Taylor Swift, 36, attended the MTV VMAs 2026 event solo on Sunday night, as her new husband, Travis Kelce, 36, was unable to attend. However, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end made up for his absence on social media.
While Taylor took home the inaugural MTV VMA Artist Director Honors award, Kelce and his teammates faced off against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. However, he did support his singer wife in her awards ceremony in his own way, while the Kansas City Chiefs won their game 24 to 10.
Several Swifties noted Kelce’s social media tribute after he “liked” two of Billboard’s Instagram posts. The posts showed the “Bad Blood” singer walking the blue carpet at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California.
Travis Kelce Missed Taylor Swift’s VMA Award
GettyWhile Swift stunned the audience at the MTV VMA awards with her shimmering Tamara Ralph Couture halter gown, Kelce was wearing his Kansas City Chiefs shirt at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Taylor’s stunning gown featured a dark-colored velvet bodice, with an asymmetric draped skirt of silver crystal mesh.
Actress Dakota Johnson presented the MTV VMA Directors Honors award to Swift, who said she was thankful to MTV for sharing their platform to music videos “so long ago.”
“I got to start making music videos and being a part of music videos 20 years ago, and since then, I’ve gotten to be a part of making 60 music videos, roughly 60 of them – 18 of those I wrote and directed, and I really love writing and directing music videos,” Swift said onstage.
“The main reason why I love writing and directing music videos so much is because you, the fans, make it so much fun,” she added.
“You make it so rewarding because you actually care about what we’re making. So I want to say thank you to everyone who ever worked on a music video that I got to be a part of. I learned something from every single person that ever worked alongside.”
Taylor Swift Shared Her ‘Patient Zero’ Music Video
GettyMeanwhile, at the event, the “Cruel Summer” singer also premiered her new “Patient Zero” music video, featuring Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were wed on July 3 at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, and it’s clear that the couple is still in their honeymoon stage, despite Kelce’s absence from the MTV VMA awards.
More recently, Taylor shared personal home footage with Travis in her “Cleveland!” music video. The never-before-seen footage was welcomed by Swifties backed by one of her new songs from her “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore” album.
The video was posted on Friday and reveals the famous couple visiting Kelce’s hometown of Cleveland Heights in Ohio. Throughout the footage, Taylor appears several times while smiling for the camera while Travis drove the vehicle and she relaxed in the passenger seat.
