As the U.S. leg of Taylor Swift’s juggernaut Eras Tour wrapped up in Los Angeles last night, the internet was once again set aflame by the presence of a certain celebrity in attendance.
No, it wasn’t Channing Tatum and his glittery face paint, or Halsey and her impressive stack of friendship bracelets. This time, it was model Karlie Kloss—Swift’s former best friend and the subject of some salacious rumors among Swifties—whose presence sent fans into a state of apoplectic mania.
Kloss’ attendance on Wednesday night particularly stuck out because rather than being spotted in the VIP risers at SoFi Stadium, she was initially seen sitting among fans in the upper decks, prompting mockery from Swifties who snickered at how far she’d seemingly fallen out of Swift’s favor. Reports later emerged, however, that Kloss moved to the VIP section at some point during the concert.
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Swift also announced the forthcoming release of her re-recorded version of 1989 during Wednesday’s show, boosting the significance of Kloss’ attendance. It was during the pop star’s 1989 era in 2014—a time defined by her ubiquitous girl squad—that the two onetime BFFs were regularly seen gallivanting all over New York together, with Kloss joining Swift at awards shows, concerts, and even in one of her music videos.
In fact, the fervor over the pair’s friendship got so intense that there’s a whole sub-stratum of Swifties called Kaylors who are hopelessly devoted to the theory that during the 1989 era, Swift and Kloss secretly became lovers. Their romance was exposed, Kaylors will have you believe, when the two were photographed embracing at a concert for The 1975 in 2014. (Swift, of course, would go on to controversially date 1975 frontman Matty Healy in 2023 during the aftermath of her breakup with Joe Alwyn.)
It’s difficult to overstate just how close Kloss and Swift were at one point, and how frequently they were documented hanging out. They walked the runway together at Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows. They sat courtside at NBA games. They went on a California road trip that looms large in Kaylor lore. They even appeared together on the cover of Vogue.
And then... their friendship seemed to dissolve into thin air.
The two haven’t been photographed together since August 2018, when Kloss attended Swift’s Reputation Tour show in Nashville. A few months later, the model insisted things were fine between them, telling Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live, “Taylor is incredible, and I feel really lucky to call her a friend.”
And yet, Swift was not in attendance at Kloss’ October 2018 wedding to venture capitalist Joshua Kushner. The model is also notably managed by Scooter Braun, whose feud with Swift is the stuff of legend: Braun’s $330 million purchase of Swift’s original master recordings for her first six albums is the reason why the pop star embarked on her epic album re-recording process in the first place. And during all that drama in 2019, Kloss and Braun were photographed vacationing together.
So why did Kloss go to the Eras Tour? Was this appearance planned or cosigned by Swift and her team? Or did she merely want to bury the hatchet by supporting an old pal? Whatever the truth is, trust and believe that Kaylors will take this news and run with it.
