It may be premature to call the rumored relationship between Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift a love story. If it were, though, this is the part where an ex enters the picture to make the plot a bit more spicy.
Enter Maya Benberry, a 31-year-old marketing and brand consultant who dated Kelce for several months back in 2016 after she won his E! reality dating show "Catching Kelce." Now, Benberry has come out with a strong accusation against the Kansas City Chiefs star.
In an interview with Daily Mail, Benberry claims Kelce was not the man she knew him to be when they dated, and was unfaithful to her.
"Taylor seems like such a fun girl with a beautiful spirit, so I wish her the best of luck, but I wouldn't be a girls' girl if I didn't advise her to be smart!" Benberry told Daily Mail. "I'm sure by now she has mastered the ability to see who is there for her, and who is just using her."
Benberry didn't stop there, adding, "only time will tell, but like the saying always goes: Once a cheater, always a cheater."
Benberry's comments come on the heels of Swift being spotted at last Sunday's Chiefs game against the Chicago Bears. She sat in Kelce's suite at Arrowhead Stadium with Kelce's mother Donna, and she was spotted leaving with Travis after the game.
Is this the ranting of a jealous ex or merely an attempt to capitalize on the recent media blitz surrounding the athlete and pop star's rumored romance? Benberry's timing seems to point to the latter. If Swift is considering a serious relationship with Kelce, however, one has to wonder whether Benberry's claims planted a small seed of doubt in her mind. She wouldn't be human if she didn't.
Kelce also dated Kayla Nicole, a sportscaster, off and on for several years. Benberry previously accused Kelce of cheating on her with Nicole following a tweet that has since been deleted, per Page Six: "when you and your ex broke up five months ago, but you find out via social media that he's supposedly been in another relationship for six..." she wrote.
Kelce denied those allegations, calling them "fake news".
A source told Page Six that Kelce and Benberry only dated about three months, and they were contractually obligated by the show to not announce their breakup. The source called Benberry, "just the winner of the show."
All this publicity has certainly not hurt Kelce's marketing machine. The "New Heights" podcast he co-hosts with his brother Jason reached 1 million subscribers on YouTube.
How will the story end? To use Benberry's words, "time will tell." One thing is clear: Kelce fans, Swifties and gossipmongers will all be eagerly awaiting the next chapter.
