Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce‘s engagement announcement in August made headlines around the world.
For some, the impact of the news was so monumental classes were cancelled and people took the day off from work.
It’s easy to forget, as the world celebrates the popstar “finally” finding love and getting her happily ever after, there were many years she was mocked in her search for love.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement announcement warmed hearts around the world. (Instagram/Taylor Swift)
Perhaps most famously was when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, while hosting the Golden Globe Awards in 2013, made a joke about her string of boyfriends as they introduced Michael J. Fox’s teenage son, who was helping to hand out awards.
Months later, Swift noted her disappointment over being the butt of the joke and addressed criticism she’d long received for her love songs, especially her breakup hits.
“For a female to write about her feelings, and then be portrayed as some clingy, insane, desperate girlfriend in need of making you marry her and have kids with her, I think that’s taking something that potentially should be celebrated, a woman writing about her feelings in a confessional way … and turning it and twisting it into something that is frankly a little sexist,” she told Vanity Fair in March that year.
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Before Kelce came into her life, Swift was with actor Joe Alwyn for six years, with their breakup inspiring many songs on The Tortured Poets Department album. (NBCU Photo Bank)
Now, more than a decade on and after arguably her biggest breakup album of all – with The Tortured Poets Department largely about the end of her six-year relationship with English actor Joe Alwyn – Swift is happy, engaged and has just come off a record-breaking world tour.
So, how did it all do such a complete 180 in the public sphere? How did society go from laughing at Swift’s failed relationships to celebrating her romance with the three-time Super Bowl champion, who is also a successful podcaster, actor and TV host?
‘The essence of triumph in the face of adversity’
According to psychologist Dr Louise Goddard-Crawley, it’s a combination of people seeing her resilience in the face of adversity, as well as giving fans hope for their own lives.
“Taylor has been through very public experiences of shaming and loss, moments when the world scrutinised her private life in a way that could have easily silenced her,” the chartered member of the British Psychological Society tells nine.com.au.
“She embodies a version of the American dream” psychologist Dr Louise Goddard-Crawley says of Swift’s journey in the public eye. (AP)
“Instead, she metabolised that pain through her music and her business. It’s the essence of triumph in the face of adversity: taking what could break you and using it to build something meaningful… not to mention re-shaping the entire music industry through her tours and business ventures.
“She embodies a version of the American dream; resilience, independence, success achieved on her own terms, at a time when the culture is hungry for symbols of unity and triumph.”
“When Donald Trump is even congratulating her, you know she’s transcended the usual divides.”
Goddard-Crawley adds that public perception around Swift hasn’t changed due to any single moment but an “accumulation of years of resilience, artistic reinvention and sheer visibility”.
“[Swift] has reached a point where she is so dominant culturally and commercially that even critics feel compelled to acknowledge her,” she says, noting Trump even congratulated the couple of years of slamming the singer.
Celebrity publicist Sally Burleigh agrees the idea of the singer reclaiming her power has helped her in the public eye. (Getty Images for TAS Rights Mana)
“At a certain stage, it becomes less about personal preference and more about the fact that she cannot be ignored.”
Longtime celebrity publicist Sally Burleigh, who has worked with the likes of Kylie Minogue, Joe Jonas and Elle Macpherson, met Swift “way, way back” when the then-19-year-old performed at CMC Rocks the Snowies in Thredbo back in 2009.
She agrees with Goddard-Crawley that the idea of the Lover singer reclaiming her power has helped her in the public eye.
“Her rebrands, the cultural shift toward celebrating women reclaiming their narratives and the fairytale optics of a pop icon dating an NFL hero all work together,” Burleigh tells nine.com.au.
“Her vulnerability and insider look into her life and songwriting shown in her documentary was also huge in portraying her as a human being too.
“But when Donald Trump is even congratulating her [on her engagement], you know she’s transcended the usual divides.”
Burleigh adds that Kelce’s success in his own right also helps them to be celebrated across a wider cross-section of society.
“He’s not just ‘Taylor’s boyfriend’, he’s a superstar athlete with his own fan base and media spotlight,” she says.
