Kayla Nicole seemingly reflected on what went wrong in her relationship with Travis Kelce as he prepares to marry fiancée Taylor Swift.
During a TikTok live conversation with Love Island’s Ace Greene on Thursday, February 19, Nicole, 34, revealed her last relationship was “probably, like, three years ago now.”
“It’s been a long time,” she shared in the video, according to TMZ.
When Greene, 23, asked, “Why did your last relationship not work?” Nicole wasn’t exactly sure, but made a telling statement about her ex Kelce, 36.
Joe Scarnici/Getty Images Travis Kelce and Kayla Nicole went through several relationship ups and downs before splitting for good in 2022. The exes dated on and off for five years after Nicole kicked things off by sending him an Instagram DM in 2017. “He had been following me and insta-flirting for a few months,” she […]
“Who knows. [It] could be compatibility issues,” Nicole said, or it could’ve been, “Right person, wrong time.”
Nicole and Kelce dated on and off for five years after connecting on social media in 2017.
“He had been following me and insta-flirting for a few months,” Nicole revealed via her Instagram Story in June 2022.
Travis Kelce, Kayla Nicole. Amy Sussman/Getty Images
She recalled the Kansas City Chiefs tight end “liking” several of her posts, but claimed he never sent her a DM, so she took charge.
“Soooo after a little liquid courage and a pep talk from @iqueenb (something along the lines of ‘WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR’) I dm’d him on New Years,” Nicole revealed.
The pair went public with their relationship in May 2017 while attending a wedding of one of Kelce’s teammates.
News broke in August 2020 that Kelce and Nicole had split, but they were back together by that November. The couple called it quits for good in May 2022.
Travis Kelce’s ex, Kayla Nicole, hit headlines last week, when she spoke about how his relationship with Taylor Swift had affected her — but now says she regrets being so open. The sports reporter and influencer, 32, says she initially felt good about how she’d come across on the Unapologetically Angel podcast, but later wished […]
The following year, Kelce shut down “crazy” rumors that he and Nicole broke up because he was “too cheap.”
“Don’t buy into that s***. I would never say that I was supporting [her]. She had a very financially stable life and what she was doing in her career,” the NFL player said during a January 2023 appearance on “The Pivot Podcast.”
Kelce explained that he and Nicole lent each other money every once in a while to pay for things like food. “I mean, we were in a relationship for five years,” he said. “A hundred dollars here and a hundred dollars there wasn’t even thought about.”
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce. David Eulitt/Getty Images
Six months later, Kelce made headlines after he invited Swift, 36, to one of his NFL games after claiming in July 2023 that he tried and failed to give her a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it during her Eras Tour show in Kansas City.
Swift accepted Kelce’s invitation in September 2023, attending her first Chiefs game in support of the professional athlete. The pair later revealed that they had been quietly getting to know each other before she made her gameday debut.
“There were definitely people she knew that knew who I was, in her corner [who said], ‘Yo! Did you know he was coming?’ I had somebody playing Cupid,” Travis told WSJ. Magazine in November 2023. “She [later] told me exactly what was going on and how I got lucky enough to get her to reach out.”
Despite their romance ending more than two years ago, Travis Kelce’s ex-girlfriend Kayla Nicole remains a fan of his work. Nicole, 33, who was in an on-and-off relationship with Kelce, 35, for five years, shared praise for the Kansas City Chiefs tight end during the Tuesday, January 21, episode of the “I Am Athlete Daily” […]
Kelce got engaged to Swift in August 2025 after two years together. “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married 🧨,” Swift wrote via Instagram at the time, sharing photos from the romantic backyard proposal.
“Whenever I’m with her, it feels like we’re just regular people,” Kelce said of Swift in his GQ cover story in August 2025. “When there is not a camera on us, we’re just two people that are in love.”
As Kelce and Swift have been working on what their special day will look like, Nicole told her fans on Thursday that she has a vision for her next partner.
“It’s kinda sad because I feel like dating in 2026 is just hard all the way around. I feel like the bar is in hell,” Nicole shared. “So, my new list of requirements is: having a job — that’s at the top of the list.”
