Source: Variety / Getty
Kayla Nicole has previously been silent while watching the same wall-to-wall coverage of her ex, Travis Kelce, and his reported new girlfriend Taylor Swift. But Nicole, a host, model and influencer, was catching strays from some people who felt that Swift was an upgrade and that Nicole was a quasi-professional gold digger who allegedly broke up with Kelce because he was too cheap to buy her designer bags, among other things.
The 31-year-old, who has 736,000 followers on Instagram, released a video this week that addressed some of the talk.
“It’s always been really important for me to use my platform, not to create division, but to elevate and unite women, Black women specifically,” Nicole started by saying.
Without directly addressing Kelce or Swift, she alluded to her relationship with Kelce and the backlash she received while dating him.
“Dear Black girl, they may call you a traitor for falling in love,” she wrote. “You’ll hope the ones closest will protect you, but you will quickly find out that people don’t protect what they don’t value. They’ll say you’re too much, too provocative, too boisterous, too outspoken, and in the same breath, tell you that you aren’t enough.”
Nicole continued by saying that she believes that Black women are always prone to criticism but that they should stand strong in the face of it.
“They’ll say you deserve the backlash and embarrassment. Because of your Blackness, you should have known better. They’ll even try to tie your value to your net worth. But Black girl, please remember your value lies elsewhere.
Your value is deep within your heart. You don’t have to participate in this tumultuous, often one-sided journey. Preserve your heart; even when they try to quantify your character and test your boundaries, you do not have to engage. You do not have to respond because there is power in your silence.”
Nicole dated Kelce approximately from 2017 to 2022. She was friendly enough with his quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, and his wife, Brittany, that she was one of Brittany’s bachelorettes when the couple married last year. But when Swift was photographed at a New York Jets game recently to see Kelce and his team score a victory, she brought along her famous friends, actresses Sophie Turner and Blake Lively, and they all went to dinner with Brittany.
After that outing, Nicole unfollowed the couple. She has not commented directly on Kelce’s new relationship, but as she concluded her video, she said, “My truth, trauma, and vulnerability are a relatable part of the human experience. I know I’m not alone, and I want to make sure you know that you’re not either. On days when I feel most inadequate, I have to remind myself that I am, have been, and will always be more than enough.”
Nicole was cheered on in the comments by LSU star Angel Reese, who said “From one Black girl to another, THANK YOU for speaking up for us!”
TV personalities FS1’s Joy Taylor and NFL Network’s M.J. Acosta-Ruiz also supported Nicole’s post. Claire Kittle, 49ers star George Kittle’s wife, said “Love you” in the comments. But the surprise post was a cosign from Jackson Mahomes, Mahomes’ brother, who posted a series of black heart emojis.
Nicole is not Kelce’s only ex with something to say.
Maya Benberry dated Kelce for eight months after appearing with him on Catching Kelce, his E! reality show in 2016. She issued a public warning to Swift.
“Certain qualities don’t change in men. I feel like Travis is a narcissist. Most narcissists don’t change,” Benberry said in an interview with Inside Edition, according to Daily Mail. “Like the saying goes, once a cheater, always a cheater.”
Benberry added, “Taylor seems like such a fun girl with a beautiful spirit so I wish her the best of luck, but I wouldn’t be a girls’ girl if I didn’t advise her to be smart.”