“The dynamic is equal, he’s confident in his own skin, and that balance plays beautifully in the press.”
Goddard-Crawley agrees Kelce’s rising star – he and his brother Jason Kelce inked a $150 million deal for their podcast last year – also feeds into our psychology around their romance.
Burleigh says Kelce’s success in his own right also helps them to be celebrated across a wider cross-section of society. (Instagram/killatrav)
“After years of being mocked for dating the ‘wrong’ men or being ‘too emotional’, there is something affirming in seeing her thrive alongside someone who is admired in his own right,” she says.
“It makes the relationship feel less fragile, more communal, and more triumphant… almost like a cultural victory, as much as a personal one.”
‘She’s clearly comfortable inviting people in’
While Kelce and Swift didn’t go public with their romance straight off the bat, they appear to be more open about their relationship than the singer has been with most exes.
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Goddard-Crawley says this makes them more endearing and appealing to fans.
“Culturally, we are drawn to visible pairings of two successful people because they signal strength, stability and social endorsement,” she says.
“From an evolutionary perspective, a public bond between two high-status individuals is read as a sign of security and influence. For fans, this perhaps adds another layer – Taylor is not just surviving heartbreak and finding love again, she is doing so in a relationship that looks equal, celebratory and strong.”
The psychologist and author adds that it all plays in to a deep human wiring.
“For fans, that triumph is deeply relatable. We hear our own heartbreaks and disappointments in her music, but also the possibility of recovery and joy,” Goddard-Crawley says.
“[Swift] becomes a mirror, allowing us to process our own emotions through hers. Humans are wired to seek out and share stories of struggle and survival; it helps us learn, adapt and bond as social beings.”
Burleigh agrees, telling nine.com.au Swift “was protecting herself from being mocked” during her relationship with Alwyn and “fans respected that boundary”.
“With Travis (and life in general) she’s matured, she’s clearly comfortable inviting people in,” she says.
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“With Travis (and life in general) she’s matured, she’s clearly comfortable inviting people in,” Burleigh says. (Instagram/killatrav)
“When she’s controlling the narrative, fans feel like welcome guests instead of intruders, and that changes everything.”
The celebrity publicist also suggests her team behind-the-scenes are strategically looking at ways of harnessing the goodwill.
“Every star has cycles of love, ‘whatever’, and backlash. The higher you go, the bigger the potential fall”
“Taylor writes from the heart, but the way she releases her music – the timing, Easter eggs, sequencing – is very strategic,” she says.
“Her team knows exactly how to turn personal heartbreak into a communal experience. It’s authenticity, but amplified.”
There are already suggestions fans are in for a royal-wedding-style celebration of this Love Story. (Instagram/Taylor Swift)Can ‘Swiftmania’ fandom levels be sustained?
There are already suggestions fans are in for a royal-wedding-style celebration of this Love Story.
But will Swifties feel like they’ve gotten enough from the couple and can their level of fandom be sustained in the long-term?
“Fan fantasies can turn into pressure, but Taylor’s team are masters at expectation management,” Burleigh says.
“She’ll give them 90 per cent of what they want, then surprise them with something different in the final 10 per cent. It’s like her set lists – you may not get every song you begged for, but you’ll still leave satisfied.”
“Every star has cycles of love, ‘whatever’, and backlash. The higher you go, the bigger the potential fall.” (Getty)
The publicist predicts the couple will go down the route of other A-list couples, such as Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston or Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, and release “that one joyfully intimate black-and-white image”.
She also believes Swift’s team will already be forward-planning the couple’s public perception beyond their nuptials.
“Every star has cycles of love, ‘whatever’, and backlash. The higher you go, the bigger the potential fall, but Taylor and her team do seem to be two beats ahead,” she says.
Baby names inspired by The Tortured Poets Department
“Right now, they’ll be mapping how to turn the Kelce romance and Eras Tour momentum into longevity, for sure.
“Wedding prep will dominate her life, our life and the headlines for months. Look at the frenzy already.
“It’s pretty damn huge because everyone loves a ‘love story’ and deep down it’s nice to know she’s happy.”
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