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Travic Kelce’s ex-girlfriend, sports presenter Kayla Nicole has addressed being trolled online amid the NFL player’s rumoured relationship with pop star Taylor Swift.
Nicole, 31, posted a video statement on Instagram on Monday 9 October, appearing to comment on the “backlash and embarrassment” she has faced online since Swift and Kelce, both 33, were linked together last month.
Nicole and the Kansas City Chiefs tight-end reportedly dated on-and-off for five years, from 2017 until 2022.
Since news of Kelce’s alleged romance with the “Anti-Hero” singer broke, Nicole’s followers noted that Swifties – as Swift’s fans are known – were allegedly pitting the women against each other, and leaving “immature and unnecessary comments” including Taylor Swift GIFs under her Instagram posts.
Now, the fitness influencer has shared a statement in response to the “backlash and embarassment” in a nearly four-minute-long video addressed to Black women.
She begins: “Dear Black girl, they may call you a traitor for falling in love. 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 you’re not enough,” Nicole continued. “Not successful enough, not wholesome enough, maybe not even intelligent enough. They’ll say you deserve the backlash and embarrassment… they’ll even try to tie your value to your net worth.”
She urged women not to participate in this “tumultuous, often one-sided journey”, asking them to “preserve your heart even when they try to quantify your character” because there is “power in your silence”.
“You can use that same power to silence the noise and self-doubt…the voices within that want you to give in to this demoralising and antiquated narrative,” Nicole said, adding “the rage of the world is loud”.
Finally, she highlighted the importance of resources such as “therapy, prayer, and community” for anyone struggling with negativity or trolling online.
Kelce confirmed he was single during an appearance on The Pivot Podcast in January, adding that he’s “enjoying life [and] focused on my profession”.
When asked by a fan how Nicole met Kelce, the fitness entrepreneur previously revealed she sent him a message on Instagram after months of Kelce liking her posts on the platform.
According to the since-deleted Instagram Story, obtained by TMZ, she added: “Lesson here is making the first move might be your best move sis”.
Kelce confirmed they had broken up in 2020 while addressing rumours he had cheated on Nicole in a since-deleted statement on X, formerly Twitter.
He called the rumours “fake news” and not the reason “Kayla and I broke up”, adding: “Take all your hatred somewhere else please.”
The former couple reconciled in November 2020, with Kelce addressing Nicole as “my girlfriend” during an Instagram Live conversation with WNBA basketball player Chiney Ogwumike, People reported.
In February, they walked the red carpet at the 11th Annual NFL Honours at the YouTube Theatre together. Three months later, Nicole and Kelce ended their relationship for a final time.
Swift has been photographed at Kansas City Chiefs games in the US, along with the footballer’s mother Donna Kelce as well as Brittany Mahomes, the wife of his teammate Patrick Mahomes.