Ed Kelce has spoken out about Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s impending podcast appearance in his first interview since the death of his long-term girlfriend Maureen Maguire.
It has been a tough few weeks for the patriarch of the Kelce family, but he was on fine form for a surprise appearance on Australian television on Wednesday, speaking about Taylor’s new album, and his son Travis’ GQ cover shoot.
When asked if he knew pop superstar Swift was dropping her 12th album – The Life of a Showgirl – Ed told Today: ‘I knew nothing about this announcement… I knew at some point the boys wanted to get her on the podcast, but I didn’t know when it was coming up.’
When asked whether he had heard any of the top-secret new music from Taylor’s impending album, he insisted: ‘No I haven’t, not at all’, before adding: ‘I know Taylor’s been working pretty hard since she stopped the tour.
‘She’s taken some breaks to watch some football games, but she’s been out in LA working on this album. My guess is that, although I haven’t heard anything, it’s going to be like everything else she does, it’s going to be beautiful.’
In response, the host joked Ed was a ‘lovely father-in-law’, before the co-host jumped in to insist their colleague had ‘jumped the gun’ on that one.
Ed Kelce appeared on Australia’s Today program to talk about his son Travis and Taylor Swift
The superstar pair broke the internet on Monday when they teased their podcast appearance
When asked whether a marriage was ‘surely what we’re all hoping for’, Ed refused to take the bait and simply laughed it off, noting: ‘We’ll see, we’ll see.’
The father of NFL legends Jason and Travis has been keeping a low profile in recent weeks following the surprise death of his long-term partner Maureen.
She was laid to rest last Thursday at an intimate ceremony in New Jersey, which was attended by Jason and his wife Kylie, as well as other close friends and family.
There was no Taylor and Travis at the funeral, given the pair’s extremely busy schedules – with the latter in NFL training camp ahead of the new season.
Travis also stunned the world on Tuesday when he was revealed as the newest cover star of GQ Magazine, with a wild photoshoot accompanied by a wide-ranging interview in which he opened up on his life with Taylor like never before.
‘He’s so romantic,’ came the question from the host, to which Ed replied: ‘He is, and I think Taylor has brought a lot of that out.’
Travis and Taylor have spent a quiet few months together but have now thrust themselves back into the limelight ahead of a joint podcast appearance on New Heights this week
Kelce is the cover star of the latest edition of GQ Magazine, where he poses shirtless
The Kansas City Chiefs star holds a crocodile for the GQ cover shoot, released on Tuesday
A further marriage question was then put to Travis’ dad, as it was noted that the pair would need to get married quickly to squeeze it in ahead of the new NFL season.
‘I really can’t say much to that,’ was the answer from Taylor’s potential father-in-law.
The next question of the interview then centered on Travis’ magnificent head of hair, with the hosts asking whether he gets it from his dad.
‘I don’t know where he gets it from,’ Ed laughed, adding: ‘He gets an awful lot from his mom.’
In the GQ interview, which was released on Tuesday, Travis opened up for the first time on the impact of the split between his parents, Donna and Ed.
The NFL star’s parents broke up when Travis and his older brother Jason were at college in Cincinnati and they have openly admitted staying together longer than they wanted in order to be the best parents possible.
Now, Travis recalls sensing his parents had drifted before what he thinks was their 20th wedding anniversary. And in moving comments, he also underlined how much he wants to avoid that ever happening with Swift.
Kelce and Swift pictured with Donna Kelce after the Chiefs beat Buffalo Bills back in January
Swift has also forged a close bond with Kelce’s father, Ed, in her time with the Chiefs star
‘I don’t want to get this wrong, it had to be around 20 (20th wedding anniversary),’ Kelce said, explaining that his parents’ anniversary date had been marked down on a calendar in the Kelce family kitchen.
‘I remember seeing it and I was like, “Oh, it’s their anniversary. I wonder what they’re going to do.” And it was kind of just another day almost. Another day of knocking out things for the kids.
‘I’m sure my father probably did something, he’s always been very good at making sure we celebrate our mother when it’s Mother’s Day and all that. He still to this day will text, like, “Hey, it’s your mom’s birthday coming up. Don’t forget about it”. But I never saw the romance of it all.’
As the three-time Super Bowl winner looks to the future with Swift, he said how he wants to make sure that drift never happens to their relationship.
‘A lot of friends I grew up with shared that (seeing their parents happy). The handful of my friends whose parents are still together and still thriving – those are situations I would love to have. Not that I think my parents dealt with it the wrong way or anything like that.
Three-time Super Bowl winner Kelce, 35, has outlined his hopes for the future with Swift
Kelce was labeled ‘America’s sweetheart’ in a wild cover photo for GQ Magazine
‘It’s more so, if we’re gonna start this and do it, why not try and do it to last forever? Not just in a ‘It’s just for the kids’ aspect.’
Kelce also drew comparisons between Swift and his mother, at one stage getting emotional on how he admires the two women.
‘Their kindness, their genuineness, their ability to say hello to everyone in the room,’ Kelce said. ‘Their ability to show love and support no matter what. And on top of that, their work ethic.
‘I’ve seen Taylor do the exact same thing of setting goals for herself and exceeding the expectations and really captivating the world in that regard.’
