The difference between Travis Kelce and Joe Alwyn has never been clearer.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have done it again.

As if their romance couldn't get any more Hollywood, Travis has appeared on stage at Taylor's latest Eras Tour show in London. Almost a year on from their first meeting, Kelce made a cameo in Swift's third Wembley Stadium show during the 'I Can Do It With a Broken Heart' introduction.

The NFL star wore a top hat and dapper three-piece suit, along with Swift's other backup dancers, as he pretended to do his girlfriend's makeup and prepare her for her performance.

He even carried the pop star in his arms at one point. Okay, I'm blushing!

📹 | CLOSE UP and FULL video of Taylor and Travis on stage during ICDIWABH!!! 💘 pic.twitter.com/44gNcp20ld

— The Eras Tour Singapore (@TSTheErasTourSG) June 23, 2024

The moment has the Swifties losing it. After all, the song Taylor sang before Travis appeared is about how the 'Blank Space' singer struggled to get over heartbreak on tour... well, before she met Travis.

It's a full circle moment for the couple, but it also got me thinking: this would absolutely never have happened with Taylor's ex of six years. Joe Alwyn could never.

Swift and Alwyn began dating back in 2016 and broke up in April 2023. By July, Swift reportedly began dating the Kansas City Chiefs player — with a quick Matty Healy intermission in between. 

Taylor and Joe were famously a deeply private couple. They didn't attend red carpets together or speak about each other in interviews. Many have speculated that Joe was uncomfortable with the level of fame that had been thrust upon him by simply dating Swift.

Joe Alwyn attends the Kinds Of Kindness premiere. Image: Getty.

In a post-split interview with the Sunday Times, Alwyn said that while he understood "people's curiosity" about his relationship, he couldn't comprehend how his breakup had become so public. 

"What is unusual and abnormal in this situation is that, one week later, it's suddenly in the public domain and the outside world is able to weigh in," he stated.

The overwhelming feeling from this interview was one of resentment: Joe resented Taylor's fame and success. 

Hey now! Listen to The Spill's hosts discuss another Eras Tour cameo. Post continues after podcast.

The singer opened up about this dynamic in 'So Long, London', a song about feeling like an inconvenience to her partner — a reference many presumed to be about Alwyn.

"Holding tight to your quiet resentment," she sang. "When you're not sure if he wants to be there."

Fans have long suspected that Swift had planned to marry Alwyn. In the same song, she sang about wanting to marry someone but this feeling wasn't reciprocated. "You swore that you loved me, but where were the clues? I died on the altar waitin' for the proof."

This is not to say that Alwyn was a total dud of a boyfriend. Like Kelce, he attended Swift's tours while they were together — but not to the same level of fanfare. Yes, Alwyn is famous in his own right, but he doesn't have legions of established fans like a literal NFL icon (not to mention global heartthrob) like Kelce.

Travis Kelce appears at Taylor Swift's London show. Image: Getty. 

Alwyn occasionally attended Taylor's 'Reputation' dates but not quite as frequently as Kelce has been spotted during the Eras Tour. At last count, he has attended eight of his girlfriend's shows since July 2023, stretching around the world from Sydney to Paris.

And now he's appeared on stage. 

But the appearance wasn't motivated by Kelce's desire to steal the spotlight. He was content with being a background character. Kelce was purposefully dressed like the other dancers; he played along, and played his part well.

🚨| TRAVIS KELCE'S FULL SURPRISE APPEARANCE FOR "I CAN DO IT WITH A BROKEN HEART" AT TODAY'S SHOW! #LONDONTSTHEERASTOUR

pic.twitter.com/NxWKlOes4g

— The Eras Tour (@tswifterastour) June 23, 2024

It is so refreshing to see a man fully support a woman's success. This is a secure man who would happily be seen holding the hand of Swift, or carrying her in his arms.

It's a sharp contrast to the Swift we've known since 2016, who treated her romance with Alwyn as a guarded secret. This push to privacy came partly from her cancellation in 2016, but it's also the way Alwyn wanted it. "I think there's a very clear line as to what somebody should share, or feel like they have to share, and what they don't want to and shouldn't have to," the actor told Esquire in 2018.

"I think we have been successfully very private."

Meanwhile, Swift's relationship with Kelce is the most public she's ever been. Whether they're smooching on TV at the Super Bowl, she's serenading him at her shows, they're going on cute dates in cities around the world, or the3 NFL star is dissecting their romance on his podcast — this relationship is very much in the public eye.

It makes sense that Kelce started as a fan. Their romance began when the sports star attended a Kansas City Eras Tour show and passed on a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it. She eventually called.

To invoke the lyrics to the singer's 'I Can Do It With a Broken Heart', with Kelce by her side Swift is "having the time of her life".

And she ain't faking it this time.

Feature image: Getty.