‘SNL’s Heidi Gardner Sends a Direct Message to Taylor Swift About Travis Kelce

Heidi Gardner, Taylor Swift

Heidi Gardner had a direct message for Taylor Swift as the comedian reflected on the onscreen moments she shared with Travis Kelce last year.

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end hosted Saturday Night Live on March 4, 2023, shortly after his team won Super Bowl LVII. Gardner, an SNL cast member and longtime Chiefs fan, said during a Friday, May 3 appearance on Today with Hoda & Jenna that she had previously asked the show’s creator, Lorne Michaels, if Kelce could host an episode. Gardner recalled that Michaels told her the NFL star first needed to win the 2023 Super Bowl and, once his team did, he was invited to host.

Today co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager noticed that Gardner was “fangirling” while sharing background details of Kelce’s time on the show, some of which she has documented previously. Gardner explained that she felt “protective” of Kelce and took extra steps to make him feel comfortable on set. One of the things she did to help was provide him with some of the snacks he turns to on game days with the Chiefs.

“I asked him questions, which also as a sports fan, I’m just interested in,” Gardner said. Once she learned that his go-to snacks were Uncrustables, she brought him a bunch before the dress rehearsal for his episode.

Gardner then apologized to Swift as a brief aside while telling a story about one of their scenes together. The skit in question, called “Garrett from Hinge,” started with Gardner and Kelce sitting in bed together when they were unexpectedly interrupted by Gardner’s Hinge date, a man named Garrett played by fellow SNL star Bowen Yang, who Gardner tried to cancel plans with at the last minute.

Heidi Gardner, host Travis Kelce, and Bowen Yang as Garrett from Hinge during the Hinge Match sketch on ‘Saturday Night Live’ on Saturday, March 4, 2023.NBC/Getty Images

“Right before dress rehearsal, we were in a scene where we were—sorry, Taylor—we were in bed together,” Gardner remembered. Kielce then “leaned over into me right before lights up on the scene, and he was like, ‘I’ve been eating the Uncrustables all day.’ And I was like, ‘Cool,’” she said with a laugh.

The SNL episode was filmed months before Kelce and Swift began dating. The power couple took their relationship public last fall when Swift began attending NFL games to cheer on Kelce and his Chiefs teammates.

As Bush Hager noted, Gardner as a Kansas City native and longtime Chiefs fan technically “loved” Kelce “before Taylor.”

Gardner appeared to be amused by the idea. “Yes I did,” she agreed with a laugh.