Travis Kelce’s ex-girlfriend Kayla Nicole turned heads — and sparked speculation — on Halloween 2025 with a sultry costume homage to R&B icon Toni Braxton, channeling the singer’s provocative look from her 2000 music video “He Wasn’t Man Enough.”
Nicole, 29, donned a barely-there chain dress layered over a metallic purple thong bikini, striking poses and dance moves straight out of Braxton’s video. She shared a sizzling Instagram Reel blending her performance with clips from the original, captioning it: “She’s an icon. She’s a legend. She’s @tonibraxton circa 2000. #Halloween25.”
Fans quickly connected the dots to Nicole’s past with Kelce, 36, whom she dated on and off from 2017 to 2022. Braxton’s lyrics — including “Don’t you know that he was my man?” and “Don’t you forget I had him first” — serve as a pointed reminder to an ex’s new partner that the original flame let him go on her terms.
The timing feels especially pointed amid ongoing tension with Kelce’s fiancée, Taylor Swift, 35. The couple went public in 2023 and got engaged in August 2024.
Just weeks ago, Swift dropped her album The Life of a Showgirl, featuring the track “Opalite” — Kelce’s self-proclaimed favorite. Lyrics like:
“You couldn’t understand it, why you felt alone / You were in it for real / She was in her phone / And you were just a pose” appear to reference a resurfaced video of Nicole filming Kelce during their relationship, prompting him to snap, “Get off your phone.”
Nicole addressed the perceived diss on her podcast, calling it “really dehumanizing” and revealing its toll on her mental health. Yet she endorsed the art of clapbacks, urging artists: “Get in the booth.”
Social media erupted with praise for Nicole’s pettiness. Comments flooded her post: “🗣️No sneakin dissing cause it’s LOUD & CLEAR😊,” “This might be the pettiest costume ever & I love it 😭🤏🏽” and “THE SHADE!!! THE BODY!! We love it!!!😍❤️.”
Is it fair game? Absolutely. Swift, a master of lyrical autobiography, put her relationship — and Nicole’s role in it — under the global microscope first. As a public figure selling millions of albums, those Easter eggs invite response. Nicole’s playful, empowering nod to Braxton keeps it light, fierce and on-brand: She had him first, chose to move on, and isn’t sweating the remix.
Neither Kelce nor Swift have commented publicly on the costume as of late Friday. But on a night of ghosts and goblins, this shade feels very much alive.
Flip the pages for some of Kayla Nicole’s latest thirst traps.
