From her days as country music ingenue to her emergence as world-bestriding pop colossus, Taylor Swift’s various heartaches, betrayals, and break-ups have been the soundtrack of a generation. Rare is the woman under 40 (and, let’s be honest, some men, too) who can’t relate all too well to Swift’s broken-heart ballads, or find catharsis in blasting “We Are Never, Ever Getting Back Together” from a Bluetooth speaker.
Now, Swift enters her fiancée era. Instagram feeds nationwide were swamped by the fairytale engagement photo of Swift and her “guy on the Chiefs,” Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce. After a string of unsatisfying relationships, and two years of dating Kelce, Swift’s long-desired “love story” may soon culminate in just saying yes.
In an age of isolation and alienation, the romance of Travis and Taylor provides a jolt of hope. Within minutes of the Taylor-Travis announcement, some social conservatives were predicting a boomlet of wedding bells. It’s a nice thought. It’s also unlikely. We can, and should, wish the future couple well without putting undue weight on two 30-somethings to spark a marriage renaissance.