Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift have attracted a lot of attention since they made their relationship public.
The NFL player and his family members have been peppered with queries about the pop star, including at a recent press conference, when Kelce was asked if he's in love with Swift. (He declined to answer the question directly.)
Kelce has a reputation for being open with the media and even shares his thoughts on a weekly podcast with his brother, "New Heights With Jason and Travis Kelce." But he has spoken about Swift only sparingly, using mostly vague descriptions.
In a new interview with The Wall Street Journal, Kelce said that strategy is intentional, lest Swift get spooked.
"That was the biggest thing to me: make sure I don't say anything that would push Taylor away," he said.
Although Kelce is a star in his own right, he said he's still learning how to handle Swift's level of fame and the intensified spotlight on his life.
"Obviously I've never dated anyone with that kind of aura about them… I've never dealt with it," Kelce said. "But at the same time, I'm not running away from any of it."
"The scrutiny she gets, how much she has a magnifying glass on her, every single day, paparazzi outside her house, outside every restaurant she goes to, after every flight she gets off, and she's just living, enjoying life," he continued. "When she acts like that I better not be the one acting all strange."
However, Kelce was generous with praise throughout the interview, describing Swift as "hilarious" and "a genius."
He also said they share similar values and worldviews.
"Everybody knows I'm a family guy," he said. "Her team is her family. Her family does a lot of stuff in terms of the tour, the marketing, being around, so I think she has a lot of those values as well, which is right up my alley."
Kelce's mother, Donna Kelce, also told The Wall Street Journal that she approves of their relationship.
"He's happier than I've seen him in a long time," she said. "God bless him, he shot for the stars!"
