Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, Alysa Liu share spotlight at iHeartRadio Music Awards

Two weeks after Travis Kelce cited Taylor Swift as one of the biggest influences in his decision to return to the Kansas City Chiefs for a 14th NFL season, the couple made their first awards show appearance together at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards on Thursday at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theater.

Swift took home seven awards, including Pop Album of the Year for “The Life of a Showgirl.” She also received Artist of the Year, which was presented by Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu, who won two gold medals at the Milan Cortina Games.

In her acceptance speech, Swift gave a nod to Kelce.

“‘The Life of a Showgirl’ was really inspired by the energy that I felt like looking into crowds and seeing you guys every single night,” she said. “This album probably also feels very happy and confident and free because that’s the way that I get to feel every single day of my life because of my fiancé, who’s here tonight.”

Kelce, who appeared alongside Swift at the ceremony, recently spoke about that same mutual support during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.

“We share the same love for what we do, and fortunately we’ve had this desire since we were kids in our selective professions,” Kelce said of Swift. “It’s amazing to see her keep going to the table, keep finding new things to write about, keep finding new melodies and, on top of that, still seeing her have that love and joy in what she does.

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“Of course that’s motivating. That’s motivating for anybody to see, let alone my fiancée, knowing that I’m going through something where I’m trying to figure out exactly what the future holds for me. Something like that definitely motivates me to say, ‘You know what, I’m not done, either.’ I’ve still got some ideas in the back of my mind and still got some juice left to play this game.”

Kelce, 36, is coming off another productive season in which he led Kansas City in targets (108), receptions (76), receiving yards (851), receiving touchdowns (five) and receiving first downs (45).

Now, with another season ahead and Swift continuing to stack awards, the couple’s support for each other will continue to play out on both the field and the stage.