Taylor Swift’s personal life: childhood, relationships, Travis Kelce, concerts, private jets…

The American artist is a musical and sociological phenomenon, whose journey invites us to trace it on a sentimental level through the content of her lyrics.

Every day, two things happen for sure: someone refuels their car, and Taylor Swift makes headlines. When Time magazine named the American artist as Person of the Year 2023, no one could pretend to be surprised.

There was only excitement, excitement, and more excitement: everything about her is understood and framed under the media shadow of an unstoppable social hurricane, a musical whirlwind that is already being studied as a sociological phenomenon.

In the streets, where things are spoken most plainly and often correctly – this time, accurately so – she is summed up in just a few words: “the most popular person in the world.”

The tsunami of her music, the only one that knows no borders, arrives in Madrid with two concerts at the Santiago Bernabéu on May 29 and 30, in the midst of a heatwave and just before the temperatures are expected to drop a little before the cruel summer.

It’s impossible not to notice the difference Swift’s arrival has made to the traditional Madrid atmosphere, now more festive and expectant. Beyond the musical aspect, the artist of the moment draws attention for her intriguing life trajectory, which, in one way or another, has led her to fill the Real Madrid stadium to capacity for two consecutive nights with ease.

Swift’s curious childhood
She first opened her eyes in the borough of West Reading, in the American state of Pennsylvania. It could be said that she received her musical baptism there, as her parents named her Taylor in honor of singer-songwriter James Taylor. She had a comfortable upbringing: her mother was a homemaker and worked as a marketing executive at an investment fund, while her father, a financial advisor for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, came from three generations of bank presidents.

The early years of her life were spent in Cumru, Berks County (also in Pennsylvania). She grew up on a Christmas tree farm and attended preschool and elementary school under the instruction of Franciscan nuns, with both she and her brother, Austin, being raised as Presbyterians. They even attended Vacation Bible School during the summers. Later, the family moved to Wyomissing, where she took acting classes on Broadway and developed a passion for country music. Eventually, after winning a local talent contest, she ventured into the music industry with her debut studio album, the eponymous Taylor Swift, which would set the course for her entire career.

Taylor’s love life: from Joe Jonas to Travis Kelce
Her music has always been closely linked to her personal life because, as she has confessed on several occasions, her lyrics come directly from her own experiences. While developing her second album, Fearless, she met Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers, with whom she had a brief relationship in 2008. A year later, she had a short-lived romance with Taylor Lautner, which she ended, and their story was captured in “Back to December.”

Next came the tumultuous relationship with John Mayer, to whom she dedicated “Dear John,” and a brief fling with Jake Gyllenhaal, which inspired her hit “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” There was also a fleeting affair with Conor Kennedy, grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, the almost ideal romance with Harry Styles – resulting in “I Knew You Were Trouble” – and the alleged infidelity involving Calvin Harris and Tom Hiddleston. Following these relationships, she entered her longest relationship yet, dating Joe Alwyn from 2017 until April 2023.

Currently accompanying Swift is Travis Kelce, the football star of the Kansas City Chiefs. Their story began last summer when Kelce attended one of her concerts with the intention of giving her a bracelet (a Trojan horse tactic as it concealed his phone number). However, he left the venue without achieving his goal, as he revealed in a podcast shortly afterward.

In September, rumors began to swirl, and with the arrival of autumn, the artist was seen attending one of Kelce’s games for the first time. When she did so again the following week, there was no way to hide it. Since then, their dates have become the romantic delight of Swift’s fans, who eagerly follow the couple’s outings and her travels around the world on her “The Eras Tour.” The media frenzy peaked with their kiss at the Super Bowl final.

Taylor Swift’s controversial trips around the world
Glimpses of her personal life that complete the portrait of her private world include her love for animals. She has three cats: Benjamin Button, Olivia Benson, and Meredith Grey, named after The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Law & Order: SVU, and Grey’s Anatomy respectively. If her songs serve as a literary and musical diary of her dramas and joys, her pets are a testament to the influence of both small and big screen entertainment in her daily life.

Swift arrives in Madrid with the reception befitting one of the greatest musical stars in history, traveling by private jet – a mode of transport well-known to her fans. Last year, she traveled over 178,000 miles (286,500 kilometers) in it, sparking debates about the environmental impact of her journeys. In reality, it’s not just one jet but two that facilitate her global travels. To put it in perspective, the distance she covered in 2023 is equivalent to circling the globe 22.5 times along the equator, a feat unimaginable even for Phileas Fogg.

The impact of her music, along with her carbon footprint, arrives in Madrid with the social and media buzz that only she can generate. Because that’s how it is: every day, gasoline and Taylor Swift.