CELEBRITY
Travis Kelce arrives in Sydney: Australia has gone crazy as Taylor Swift’s Super Bowl hero boyfriend lands in Australia via private jet just in time after lots of fake rumors and conspiracies
Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce has touched down in Sydney.
The NFL star, 34, who has spent the last week celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory in the Super Bowl, arrived on Thursday morning to join Swift, 34, on the Australian leg of her sold-out Eras Tour after catching a ride from Honolulu in a private jet.
Aerial footage shows Kelce descending the steps of Swift’s Bombardier Global 6000 at Sydney Airport at 8:57am, and making his way to a silver van on the tarmac.
Flanked by security and airport staff, the Super Bowl star wore a blue-and-white jacket and matching trousers along with a white baseball cap worn backwards.
A staffer helped him place a large brown duffel bag into the backseat of the vehicle.
Travis was also joined on the plane by another man, believed to be NFL player and Kelce’s golfing buddy Ross Travis, who was wearing a dark tracksuit and black cap.
The response from Aussies to the athlete’s arrival shows the extent to which Swift-mania has spread across the country ever since the singer began her run of arena concerts.
One X (formerly Twitter) user shared a photo of multiple television screens showing the same footage of Kelce flying into Australia on Thursday morning.
‘EVERY Australian news channel covering Kelce’s apparent plane landing is insane,’ they wrote.
It is expected Kelce will attend Swift’s upcoming shows in Sydney this weekend.
Kelce and Swift were last pictured together during Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas on February 11, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada, as they celebrated the Kansas City Chiefs’ win.
Swift then flew to Australia while Kelce remained in the US to continue celebrating his victory.
However, Travis was criticised for smiling for a ‘tone deaf’ selfie with a police officer outside a Kansas City restaurant and partying just hours after a horrific shooting at the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade.
On Wednesday, shots rang out moments after Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and their teammates had left the stage in front of the city’s Union Station with one dead and 21 injured – included nine children.
Fans called Kelce’s behavior into question after a spate of controversial incidents since he took to the field in Las Vegas for Sunday’s Super Bowl – which saw the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in overtime.
In ill-timed antics, a picture surfaced showing Kelce flashing a huge smile with a beer in his hand as he agreed to take a selfie with a police officer as he entered the Granfalloon Restaurant and Bar.
According to TMZ he was joining other teammates, who were already inside, for dinner just hours after the chaotic scenes in the city.
Angry fans took to social media to accuse the football player of being ‘tone deaf’ and lacking compassion after the incident.
One wrote: ‘There is a time for everything, and that wasn’t the time for a picture’.
Another commented ‘not a good look. this is really bad’ while another added that Taylor Swift’s ‘people’ are ‘having a sit down with Taylor at this point’.
‘I can smell the liquor through my phone. He really looks concerned,’ wrote another.
Others defended the Superbowl star and felt he had a right to enjoy a meal out with his team, hours after he said he was ‘heartbroken’ over the horror shooting.
A statement posted to Kelce’s X account earlier on Wednesday read: ‘I am heartbroken over the tragedy that took place today.
‘My heart is with all who came out to celebrate with us and have been affected. KC, you mean the world to me.’
Kelce’s pop star girlfriend Swift later made a $100,000 donation to victims of the shooting, while Kelce then matched the generous donation.
A GoFundMe page shows a pair of $50,000 donations from his charity, the Eighty-Seven & Running Foundation – an organization that aims to help ‘underserved youth strive to become productive citizens.’
The GoFundMe page was started by friends of the Reyes family, who had two young daughters wounded in the shooting. Swift, meanwhile, donated to the family of Elizabeth Lopez-Galvan, who was killed in the shooting.
This week, Kelce then broke his silence following the deadly shooting as he released a message alongside his brother Jason ahead of the latest episode of their New Heights podcast dropping.
‘We have a pre-recorded episode for you guys coming up on Wednesday but after the tragic events of the Super Bowl parade in Kansas City, it didn’t feel right without you guys hearing from us first,’ he said.
‘Kansas City and Chiefs Kingdom we love you guys. we’re with you guys and we’ll see you guys soon.’
The brothers also encouraged fans to donate to an emergency fund which will provide support for victims, their families, the first responders as well as violence prevention and mental health services.
Rumours are also heating up that Swift and Kelce will enjoy a romantic holiday together in Queensland during their time Down Under.
Swift is set to perform four shows in Sydney from Friday, February 23 to Monday February 26.
The Shake It Of hitmaker landed just in Sydney at about 1.30pm on Monday after her flight was delayed 30 minutes due to severe thunderstorms.
She is believed to be currently staying at Crown’s presidential villa in Sydney’s Barangaroo, which typically costs AUD $25,000 per night.