It was like clockwork. Taylor Swift’s new album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl,’ dropped at midnight on Friday, October 3. By 12:01 AM, fans were already diving into the lyrics, hunting for any hidden meanings.
The third track, “Opalite,” quickly caught everyone’s eye. Many fans believe it throws some subtle jabs at Kayla Nicole, who used to date Swift’s fiancé, Travis Kelce.
The song seems to tell Swift’s own story. At 35, she was searching for her perfect partner. She found him in Kelce, also 35, when they started seeing each other in 2023. The couple later shared their engagement news on Instagram in August.
Kelce’s birthstone is the opal. This pretty much confirms the song is all about him. When Swift sings about Kelce in “Opalite,” she uses poetic words: “You danced among the rays / Sleepless in the onyx night / But now the sky is opalite.” She adds, “I never knew anyone like you before / You had to create your own light / But now the sky is opalite.”
However, one part of the song really grabbed fans’ attention. These are the lines that people think point to Kelce’s previous relationship.
Swift sings, “You couldn’t understand it / Why you felt alone / You were truly in this / She was on her phone / You were just a pose.” The song continues, “And let’s not try to love love / And give it all / You finally got up from the table / And what a simple thought / You starve yourself until you’re not.” Fans quickly connected these words to Kelce’s past.
Kayla Nicole Leon Bennett/Getty Images
Kelce, the 33-year-old Kansas City Chiefs tight end, and Nicole had an on-again, off-again relationship for five years. That was before he met Swift, after he went to one of her ‘Eras Tour’ concerts. Interestingly, the three-time Super Bowl champion even confessed on his ‘New Heights’ podcast in August that “Opalite” is his favorite track from ‘The Life of a Showgirl.’
“I think ‘Opalite’ might be my favorite, at least right now,” he told his co-host and brother, Jason Kelce, back then. “Every time it plays, I always get caught off guard.” Swift confirmed later that “Opalite” is still Kelce’s top pick during a Friday appearance on the UK radio station Capital FM.
“He loves that one,” she said. Swift also explained her writing process. “I have favorite words, favorite phrases, and things I keep in a never-ending lyric file that I’m always picking from when I’m writing.” She then revealed where the song’s title came from. “I had written down the word ‘opalite’ because I found out it’s actually a man-made opal,” she shared. “Opal can be man-made, just like diamonds.”
She tied this back to her fiancé. “Travis’s birthstone is an opal, so I’ve always paid attention to that,” she explained. “I’ve always loved that stone. I thought it was an interesting metaphor that man-made opal and happiness can also be man-made.”
‘Opalite’ isn’t the only song on the album hinting at Kelce. Tracks like “Wish List,” “Honey,” “The Fate of Ophelia,” and the popular “Wood” all seem to tell pieces of their love story. Swift specifically mentioned “The Fate of Ophelia” later in her Capital FM interview. She said that song holds some of her “favorite moments” from the entire album.
“There’s a post-chorus section that says, ‘Be 100% true to the earth, the sea, the sky / Swear allegiance to your hands, your team, your energy’,” she recalled. “When we wrote that, I thought, ‘Yes! This is why I make music’.”
‘The Life of a Showgirl’ is available now.