Tony Romo Refers to Taylor Swift as Travis Kelce’s ‘Wife’ in Comedic Flub During Sunday’s Game

Football commentator Tony Romo made a charged faux pas when he accidentally referred to Taylor Swift as Travis Kelce’s "wife" during a December 10 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills.

During Kansas City’s sixth game of the season, NFL cameras found Swift—as they so often do—in a VIP box cheering on her beau. But Romo apparently has information no one else does, marrying the couple off as he called the game.

“As you see Kelce’s wife, Taylor Swift, [is] in the audience,” Romo said breathlessly, before instantly recovering. “I’m sorry, girlfriend,” the former Cowboys QB stammered.

“Not yet,” shot back co-commentator Jim Nantz. “You don’t know something we don’t, do you?” he asked Romo.

Many viewers thought Romo had purposefully flubbed the label in order to obtain publicity, while others thought it was a genuine error that could be attributed to the commentator’s famously loose-lipped style. Over the past few months, Romo has come under increased scrutiny for his “annoying” on-air behavior, including one digression in which he called Nantz “sexy,” and an incident on Thanksgiving that saw him ogle Dolly Parton. CBS, which signed Romo to a $180 million contract in 2020, even attempted an intervention during 2022’s off-season in the hopes of reversing course.

Neither Swift nor Kelce has yet to comment on Romo’s error, but the two are used to all manner of coverage by now. After her frequent mid-game appearances began to rile fans, Swift revealed in her Time Magazine Person of the Year profile that she has no control over when or how she’s shown.

"I don't know how they know what suite I'm in," she explained. "There's a camera, like, a half-mile away, and you don't know where it is, and you have no idea when the camera is putting you in the broadcast, so I don't know if I'm being shown 17 times or once."

She concluded: "I'm just there to support Travis…I have no awareness of if I'm being shown too much.”

The Chiefs will next face off against the New England Patriots on December 17 at Gillette Stadium.