Kayla Nicole, the former partner of Travis Kelce, seems to have responded to Taylor Swift after fans suggested the famous singer subtly referenced her in the latest album, The Life of a Showgirl.
Online discussions surged when listeners thought Swift, aged 35, was alluding to Nicole, aged 33, in the song Opalite. The track is acknowledged by Swift to be about Kelce, 36, who had an intermittent relationship with Nicole for five years until their split in 2022.
Lyrics such as, ‘You couldn’t understand it, why you felt alone / You were in it for real, she was in her phone / And you were just a pose,’ were swiftly interpreted as a jab at Nicole. Kelce had once publicly criticized her for being glued to her phone.
In an old video clip, Kelce is heard commenting to Nicole while dining out, ‘Oh my God. Get off your phone… You’re not even drinking your wine anymore, can we go?’
Kayla fired back subtly but clearly on Instagram on Saturday.
She shared a throwback clip from America’s Next Top Model showing contestant Eva Marcille being compared to other girls.
Kayla Nicole seemingly reacted after fans believed Taylor Swift aimed a subtle remark at her in the album The Life of a Showgirl; (image from September 2025)
The buzz online intensified after the belief arose that Swift, aged 35, hinted at Nicole in Opalite — a song confirmed to focus on Kelce, 36, with whom Nicole was involved intermittently for five years until 2022; (image from 2020)
Lyrics like, ‘You couldn’t understand it, why you felt alone / You were in it for real, she was in her phone / And you were just a pose,’ were quickly pegged as a dig at Nicole, who Kelce once publicly scolded for constantly being on her phone; (pictured 2024)
In the footage, host Tyra Banks asks, ‘How do you compare yourself to other girls out there?”
Marcille’s response: ‘I don’t compare myself to other girls. I’m Eva. I’m no comparison to anyone else.’
Nicole didn’t stop there.
She also shared a Friday Instagram Story meme that read, ‘And when God give you ball, BALL.’
The bold post, a clear nod to courage and audacity, seemed like a confident clapback to anyone following the Swift-Kelce drama.
Nicole dated Kelce on and off from 2017 to 2022. Over those five years they were often at splashy events together.
Taylor announced her engagement to NFL star Kelce in August.
In the past year, Nicole has been questioned about her dating life with ex Kelce. She said she is done romancing athletes and would rather have a relationship with an executive of a record label or a movie producer.
Kayla fired back subtly but clearly on Instagram on Saturday by sharing a throwback clip from America’s Next Top Model showing contestant Eva Marcille being compared to other girls
In the footage, host Tyra Banks asks, ‘How do you compare yourself to other girls out there?’
She also shared a Friday Instagram Story meme that read, ‘And when God give you ball, BALL’: The bold post, a clear nod to courage and audacity, seemed like a confident clapback to anyone following the Swift-Kelce drama
And she has a feisty side: When trolls lashed out at Nicole for talking about Kelce after their split she countered, ‘Life handed me lemons and I made a lemon martini out of it and that upsets people.’
Swift also reportedly dissed Charlie XCX in one of her songs on the Life Of A Showgirl album.
This comes after claims Swift does not plan to tour again anytime soon.
The 35-year-old pop star made history with her record-breaking Eras Tour that spanned 149 shows from 2023 to 2024.
But now she doesn’t have the ‘itch’ to hit the road again as she would want the future gigs to reach the same standards.
Taylor announced her engagement to NFL star Kelce in late August
Speaking to BBC Radio 1 Breakfast with Greg James on Friday, Taylor said: ‘I’m gonna be really honest with you. Like, I am so tired when I think about doing it again because I would want to do it really, really well again.’
The Eras Tour earned over $2 billion in revenue to become the highest-grossing music tour of all time and the Blank Space singer was taken aback by the sheer enormity of the concerts.
Taylor said: ‘For me it feels like such an honour that the fans made into what it was, because it was truly astonishing for all of us who were on that tour. We were like, what is going on? It turned into something very quickly that we, that exceeded any of our expectations for what the tour could have been.’
The artist added: ‘I knew it was crazy what was happening. We never had anything happen like that. I’ve been with my band for a very long time.
‘My tour, my touring family, my team… we’re all very close and have been forever and none of us have ever had anything like that happen.’
This comes after claims Swift does not plan to tour again anytime soon; seen in May 2024
Taylor – who has released her latest album The Life of a Showgirl – is glad that she is able to spend time on hobbies such as sourdough baking now she has finished the tour.
She said: ‘I could only do the Eras Tour when I was on the Eras Tour and that’s two years of having no other hobbies. And now I have the hobbies again… and making it everybody’s problem.’
She has explained that her songwriting has become less personal than it once was.
The Cardigan hitmaker said: ‘Last year on the tour I was physically exhausted – sick and worn down – so to spark me up I had the album as a secret passion project behind the scenes. It stopped me hitting a wall…
‘I am open about things [in the songs] but in recent years I have a different perspective and like storytelling at a little bit of a distance, so it isn’t like doing a complete autopsy of myself.’
