While reading an open letter to her fans, Travis Kelce’s ex-girlfriend Kayla Nicole referred to “backlash and embarrassment” amid his romance with Taylor Swift. The 31-year-old shared an Instagram video on October 9, in which she insisted that her platform is “not to create division but to elevate and unite women — Black women specifically.”
“Dear Black girl, they may call you a traitor for falling in love,” Kayla began. “You’ll hope the ones closest will protect you, but you will quickly find out that people don’t protect what they don’t value. They’ll say you’re too much … and in the same breath tell you that you’re not enough. Not successful enough, not wholesome enough, maybe not even intelligent enough. They’ll say you deserve the backlash and embarrassment. Because of your blackness, you should have known better. They’ll even try to tie your value to your net worth.”
Later in the clip, the sports journalist pointed out that she knows she is “not alone” with her feelings.
“On days I feel most inadequate, I have to remind myself that I am, have been and will always be more than enough,” Kayla said. “When the world gets dark and time gets hard, and you feel like your back is against the wall and your hands are tied, and nobody knows what it’s like to be you … this is only a small chapter in your story.”
Though she didn’t mention Travis, 33, in her video, the fashion influencer has made headlines because of her past relationship with the football tight end. They dated on and off from 2017 to 2022. Throughout their romance, Kayla was close with Travis’ inner circle, including teammate Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany Mahomes. However, after Travis’ romance with Taylor, 33, broke the internet last month, Kayla unfollowed Brittany, 28, and Patrick, 28.
In addition to Kayla, Travis’ other ex Maya Benberry has made headlines for claiming that the NFL star is a “cheater.” Maya, 31, met the athlete on the reality dating show Catching Kelce in 2016. By the end of that year, their relationship ended, and Maya alleged in a since-deleted tweet that Travis had cheated on her.
“When you and your ex broke up five months ago, but you find out via social media that he’s supposedly been in another relationship for 6,” she tweeted in 2017, around the time when Travis and Kayla’s relationship came to light. However, neither Maya nor Kayla has mentioned each other in their public statements amid Travis and Taylor’s romance.