Kansas City Chiefs president Mark Donovan is setting the record straight about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce‘s relationship.
Donovan appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Nov. 20, where he defended the legitimacy of the popular couple’s relationship.
As with any celebrity relationship, whispers and accusations of dating purely for the publicity are inevitable, but Swift, 34, and Kelce, 35, have Donovan and the Chiefs organization on their side.
“I’d love to say that it was a marketing strategy, but it is an authentic relationship, and we’re happy to have it,” Donovan said on the show.
The Chiefs president went on to say the singer and tight end’s relationship has been “nothing but good” for the Kansas City organization.
“I think the best thing I can say about the whole relationship and the impact it’s had on us is: Taylor Swift is an authentic member of the Kansas City Chiefs kingdom. She is an authentic fan, and that matters to our fans and our fanbase, and it matters to us and we try to respect that.”
One user on X (formerly Twitter) replied to a post of the video, and added, “I can’t believe after going on a year and a half we’re still having this conversation about whether or not the relationship is legit and whether or not she’s a legit fan,” in response to the video.
Another wrote, “Exactly and we don’t give a s— what other fans think about it!”
Swift has attended four of Kelce’s games since this NFL season kicked off, after making it to 13 games last year — including the Super Bowl, which required her to fly back to the U.S. from Tokyo during her string of Eras Tour shows in Asia.
They’ve gone undefeated with the singer in the building, but suffered their first loss this season to Josh Allen and the Bills in Buffalo on Nov. 17.
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Donovan, meanwhile, has been a strong supporter of the romance from the start.
In Oct. 2023, he told PEOPLE that Kelce is a “team player” who can “handle the attention” that his relationship with Swift brought on.
“Travis is a smart team player,” Donovan said at the time. “He can handle it and has been very professional.”
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