Kayla Nicole, ex-partner of NFL star Travis Kelce, has shared some tips for those dating sports celebrities, emphasizing the importance of independence: “always have your own”.

Formerly engaged in an on-off romance with the Kansas City Chiefs icon for five years until their split in 2022, Nicole has seen Kelce’s fame skyrocket, especially now as hes in the public eye alongside pop sensation Taylor Swift. Nicole examined her past with the noted athlete, recently sharing insights on Angel Reese’s Podcast.

Her chief guidance for dating athletes is, “My biggest advice in dating an athlete is to always have your own.”

Nicole spoke candidly about the challenges and lessons she’s learnt being with a highly-visible NFL figure, advising others to maintain their personal identity and ambitions.

She shared, “It is really easy to get caught up in their dream, their vision for their life. Something that I had to learn early on was that the relationship could be over tomorrow and what do you have? At the time it was a long-distance relationship, I was going back-and-forth.”

The social media sensation shared her experience, saying: “I was in-between apartments and thought ‘it’s cool, we’re going to get married and I’m going to move into the house, I don’t really need an apartment’,” as she detailed the progression of their relationship. “We broke up, my lease was up, my lease on my car was up all at the same time.”

“Thankfully we ended up getting back together but from that point moving forward I was like I don’t care who I date, I’m going to always have my own place, my own car. Support their career my prioritize my own goals.”

Nicole also spoke about the pressure of dating a well-known figure and how it can affect someone. “I think the combination of everything is the perfect storm to make you want to disappear from the world entirely.”

“Behind closed doors, the hardest part is losing a partner, a best friend, speaking every day to cutting ties. Then you throw in social media. I would be lying if I said that that level of hate and online chaos didn’t impact me, even to this day.”

She added: “You could go to my most recent posts and people would be debating why I am worthless. It is nothing to do with me. I think there is something about that level of fame that attracts crazy people, which is unfortunate because I don’t think I have done anything to warrant that kind of backlash.”