The straight male case for Taylor Swift’s engagement to Travis Kelce.
By Will Rahn – 08.26.25 — Culture and Ideas – for The Free Press
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Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement a few hours ago, and we at The Free Press couldn’t be happier. Earlier this month, Will Rahn, our beloved straight male editor—no, he’s not a diversity hire—reviewed the singer-songwriter’s appearance on Kelce’s podcast under the headline “Marry a Woman Smarter Than You.” Given that the Kansas City Chiefs star took our advice to heart, we’re republishing Will’s delightful piece today. Congrats to the happy couple! —The Editors
When Taylor Swift told the world, earlier this week, that she’d be announcing her next album on two dudes’ podcast, the women of The Free Press broke down.
The vibe shift has got to her! one camp cried. She’s mad the podcast bros got Trump elected, so now she’s coming for them!
It’s not that deep, another camp insisted. After all, the podcast hosts are her boyfriend and his brother!
The argument escalated. No one could agree: Which Swift fan in the office should write the hot take? Would we flip a coin? Or would we agree that because all the Swifties wanted to write the piece, none of them would?
Would we, instead, force the token straight, male writer in the office to tackle the subject—even though he professed no interest, no desire, even though he actively begged not to do this?
I didn’t want to watch the interview Taylor Swift did last night with her boyfriend Travis Kelce and his brother Jason on their YouTube show New Heights. Let’s start with the fact that it’s two hours long. That’s too long for a podcast. Hell, that’s usually too long for a movie. And I don’t know any of these people. I could name perhaps five Taylor Swift songs. I don’t care about the NFL. I don’t care about the Kansas City Chiefs, the team Travis plays for. And I only dislike Jason’s team, the Philadelphia Eagles, because I never want Philadelphia to win anything.
I was glum when I started watching. So why was I smiling five minutes in?
Gosh, I thought. I think I like these people.
As many of us realized during the pandemic, podcasts sometimes act as a friendship simulator. This is especially apparent in podcasts aimed at young men, such as the one featuring comedians Nick Mullen, Stavros Halkias, and Adam Friedland that had a name not suitable for publication. A few funny dudes joking around, breaking each other’s balls. Take your mask off, open up a beer, sit on your porch, and pretend you’re all hanging out.
The Taylor interview—which now has over 12 million views on YouTube—felt more like a double date with a lovely couple you’re just getting to know. Travis’s arm hangs gently over her shoulders. She has her hand on his leg. They seem fun and, against all odds, relatable. And if they aren’t really in love—as the haters claimed when they first got together—they’re doing a tremendous job pretending otherwise.
The big reveal here, some 90 minutes in, is Taylor’s new album cover and track listing. She has one song in there called “CANCELLED!” all caps, which you already know will generate a million takes. (“It’s a banger,” Travis assures us.) The final track, which is also the name of the album, is titled “The Life of a Showgirl,” and it features the young and somewhat controversial singer Sabrina Carpenter, known for her catchy, innuendo-laden lyrics.
“The Taylor interview—which now has over 12 million views on YouTube—felt more like a double date with a lovely couple you’re just getting to know,” writes Will Rahn. (Screen grab via New Heights podcast)
But mostly, they just chat. About their first date, about their careers, about their travails and how they overcome them.
“Anything you feed your brain, it will internalize,” Taylor says at one point about the criticism she’s faced over the years. “Anything you feed the internet, it will kill.” True enough, and if you’re stumbling over that last point, check out the comments below this story.
They may be exceptionally wealthy—Taylor alone is a billionaire now, and is famous for giving lavish bonuses to her team, like the one I deserve for accepting this assignment—but there is something oddly familiar about this couple. She explains her nerdy, esoteric pursuits, such as her interest in numerology. He grins a lot, and talks about what he loves about his mom.
The comparison that comes to mind while watching the interview is the old sitcom trope of the dumb, goofy husband and the smart, sensible wife. This arrangement was inescapable for anyone who grew up watching television in the 1990s and early 2000s—as Taylor and Travis surely did; they were both born in 1989—from Home Improvement and The Simpsons to The King of Queens and Family Guy.
Back then, conservatives complained about the arrangement: Why does the husband, the supposed leader of the family, always have to be such a numbskull? But the reason slow husband/sharp wife comedies are harder to come by these days in pop culture is because at some point we decided it was misogynistic: Why should the man get all the laughs? Why does he get to be the fun one?
But what if he admires the hell out of her?
Travis says Taylor’s “the smartest woman in the world.”
Travis is a man who is confident enough to understand that he’s outkicked his coverage, that he’s “the luckiest man in the world”—a phrase he uses repeatedly.
He’s not authentically stupid in any way. But he recognizes that while both he and his love are entertainers who perform in NFL stadiums, he’s a six-foot-five gorilla of a man who catches footballs for a living. While Taylor, he reminds us, is “the greatest songwriter of all time.” Also, he says she outworks him in the gym.
Charmingly, Taylor pushes back, noting he can “lift a car.”
He smiles as he waves away the compliment: “That’s just genetics.”
And that’s just wholesome!
Yes, Travis is quite famous in his own right. He’s won three Super Bowls. But he’s obviously the junior partner here, and appears quite comfortable taking a backseat to his megastar girlfriend. Travis gets that she’s the brains of this operation and is grateful for it. There’s no resentment, no jealousy. This is a man who is confident enough to understand that he’s outkicked his coverage, that he’s “the luckiest man in the world”—a phrase he uses repeatedly.
This is how all of us straight dudes should think about our partners, right? If you’re looking to be with someone for the rest of your life, you’re better off in the long run with a quick wit. Conversation is the backbone of every good relationship, and you want someone who’ll still tell you things you didn’t know or never thought of 30 years from now. Also, you’re going to need someone who makes you laugh.
And I’ll add that you should worship them accordingly, as Travis clearly does. A lesser man would feel anxious running off with a genius, someone who will always, inevitably, eclipse him for the rest of his life. Instead, Travis gets that he’s hit the jackpot—and not just because he gets to travel the world for free on a private jet.
So let’s resolve to be like Travis. Watching the burly, bearded fellow canoodle with the brilliant bombshell is, to my amazement, a good use of two hours. If you’re lucky enough to have found your gal, pour her a glass of wine and watch it with her. If you’re still searching, take note of Travis’s recollection that his first conversation with Taylor was “the easiest I ever had.”
That’s what you’re really looking for, boys. Go out and get it. And be endlessly grateful if you’re lucky enough to find it.
Lord Buckbeak: "Will you come into my parlor?," said the Spider to the Fly. 