Professional wrestler Jeff Jarrett has revealed that Taylor Swift once put on a three-hour private concert for his wife before she died of cancer.
Jarrett, 58, has known Swift since she was a child after the pop star’s parents moved to his hometown of Hendersonville, Tennessee, with locals quickly becoming accustomed to stories about the future pop superstar.
“Obviously, like every little girl in America, my daughters were big Taylor fans,” Jarrett said. “And her songs had just kind of broke, but she was a hometown girl.”
In 2006, his first wife, Jill Gregory, was diagnosed with breast cancer and had fallen seriously ill by December of that year.
According to the former NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, a friend of Swift’s suggested that she visit the Jarrett family, which she did. However, the singer had to run back home to get her guitar because Jarrett’s daughters “wanted her to sing and play”.
Jarrett told TMZ Sports that what began as an intimate gathering soon turned into a private gig for 45 people that lasted three hours.
Gregory passed away just months after the performance. Following this, Swift apparently remained in touch with the family and even babysat for their children.
“What a very cool relationship that developed,” Jarrett said. “When my wife passed away, Taylor would come around and was really good with the girls.
“I think in a lot of ways, and I’ll get emotional saying this, she kind of bonded with the family, specifically with the girls.”
The wrestler added that he still speaks with Swift’s father Scott and that he was thrilled to hear of her engagement to NFL star Travis Kelce.
Jarrett, who currently works as the Director of Business Development for All Elite Wrestling, said he thought that Kelce could make a splash if he wanted to try his hand at wrestling.
"I think he can make a lot of noise," Jarrett said. "Him and his brother [Jason] are showmen at heart. You can tell it's in their DNA."
Kelce recently spoke publicly for the first time since he and Swift announced their engagement.
In a teaser clip for Wednesday's episode of his podcast, New Heights, which he co-hosts with his brother, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end shed light on the viral reaction to the news, saying: “I appreciate everybody that reached out and sent something, and all the posts, all the excitement that's been going on.”
“It's been really fun telling everybody who I'm going to be spending the rest of my life with,” he smiled.
