The Real Reason Why Taylor Swift Getting Engaged Has Everyone in a Chokehold
First and foremost, I am a Swiftie through and through, so let’s just pause for a minute and collectively scream because OUR GIRL IS ENGAGED! I was at work when I got the news when my coworker came running into the breakroom so we could both hug and scream (to my sleeping coworker’s dismay).
The internet shared the same sentiment and collectively lost our minds, which, honestly, is warranted at this point. Despite the collective uproar, many people felt a little confused about why this mattered so much, or even rolled their eyes. Yes, people get engaged every day - even celebrities get engaged every day. So why did this moment feel so special? I’m going to do my best to explain why Taylor Swift getting engaged has everyone in a chokehold, as someone who remembers the very first time she ever heard a Taylor song, to now, a woman in her thirties, collectively joining the losing-of-the-minds.
I remember to this day where I was when I first heard Taylor Swift on the radio - I was 12 and had just finished taking a shower when it came on. They prefaced the song with ‘new artist Taylor Swift’, and that was all it took - I was hooked.
If you’re like me, or joined the Swift train at any time, you know she has been writing about love and heartbreak since she began. And while she may have done it to get through her own heartbreak, simultaneously, she helped heal many others. I can’t even tell you how many times I listened to Forever & Always while crying into a pillow, or screaming, “we are never ever getting back together” with friends at the top of our lungs, or even now dissolving into a puddle of tears anytime LOML comes on.
Despite helping us through our heartbreaks, she was hurting too. Publicly and poetically, still showing up for us even when she was broken-hearted. We collectively watched as man after man fumbled her - they simply acknowledged they were dating Taylor Swift, but never stood up to what that really meant.
More heartbreakingly, you could see that she believed it. The way her lyrics told a story (“I’d marry you with paper rings”, “I wouldn’t marry me either”) of a girl who didn’t truly believe she would get a happy ending. The way she settled for people who never appreciated her strengths, her talent and her quirks. Even watching clips of the beginning of The Eras Tour with her crying while she sang — her heartbreak was evident.
So, when Travis Kelce stepped on the scene, it was contagiously exciting - this man loves her, and it was plain as day. There was no doubt he didn’t. He showed up, he glowed, he gushed over her. He praised her to the high heavens. And slowly, we watched Taylor soften and relax. She went from simply being there to being chosen (over and over again), and it showed. Watching her be at ease in this relationship was everything we didn’t know we needed.
Which is the real reason why her engagement to Travis Kelce has everyone in a chokehold. It’s not the engagement itself persay, it’s the journey it took to get there. It’s watching years and years of heartbreak, and settling, and selling herself short wash away to be replaced by certainty, stability and pure love. It’s watching the girl you’ve always been rooting for finally get the happy ending she deserves. It’s watching the love she wrote about so rawly, pouring her bleeding heart into her work, come to life and come back tenfold for her.
It’s not just an engagement (even though the ring, the setup and the story behind it is all too perfect). It’s about knowing that all of the tears, and making hard choices, and showing up despite it all was worth it. It’s like watching an old friend, someone you’ve held so much love and admiration for, finally get what she deserves - without sacrificing any piece of herself to do it.
It’s also a reminder that settling is not the goal. That pushing through the toughest parts of your life, building yourself up even if it means sitting alone at the table for some time and becoming the best version of yourself can all still exist in the same universe as you finding love.
Taylor Swift getting engaged to a man who loves and adores her may not heal every part of us. It may not fix our problems or matter directly in our day-to-day lives. But what it did do was offer a little reminder that magic does exist when you let it in. That those who truly love you will stop at nothing to let you know, and that you absolutely deserve the world even when you feel like you will never get what you desire so badly.
So, on that note, be happy about it. Be annoying about it. Smile about it. This is a reminder that good things do exist, and you just bore witness to them. Above all, love yourself, and never settle, even when your heart is breaking into a million tiny pieces.
