Taylor Swift Fans Have Mixed Reactions to Kayla Nicole’s Tearful Words About Her Split From Travis Kelce

Kayla Nicole sparked yet another debate among Taylor Swift fans and the internet at large.

Earlier this month, the 33-year-old model and influencer announced she was joining the upcoming season of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, a reality TV series that puts public figures through a series of grueling physical challenges. Yes, it’s the one that featured Tom Sandoval shortly after his highly publicized cheating scandal on Vanderpump Rules.

“So, I did a thing,” Nicole captioned the initial trailer on November 15. “An insanely terrifying yet deeply empowering thing. Special Forces season 3 coming soon on @foxtv.” Part of that empowering journey may involve processing her 2022 breakup from NFL superstar Travis Kelce—and the public nature of his subsequent relationship with Taylor Swift.

“Going through a public breakup, it’s been overwhelming,” Nicole says while appearing to wipe away tears in the most recent trailer, released on November 25. When asked to identify her ex by a contestant in the next clip, she whispers the Kansas City Chief player’s name.

For the uninitiated, Nicole and Kelce dated on-and-off for five years before their split in May 2022—over a year before he began dating one of the most prolific pop stars in the world. Despite the gap in that timeline, Nicole is often the subject of negativity and backlash from Swifties for so-called “messy” behavior.

Nicole claims she and Kelce can’t even “acknowledge each other” in public, despite running in the same circles. “I think that we’re both aware of the nature of his new situation, that there’s just no room really for us to communicate or acknowledge each other publicly without it being spun into something crazy,” Nicole told WNBA star Angel Reese during an October appearance on the Unapologetically Angel podcast. “So we just keep it moving.”

Of the online negativity, she added, “I would be lying if I said that that level of hate and just like online chaos doesn’t impact me. It does. You could go to my most recent post, and there will be people debating each other why I am worthless, and I’ll never be a talented person, and I have no career.”

Nicole continued, “I think that there’s something about that level of fame that attracts crazy people, and it’s unfortunate, because I’ve never done anything to warrant that kind of backlash.”

Of course, this new trailer has only sparked another wave of criticism. Many social media users called on the model to “move on,” while others have accused the influencer of “clout chasing”—or both! “She might feel a way but she is also milking the attention his name gives her,” one user commented on a TikTok post about the new video. “Kayla move onnnnnn.”

It’s worth pointing out that Swift has received similar scrutiny for writing songs about her own famous exes, which is probably why some of her fans are coming to Nicole’s defense. “These comments are not it,” one self-proclaimed Swiftie wrote. “She was in a relationship w this man for years. Then AFTER they broke up, weirdos sent HER hate becuz the man is now [with] Taylor. As a Swiftie: her feelings are valid.”

Another wrote, “Y’all are so vile. They were together for 5 years. Nobody in the comments knows the details of that breakup. You can be a fan of Taylor’s without dragging this woman down.”

One thing is for sure, those of us texting our group chats about months-old situationships that barely moved past the talking stage should probably sit this discourse out.