Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s storybook romance helps people see daylight in dark times

It’s safe to say Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and pop superstar Taylor Swift are quickly approaching celebrity royalty status at a time when most of the country is mentally exhausted from a barrage of negativity and desperately wants to lose themselves in something positive. 

While I may not be interested in the play by play of the private lives of people I don’t know, every time I log on to social media, I’m reminded I’m in the minority. The rest of the world has inquiring minds, and they do want to know — and I fully understand why. 

Now more than ever, people need a storybook ending. They want a feel-good temporary escape from reality. Turn on the news, go on social media — everyone is angry all the time.

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The world is on fire, our president needs Waze to find his way off a stage, boys are hijacking girls’ sports and parents are labeled domestic terrorists for wanting to be their kids’ moms and dads. The adults in charge of our public schools care less about math scores and more about putting sexually explicit books in the hands of 7-year-olds in school libraries, while banning them from the hands of parents at school board meetings.   

Taylor Swift and her beau Travis Kelce are the focus of media and social media attention because Americans want a break from bad news. (Getty Images)

It’s no wonder why, now more than ever, people desperately want a self-imposed time out.  

Not shockingly, in the U.S. this year only 32% of Americans said they trust the news.  

In a global study last year, 43% of people said they avoid the news because of politics and COVID-19 overload, and 32% avoid it because it negatively affects their mood. Who wants to be in a bad mood all the time?  

America is worn out from existing in a perpetual state of gloom and doom. People are looking for a reprieve and want a storybook ending.    

Travis Kelce helped Taylor Swift on their date night in New York. (Gotham via Getty Images)

Not convinced? Look no further than the cult-like following of Hallmark Christmas movies and the popularity among adults of classic Disney fairytales. There’s a reason Hallmark Christmas movies are hits and politically correct Disney remakes that suck the fun out of fairytales are gigantic misses. 

Case in point — Disney’s "Snow White" remake, with seven non-offensive but super creepy men following her around was set to be released next year until Disney "temporarily" pulled the plug on production, due to enormous backlash and fears of a financial nightmare at the box office.  

As cheesy and predictable as Hallmark Christmas movies may be, for roughly 90 minutes, viewers can unplug and they’re guaranteed a feel-good storybook ending. And if they’re so inclined, they can do it all while decked out in Hallmark Christmas movie-watching swag — yes that’s actually a thing. 

Travis and Taylor have a similarly strong likability factor that can’t be denied, and fans are rooting for that storybook ending.  

Donna Kelce wore friendship bracelets while chatting with Taylor Swift during a Kansas City game. (David Eulitt)

This despite both of them occasionally playing soapbox celebrity, which some have found off-putting. Kelce had his pro-Pfizer COVID-19 ad, which not so affectionately earned him the nickname "Mr. Pfizer" — hint: that was not a term of endearment. And Taylor’s fairly recent side gig as part-time liberal activist, a role she embraced after likely being pushed out of the political closet by a woke industry seething after Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in 2016. 

That aside, Taylor is an unquestionably talented megastar and exceptionally generous to her staff, giving them millions of dollars in bonuses. Kelce is a talented tight end for the Super Bowl champion Chiefs. This is the stuff of which fairytales and Hallmark movies are made.  

To some, they’re the American version of everything people hoped Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would be — if Harry and Meghan weren’t so … well, Harry and Meghan. 

People generally want to root for famous people they don’t know who they can idealize and glamorize.   

Taylor Swift performed in Rio following the death of a fan. (Buda Mendes)

This is much easier to do if those celebrities don’t make it their full-time job to wake up every morning and be more unlikable than they were the day before. Harry and Meghan might want to take notes.  

A month after Taylor intercepted Sunday afternoon football with her first appearance at a Chiefs game, the weekly video podcast Travis co-hosts with his NFL brother Jason, "New Heights," gained 350,000 new YouTube subscribers. It’s a safe bet that all those inquiring minds weren’t looking for the latest football stats. 

And after Taylor came to cheer him on at Arrowhead Stadium, Kelce’s Instagram followers shot up by 325,000 in just one week — that’s more than when he won the Super Bowl — and his jersey sales skyrocketed nearly 400%.  

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Ask the people walking around in brand-new No. 87 Chiefs’ jerseys if they know the difference between a tight end and a split-end. Not likely — but it doesn’t matter.   

To some, they’re the American version of everything people hoped Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would be — if Harry and Meghan weren’t so … well, Harry and Meghan. 

They’ve shown they’re all-in on all things Travis and Taylor. Can you even be celebrity official if you haven’t been christened with a combined nickname by the celebrity nickname gods? That, too, is a minor detail for the Swifties. 

It goes without saying that putting our hope in any human is always a bad idea, because humans are fallible and will never live up to our ideals.  

But to the T-squared fan club and anyone else who just needs a distraction from the noise and negativity — may the odds forever be in your favor for a storybook ending. 

Here’s to hoping it ends just like one of Taylor’s songs: "It's a love story, baby, just say, 'Yes.’"  

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Lauren DeBellis Appell, a former lobbyist and communications aide on Capitol Hill, is a writer based in Fairfax, Virginia. Follow her on Twitter@LDAppell.