If you are a gossip, no matter where you were this weekend, whether it was Japan or North America or Africa or Australia or Europe or South America, especially South America, our gossip time zones were in alignment and we were watching the same show. It’s the rom-com we’ve all been squealing over this fall, the one starring the popstar and the football player – because they gave us a brand new episode, and it was the best one so far. 

 

Since it’s already been three days, this is no longer news. Instead, it’s the episode we keep watching over and over again. If Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were on Netflix, Saturday’s episode from Buenos Aires would probably be the most streamed show of the week, LOL. And I’m not just talking about Swifties, I’m talking about non-Swifties too. Like me and Sarah who were on WhatsApp about this over the weekend because I couldn’t stop spamming her with social media videos. And I’m talking about me and Kathleen, because we were also squeeing about it over text. Kathleen was like, “I can’t stop watching it, I want 78 seasons of this”.

Why? 

Falling in love isn’t rare, people fall in love all the time. Celebrities fall in love all the time. But how often do celebrities allow us to WATCH them fall in love in real time?! It was like this over 20 years ago when Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez fell in love, shortly after she inspired the creation of Google Images with the green Versace dress she wore to the Grammys, leading to an explosion of internet engagement with celebrities. Taylor and Travis are the descendants of that moment in gossip history – only from Google Images to social media platforms, TNT is the Bennifer rom-com injected with plutonium. Their love story is being livestreamed into our brains, creating one of the most intense gossip addictions we’ve experienced in a long time. And we’re still in act one! So let’s stay here a while, stretch it out as long as we can, because if this does follow the rom-com formula, the bumpy sh-t is coming in act two. Nobody needs to rush to get to act two. Not when act one is so much fun. 

 

It was fun last week with all the false starts, anticipating whether or not Travis would show up in Argentina. As we know now, he skipped Taylor’s first show and came for the second, on Saturday, watching the show from the VIP section with her dad, Scott Swift. AND NOT HIDING. It’s not like Travis didn’t know he’d be a heatscore. It’s not like he wouldn’t have been aware that not only the entire stadium but the entire Taylor Swift Universe was locked into his whereabouts. But here he is, dancing and singing and cheering along, big fanboy energy in a loud AF outfit.

That’s a starting player happily taking his place ON THE SIDELINES right there. Which is one of the reasons, a major reason, so many of us are shipping this situation so hard. Because, so far at least, Travis seems to get it. He is good at his job, and we love that for him, because when he’s with Taylor, he is not, and never will be, the main event – and he KNOWS it, he accepts it, he is comfortable with it. But… not TOO comfortable with it. Travis is the just the right amount of Three Bears easy with his place in Taylor’s world. Thirsty enough to enjoy being part of her spotlight, not so thirsty that he thinks he takes up too much of the spotlight. 

 

It’s the fact that he’s not too cool to join in with the fans on the chanting. That he’s an unapologetic dork, and she’s described herself as dorky too, so of course she would appreciate this side of him. Her dad certainly does. And of course that observation comes with a side of shade…because the previous boyfriend was never like this at any of her shows. 

This is one of the fan theories, and I buy it too – that while Taylor was Joe Alwyn’s biggest fan, that support wasn’t reciprocated, or at least it wasn’t performed in quite the same way. Which is why “Karma” is now no longer about the “guy on the screen coming straight home to me” but this instead: 

 

Looks like her dad is shipping this as much as we are, LOL. And so are the dancers. 

As I keep saying, we’re in the sweet spot right now and EVERYONE is having a good time – the fans, the gossips, the media, the friends, the families, and TNT themselves, especially Taylor. So now we’re coming to The Moment. One of the best gossip moments of the year, and we don’t have to feel bad about it because Taylor is serving it up to us for free!

This, I think, was the video that first went viral and the one that first blew up my phone and resulted in, I’m not kidding, 90 minutes of social media scrolling here in Japan, the most civilised nation, where wi-fi is readily accessible everywhere, including on a bullet train that is speeding across the country. 

 

But one angle isn’t enough, is it? We want all the angles! Every f-cking angle to accommodate all the screaming!

What is it about this scene? 

It’s the little run, yes. It’s how she throws herself enthusiastically into his arms, pumped up on adrenaline from the hype of her own show, feeding off the energy of thousands of people, and how he receives it with just as much affection. And then, MY SAPPY HEART!, he bends down immediately to hear what she has to say – as if it wasn’t enough that he caught her full body but his first move is to be like, yes, tell me, talk to me, let me receive your thoughts, I’m here to listen. 

Sir, STOP IT. Who taught you this? Why are you so good at this? Where were you trained? 

You know what it is for me though? Like the extra sprinkle of magic on what’s already one of the most wonderful gossip scenes ever captured on film? It’s how he’s standing when he’s waiting for her which you can see here: 

 

My video assumption read on it is that he’s a little shy, but not impatient. When he puts his arms behind his back, just as she probably comes into view for him, I am f-cking swooning – because I’m reading confident but not expectant, he’s letting her set the tone, he’s waiting on her to make the move and whatever that move is, she’s the boss and he’s good to go. 

Seriously? This dude is better than the script right now because he doesn’t seem scripted at all! Have you seen this video of what he was like BEFORE the kiss? Look at this hunk of nerd skipping around backstage. No wonder she seems as happy as she’s ever been. No wonder she can’t help but put it out there for the world – and we appreciate it, Taylor! Something this good has to be shared. 

Also attached – Taylor back in New York out for dinner with a friend.