The Most Confusing, WTF Guests at Taylor Swift’s Wedding

Taylor Swift officially got married to Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden this past weekend, and it sure seems like everyone the couple has ever met showed up at the wedding of the decade. A-list musicians, celebrities, sports players, and Hollywood stars made up the 1,000-person guest list, proving just how connected the superstar and NFL player are in their respective circles. Sure, Swift admitted that she was basically inviting “anyone that I’ve ever talked to” last year, but we didn’t think she meant it literally.

Turns out, she did. Swift and Kelce seemed to invite some of their most random acquaintances, forcing people to figure out how celebrities like Simone Biles or Machine Gun Kelly knew the bride and groom. But from old foes to controversial executives, here’s a handful of attendees that still have us scratching our heads.

Karlie Kloss

Friends break up, friends get married, and sometimes years after a rumored rift, they even wind up as wedding guests of said friend. At least, that’s what happened between Karlie Kloss and Swift. The supermodel was one of the most surprising people to make the guest list, causing pandemonium amongst Swifties and pop culture nerds alike when she was photographed heading to the wedding in a gorgeous gold silk gown (what a gold rush). The once-inseparable besties haven’t even been seen together since 2018, so how the hell did Kloss nab an invite to Swift’s wedding? It’s quite baffling, and the very public move is a clear indicator that the two are on the mend. Some fans even think Swift’s new country song “I Knew It, I Knew You” is about reconnecting with Kloss, who once described the singer as a “sister.”

Steve J. Demetriou

There were plenty of random, power-wielding executives who made the guest list. This fact isn’t that confusing, considering Swift is a billionaire, after all. But one CEO in particular caused a huge stir: Steve J. Demetriou. He is the CEO of Amentum, a government contractor, according to the company’s website. Earlier this year, Amentum became the new contractor of the Camp East Montana ICE detention center in El Paso, which the New York Times described as “the country’s largest detention center.” Demetriou is also the father of Ohio Republican Representative Steve Demetriou. According to the Akron Beacon Journal, Demetriou Sr adopted Kelce’s longtime friend Reggie King, who was invited to the wedding. King allegedly brought along his whole family. Fans criticized Swift and Kelce for allowing someone with ICE connections to their wedding, given their Democratic ties.

Kristin Cavallari

A quick look at Kristin Cavallari’s six degrees of separation with Kelce and Swift doesn’t offer much of an explanation about why she was at the wedding. Of course, the reality TV star famously dated Stephen Colletti during the height of Laguna Beach, and a few years later, Colletti starred in Swift’s music video for “White Horse.”  That doesn’t exactly scream wedding invite. Flash forward to September 2023 when Kelce joined Cavallari for an appearance on her podcast Let’s Be Honest, in which she admitted that she once had a crush on the NFL player and told him “I was in love with you.” This confession came just as Swift and Kelce sparked dating rumors, so again, why? Maybe it’s because Cavallari ran in football circles when she was married to Jay Cutler, or maybe it’s because she recently called out the fact that Swift being dragged into the Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni suit as “bullshit.”

Zadie Smith

No guest has the internet more confused than Pulitzer-nominated writer Zadie Smith. “Zadie Smith went to Taylor Swift’s wedding at Madison Square Garden” is a sentence I couldn’t have dreamed of 15 years ago,” wrote one social media user. They kinda have a point. The English author was hilariously photographed giving the middle finger in a car with fellow guests Lena Dunham and Andrew Scott, confirming that she was really there. Maybe she was just one of Dunham’s plus ones? Or maybe Swift and Smith really connected when they were “rubbing shoulders” at the 2016 Met Gala (a notorious event in the Taylor Swift Cinematic Universe.) Either way, there’s no real clear answer here.

The Chainsmokers

Sometimes, it seems like the Chainsmokers just show up to places (at least, that’s what their college and sports-adjacent gigs look like). So when the electronic music duo were confirmed guests at the Swift-Kelce wedding, it gave “what the hell, sure” energy. Last year, they did work with the popstar on a dubstep remix of her smash hit “The Fate of Ophelia,” and previously fan-girled when Swift mentioned their song in a 2019 Elle essay, but is that enough to secure a wedding invitation? Seems like it, especially if Kelce, who notably loves house music, has a say.