Well this is…a theory.
Since they started dating, pop superstar Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce have faced near-constant accusations that their relationship is nothing more than a publicity stunt and isn’t actually a real relationship at all.
The couple first made their relationship official back in 2023 when Taylor began attending Chiefs games at Arrowhead Stadium alongside Kelce’s family. And since then, Travis has appeared onstage with Taylor at one of her Eras Tour shows last year, while Taylor is a fixture at Chiefs games when she’s not on tour (much to the frustration of some NFL fans).
Speculation about the relationship being a media ploy really heated up last year when photos circulated that claimed to show a “media plan” for bringing the relationship to an end, though it later came out that it was just a student’s school project.
And despite the fact that the couple have been together for nearly two years now, and seem to be pretty happy together, there are still people who think that the whole relationship is staged.
Now, to answer the question of who would benefit from staging the relationship, the obvious answer is the NFL. The league has been quick to capitalize on Taylor Swift’s presence at their games, using her in hype videos and no doubt enjoying the young, female audience that has typically been one of the league’s lowest performing demographics.
But a new conspiracy theory has popped up alleging that the NFL isn’t the only one behind the “fake relationship.”
This is a complicated one, so stick with me.
According to the conspiracy theory, explained on TikTok by creator Mohala Lagapa, the entire relationship is what he calls a “multilevel marketing insurance scheme” involving State Farm.
The NFL obviously has a major relationship with insurance company State Farm, and over the past few years State Farm has released several ads featuring Kansas City Chiefs players including Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and coach Andy Reid. And in October of 2023, the insurance company’s spokesman, Jake From State Farm, was even spotted with Kelce’s mother, Donna Kelce, at a Philadelphia Eagles game.
Well the PR stunt featuring Mama Kelce was orchestrated by a company called Maximum Effort, a production company and marketing agency founded by actor Ryan Reynolds, in what was an obvious attempt to help State Farm capitalize off the relationship between Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift.
That led the TikTok creator to discover that the relationship between Kelce and Swift was first reported by a Twitter account called “The Messenger” back in November 2023. But the link included in the tweet directed to a defunct website that had opened 4 months prior to “breaking” the news of the relationship – and shut down months later.
The Messenger was founded by Jimmy Finkelstein, the former owner of the Washington DC-based publication The Hill. And apparently it was funded by five businessmen, who each contributed $10 million to its launch. One of those funders was Josh Harris, co-founder of private equity firm Apollo Global, which acquired security company ADT back in 2016. And in 2022, State Farm acquired a minority stake in ADT for around $1.2 billion.
We’re getting to the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce part, so just hang in there with me.
Apparently Finkelstein’s wife, Pamela Gross Finkelstein, was somehow connected to actress Blake Lively – the TikTok creator isn’t entirely clear how, other than the fact that Lively showed up when he Googled Pamela’s name – and Lively is, of course, not only the wife of actor Ryan Reynolds but also the (former?) best friend of Taylor Swift.
*Shocked gasp*
Ok, let me try to land this plane for you. Basically, the creator goes on to claim that the NFL and State Farm approached Swift about the idea for a collaboration, Swift went to Reynolds and his marketing agency, and it was Reynolds who set up the relationship with Kelce along with his wife Blake Lively. State Farm then funded The Messenger to break the news of the relationship, while promising Taylor that they would buy ad revenue in front of her YouTube videos and pay her the proceeds. (This is where we’re lacking in a little bit of evidence and having to make some assumptions).
In return, the NFL has made billions of dollars off the power couple’s relationship – which is why the NFL continues to push the Chiefs through to wins and championships.
Got all that? I told you it was a complicated one.
But anyway, the theory is missing some key pieces (for example…the evidence), and only makes assumptions based on the connections between a bunch of rich people. Aren’t all rich people connected through like six degrees of separation anyway? This is basically that theory, except to explain Taylor and Travis’s relationship.
And there’s another big problem with the whole thing: Travis and Taylor were first linked together back in the summer of 2023 – months before the tweet from The Messenger that seems to be the lynchpin to the theory. And not only that, Taylor had been attending Chiefs games for months before this “bombshell” tweet that claimed they were officially dating.
But hey, crazier things have happened though. What do you think about this one?
@mohalanahenahe Two Yards Short Of The Truth; The Travis Kelce & Taylor Swift Love Story- In this video I theorize the reality of the relationship between the two, starting with a theory, then things started looking a little…too, connected. And although it all seemed tied…every road, leads back to State Farm… #taylorswift #traviskelce #ryanreynolds #blakelively
The post Viral Conspiracy Theory Claims The Relationship Between Travis Kelce And Taylor Swift Is Actually A Marketing Scheme For…State Farm Insurance? first appeared on Whiskey Riff.