ve been missing out my whole life.”
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce arrive at the ‘SNL’ Afterparty in NYC on Oct. 15, 2023.Gotham/GC Images
Swift’s insights into her relationship come just two weeks after Kelce similarly spoke out about the pair’s love story as he graced the cover of WSJ. Magazine‘s December/January issue.
While he kept some cards close to his chest, the NFL player admitted that he had a little help securing Swift’s attention at first.
“There were definitely people she knew that knew who I was, in her corner [who said]: ‘Yo! Did you know he was coming?’ I had somebody playing Cupid,” Kelce shared of a fact that he only learned after Swift reached out to him herself.
“She told me exactly what was going on and how I got lucky enough to get her to reach out,” he said of the beginnings of their romance.
Taylor Swift for TIME.Photographs by Inez and Vinoodh for TIME
The Chiefs tight end added that the pop star is both “hilarious” and “a genius,” and revealed that their shared outlook on family and work is part of what makes them compatible.
“Everybody knows I’m a family guy,” Kelce said. “Her team is her family. Her family does a lot of stuff in terms of the tour, the marketing, being around, so I think she has a lot of those values as well, which is right up my alley.”
For more on Taylor Swift and her amazing year, pick up PEOPLE’s 2023 Most Intriguing People of the Year issue, on newsstands Friday.
