Kelce and the sports journalist Kayla Nicole were in a five-year relationship from 2017 to 2022. In a February 2022 interview with E! News, Kelce confirmed the couple began dating after he started Instagram “stalking” Nicole, which led her to direct message him. “It was over the course of a month’s span, just following her and liking the pictures that she was posting and watching all of her stories when stories had first started coming out,” he said about interacting with Nicole’s profile. “Finally, on New Year’s, she gave in. And, you know, New Year new me. She just shot her shot, jumped in my DMs and the rest is history.”
In an Instagram Story that June, Nicole shared her side of the story while answering fan questions. “He had been following me and insta-flirting for a few months. All double taps and no dm. Soooo after a little liquid courage and a pep talk from @iqueenb (something along the lines of ‘WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR’) I dm’d him on New Years,” she wrote, according to the New York Post. “Slid into that thang like it was third base, idk baseball so not sure that’s the best analogy, but ya.”
A year after they began dating, Kelce and Nicole made their red carpet debut as a couple by attending the 2018 ESPY Awards together. Afterward, the pair made several more public appearances together, including at the 2018 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, 2019 Paris Fashion Week, and a 2020 Los Angeles Lakers game.
In August 2020, rumors swirled that Kelce and Nicole had broken up due to the NFL star reportedly cheating on her. Shortly afterward, Kelce confirmed he and Nicole had split, but denied it was due to him being unfaithful. “This is fake news… a lie… and not why Kayla and I broke up,” Kelce said in a since-deleted tweet (via TMZ). “Take all your hatred somewhere else please.”
That December, Kelce revealed he and Nicole had gotten back together in a Q&A with WNBA player Chiney Ogwumike. After Ogwumike asked Kelce who he was buying Christmas gifts for, Kelce confirmed he and Nicole had reconciled by saying, “So obviously we’ve got the fam. My girlfriend Kayla. Kayla is definitely on the list. Always gotta do it big for Kayla,” according to TMZ.
The couple remained together for two more years before they split for good in May 2022.
