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'Biggest downgrade': Kayla Nicole fans slam Travis Kelce after NFL star starts 'dating' Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift's rumored beau Travis Kelce's ex Kayla Nicole harbored a love for sports long before she met Chiefs tight end

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI: Travis Kelce's ex-girlfriend Kayla Nicole's fans recently took to social media to call out the NFL star over his recent dating rumors with pop star Taylor Swift.

The reaction comes after the romance rumors intensified as Swift attended the Kansas City Chiefs game against the Chicago Bears at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, September 24. 

The 'Midnights' creator was reportedly all smiles when she was spotted with Kelce's mother, Donna, at the football tight end's suite during the match, People reported.

A video clip shared by the official NFL account on X, formerly Twitter, showed Swift cheering for her rumored new beau dressed in an all-red outfit in support of the Chiefs.

At one point, the 'Anti-Hero' hitmaker was seen opening her mouth wide, seemingly in response to a comment made by Donna, before breaking out a laugh and touching the latter's shoulder.

The speculation surrounding the relationship status of the allegedly rumored couple was fuelled further after Swift and Kelce were seen leaving the Arrowhead Stadium together. 

Kayla Nicole has a career in journalism and fashion industry

Kelce's former flame, Nicole, reportedly harbored a love for sports long before she met the Chiefs tight end.

Back in 2018, Nicole posted a "friendly reminder" on her Instagram, reminding followers about her educational background. 

At the time, Nicole mentioned that she graduated from Pepperdine University in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism.

"Hosting is where my heart is," she wrote in the caption of a video of herself wearing a Laker's jersey while reporting from outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

Following her graduation, Nicole earned hosting gigs at ESPN and Barstool Sports, among others, as per People.

She also dabbled into entertainment journalism after creating a name for herself as a reporter doing courtside coverage on the NBA and reporting on the sidelines for the NFL.

Nicole reportedly interviewed Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler for Global Grind in 2017 during 'The House' press tour as well as Sterling K Brown in 2019 for his 'Angry Bird 2' press tour. 

In addition to reporting, Nicole also established herself in the fashion industry during her career as a model. According to People, she was an ambassador for several fashion brands, including Savage x Fenty, Revolve and Crocs, among others.

Nicole also runs a fitness brand named 'Strong Is Sexy' and has over 667K followers on Instagram, at the time of writing. 

How long were Kayla Nicole and Travis Kelce together? 

Nicole previously mentioned that she connected to Kelce through Instagram before they officially started dating in 2017. 

"He had been following me and insta-flirting for a few months," she reportedly revealed in a since-deleted IG story by TMZ, People reported. 

"All double taps and no dm. Soooo after a little liquid courage and a pep talk from @iqueenb (something along the lines of 'WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR') I dm'd him on New Years," Nicole recalled. 

Kelce and Nicole were together for five years and had an on-and-off relationship.

They allegedly sparked split rumors for the first time in August 2020 when Nicole deleted pictures of Kelce on her Instagram.

When rumors of Kelce cheating on Nicole made the rounds online, the former said it was "fake news" and "not why Kayla and I broke up," in a now-deleted tweet. 

The couple's got back together shortly after and Kelce confirmed the reconciliation by addressing Nicole as "my girlfriend" during an Instagram Live with WNBA basketball player Chiney Ogwumike.

"She's the best. She's the absolute best," he said at the time. 

The pair parted ways once again in May 2022. At the time, Barstool Sports allegedly reported that Kelce compelled Nicole to pay for "half of everything" while they were together. 

The football star denied the claims in an interview with 'The Pivot Podcast' earlier this year.

"I would never say that I was supporting her. She had a very financially stable life and what she was doing in her career," Kelce said.

"But you've got to be crazy if you'd think I would never helped or gave her a couple thousand to grab some food or she gave me some money to go get some food.... we were in a relationship for five years," he mentioned.

"A hundred dollars here, a hundred dollars there wasn't even thought about," Kelce stated. 

Kayla Nicole fans dub Travis Kelce dating Taylor Swift a 'downgrade' 

Nicole's fans were seemingly left upset at Kelce's dating rumors with Swift and called his latest relationship status a "downgrade."

"To go from Kayla Nicole to Taylor Swift has to be the biggest downgrade I’ve witnessed! Yikes!" one wrote. 

"To go from Kayla Nicole to Taylor Swift has to be the biggest downgrade I’ve seen in my LIFE!" added another. 

"White man with white woman what a surprise" one mocked. 

"And now I know why I see black dude hate twd him... dude is Baskin Robbins. Wonder if his diction will change now. Hope so. Sounds silly," said another. 

"Yeah massive downgrade," a fifth agreed. 

One said, "from kayla nicole to taylor swift is just really a downgrade im sorry"

While another added, "i feels like it’s almost always a downgrade when they go from a black woman to a yt woman."