KANSAS CITY, MO — If 2025 was the year of the spectacle—the Eras Tour, the Super Bowl, the engagement—then 2026 is shaping up to be the year of the “settle down.” As the confetti settles on another holiday season, the First Family of Football, the Kelces, along with their global superstar addition, Taylor Swift, have revealed a surprisingly domestic start to the new year.
From a quiet, romantic celebration in Kansas City to hilarious podcast antics involving pop culture fails and candy corn disasters, the latest updates from the Kelce-Swift camp prove that despite their billions, they are just a family trying to enjoy the simple things (and occasionally regretting their reality TV pasts).
A “Domestic” New Year’s Eve in KC
While fans and paparazzi scoured the globe looking for a glitzy bash in New York or a tropical getaway, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift were reportedly hiding in plain sight. According to sources close to the family, the couple chose to ring in 2026 with a “low-key” celebration at home in Kansas City.
The vibe was a stark contrast to last year’s festivities, which saw the pair dressed to the nines in bedazzled mini-dresses and designer suits. This year, the focus was on intimacy, rest, and family.
“They don’t want a huge party,” a source shared. “Travis and Taylor spent New Year’s Eve together in Kansas City and shared a kiss as soon as it hit midnight. It was very romantic.”
The decision to stay in Kansas City was partly practical—Travis had Chiefs practice on December 30th and January 1st—but it also signals a shift in their lifestyle. With a wedding reportedly set for the summer of 2026, the couple is embracing the “homebody” life, prioritizing privacy over public appearances. The “glitz and glam” has been replaced by “chill vibes,” a necessary respite for two of the busiest people on the planet.
Jason Kelce’s Pop Culture Fail
While Travis and Taylor were enjoying their romantic midnight moment, Jason Kelce was busy proving just how disconnected he is from the world his future sister-in-law dominates.
In a hilarious segment on their podcast, Jason was subjected to a “Pop Culture Trivia Off” that went disastrously wrong. When asked about the “Brat Summer” trend—a cultural phenomenon sparked by Charli XCX’s album Brat—Jason was stumped.
“I have no idea… is it from a musical artist?” Jason guessed, before failing to identify the artist or the context. “It sounds like somebody just going off and being in mischief.”
He didn’t fare much better with other questions, failing to identify the hosts of Love is Blind (Nick and Vanessa Lachey) or the current judges of The Voice. The segment highlighted the endearing “everyman” charm that has made Jason a media darling: he might be a Hall of Fame center, but he knows absolutely nothing about Gen Z slang or reality TV drama.
The Great Candy Corn Debate
The podcast hilarity didn’t end with trivia. Jason, a known critic of candy corn (he previously called it “trash”), was tricked into a tasting session of gourmet variations. The results were visceral.
While he surprisingly tolerated the “salted peanut and candy corn” mix (giving it a respectable 7/10), the blackberry cobbler flavor nearly broke him.
“It tastes like soap!” Jason exclaimed, his face twisting in disgust. “It tastes like you took a bite out of a candle shop in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. That’s not candy, that’s soap.”
The segment, filled with bleeped expletives and genuine gagging, served as a lighthearted counterweight to the more emotional news surrounding his brother.
Travis’s “Painful” Reality TV Confession
The mood turned from funny to brutally honest when Travis Kelce addressed a ghost from his past: his 2016 dating show, Catching Kelce.
During the “No Dumb Questions” segment, a fan asked a hypothetical that hit hard: Would Travis rather watch Catching Kelce on a loop for eternity or get a Brazilian wax like Jason?
Travis didn’t hesitate. “I’d rather get a Brazilian wax,” he admitted, laughing through the pain of the memory.
He went on to express deep regret about the show, which featured him dating 50 women (one from each state). “I was so bad financially my first couple of years,” Travis explained, citing money as the primary motivation. “I didn’t realize what reality TV really was… It didn’t set me up for anything. Now everybody is going to be able to see this forever.”
It was a rare moment of vulnerability for the superstar, acknowledging that even he has career moves he wishes he could undo. Fortunately, his current reality—engaged to the world’s biggest pop star—is far better than any scripted dating show could have provided.
Snow Tubing with the Stars
Amidst the podcast confessions and quiet dinners, Taylor Swift managed to sneak in some classic winter fun. The singer was spotted in a series of photos shared by NFL broadcasters Erin Andrews and Charissa Thompson, enjoying a “girls’ day” of snow tubing.
Bundled up in winter gear, Taylor looked radiant and relaxed, posing on rubber tubes and laughing with her friends. The images, captioned “2025 wow you were one to remember” by Thompson, show a side of Taylor that fans love to see: happy, carefree, and surrounded by a supportive circle of women who understand the unique pressures of the NFL world.
Looking Ahead to Summer 2026
As the Kelce-Swift clan settles into the new year, all eyes are turning toward the summer. Reports indicate that the couple is “very involved” in planning their wedding, with Travis taking a surprisingly active role (“Taylor thinks it’s cute that Travis wants to help,” sources say).
The timeline is moving fast. “They don’t want a long engagement,” insiders confirm, hinting that starting a family is a priority for the near future. “Family means everything to them.”
For now, though, they are content with midnight kisses in Kansas City, snow days with friends, and laughing at Jason’s inability to identify Beyoncé’s husband. It’s a normal life for an extraordinary family, and that’s exactly how they like it.
