Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce skipped the Met Gala last year despite being invited, and now the question hanging over 2026 is whether the couple will return to fashion's biggest night. Swift last attended in 2016, when she served as a co-chair for the Met Gala themed “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.”
Their absence last year fit a pattern. A source told PEOPLE the couple had been traveling nonstop and were making the most of their time off together, while also hanging out with friends. The insider said it was “a special time for them,” that they “value the same things,” and that “the focus is very much on private time out of the spotlight.”
That private stretch has not kept fans from watching the calendar. Swift and Kelce have avoided many appearances at major events like the Grammys and the Oscars, even as they showed up together at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards. There, Swift thanked Kelce in her winning speech and took home seven awards, including Artist of the Year and Album of the Year.
For now, the Met Gala remains the one major public event that still seems to pull the couple back into speculation. Beyoncé has skipped the Met Gala since 2016 but will attend this year because she is one of the co-chairs, and Zendaya sat out the event for several years. Swift's history with the gala, plus the pair's preference for quieter time together, leaves the odds of a return uncertain but very much alive in 2026.
