Travis Kelsey is said to have helped Taylor Swift overcome her strained relationship with Blake Lively amid her legal battle with Justin Baldoni.
The Kansas City Chiefs player reportedly “encouraged” Swift to smooth things over with Lively before the bombshell text conversation unfolded in 2024.
“There was an awkward atmosphere between Taylor and Blake, and although Taylor herself didn’t say anything, Travis noticed the way Blake spoke and felt it wasn’t right,” a source claimed to the magazine.
Kelsea, 36, is said to have been “in[Swift’s]ear” about the tension between her and Lively.
“He believed that Blake’s behavior towards Taylor made him uncomfortable. She insisted that they take a closer look at the relationship, saying it was not the behavior a true friend should have,” the source added. “Taylor didn’t hold back when Blake later expressed concern that their friendship had changed.”
The “Cruel Summer” singer is said to have been “encouraged” by her fiancé to “tackle the situation head on and be honest about how I feel” about their relationship.
“He didn’t hate Blake, but he thought it was unfair to Taylor, who up until now had been nothing but a loyal friend,” the source said.
Representatives for Kelsey and Swift did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.
Swift confronted Lively in a December 2024 text conversation that was revealed in unreleased court documents from the “A Simple Favor” star’s lawsuit against Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios.
When Lively, 38, reached out to Swift, 36, to see if their friendship was “good,” Swift gave her some very honest feedback.
“I always want the opportunity to be better friends in case[I]did something unintentional,” Lively said, adding, “I know how busy and strained you are physically, mentally, and practically, so I don’t have any higher expectations for you. I just want to make sure everything is okay.”
Swift replied bluntly, “No, you’re not wrong, but it doesn’t really matter.”
The Grammy winner told a friend that he feels like the way he communicates has changed “a little bit.”
“Yes, there was a lot about Justin, but I’ve been through something like this before and I know how draining it can be,” Swift said. “It’s more like…I’m really sorry to say anything about this because your intentions were very good, but the last few emails…I felt like I was reading a bunch of corporate emails sent to 200 employees.”
She continued, “You said the words we love you 18 times, and while it feels awful to be critical in any way about how you handle what you’ve been through, I just kind of miss having my funny, dark, normally speaking friends speaking to me as themselves instead of someone who looks like me. I’m not sure if I’d be able to talk to them more than once.”
“When I’m listening to a group of people, it feels like they’re even further away than just geographically.”
Lively claimed that she was paranoid about sending text messages and was overly careful with her words.
“That’s why you feel like you have to overexplain or be overly nice. That’s me!” Swift assured, explaining, “It’s just a little more distance!”
Lively acknowledged that Swift was right, saying, “I knew in my heart that anything digital could be exposed… So yeah, I’ve been texting like I’m writing. I’m not texting like I’m talking. I didn’t realize it until you pointed it out, but I see.”
Swift told Lively she didn’t owe her an apology, but the actress still expressed remorse.
“But I’m sorry. I’m sorry to you guys, and I’m sorry to me and our kids,” Lively said, referring to her and Ryan Reynolds’ four children, before saying of Baldoni, “That guy is fucked, and this gang of supervillains is fucked.”
Tensions have been high between Swift and Lively since Swift was embroiled in an ongoing legal battle with her Green Lantern co-star and director.
A source told Page Six last year that Swift feels “used” by Lively, while another source pointed out that their friendship will never be the same.
“She will forever be furious that Blake was clearly using her for influence and leverage in his relationship with Justin. She really hates that Blake would even think that way, much less write in that email what he did,” the source said.
Page Six also reported that the Grammy winner and Lively have not been in contact since their text message exchange.
Lively and Swift were last photographed together in October 2024. At the time, they were on a double date with Reynolds and Kelsey at The Corner Store.
