Tim McGraw is finally setting the record straight about rumors that he performed with Taylor Swift during her wedding to Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden.
“Well, I didn’t perform with [Taylor] at her wedding,” McGraw, 59, clarified during a Wednesday, October 28, appearance on Esquire‘s “What I’ve Learned” podcast, adding, “I didn’t perform at her wedding. That was a rumor.”
McGraw joked, “Surprise! The internet is not always correct.”
McGraw and his wife, Faith Hill, were among a star-studded lineup of guests — including Jennifer Lopez, Tom Brady, Reese Witherspoon and Sabrina Carpenter — who were present when Swift, 36, and Kelce, 37, exchanged vows inside the “world’s most famous arena” on July 3.
Swift has a long-term friendship with McGraw, having named her 2006 debut single in his honor. The “Patient Zero” singer served as an opening act on McGraw and Hill’s Soul2Soul II Tour in 2007 and has since collaborated with both on multiple occasions.
“We were there [at the wedding],” McGraw confirmed on the “What I’ve Learned” podcast. “Taylor has always been close to our family, our girls [Gracie, 29, Maggie, 28, and Audrey, 24]. She’s been to our house and hung out with our girls.”
McGraw heaped praise on Swift for being a “special person,” going on to say, “[She’s] one of the most talented people I’ve ever met. What I always go back to with Taylor is, she’s the biggest artist in the world … [and] I think the core reason for that is she is a genius songwriter. I think that’s the biggest thing that maybe gets overlooked sometimes.”
“The way that she writes to connect with her audience is such an incredible thing and the way she’s able to span generations with her music,” McGraw continued. “You have Swifites who are 7, 8 years old who love her because their mom is bringing them to it because they were Swifties when they were 10 years old. I couldn’t be more proud of her.”
McGraw recalled how he and Hill, 59, spent time “every night” talking to Swift about her career ambitions when they toured together in 2007.
“She’s very smart about wanting to find out about the industry and how to go about things,” he remembered. “We just felt that she was a special artist and a special person — and we still feel that way. We couldn’t be happier for her to find Travis, who is a cool guy as well.”
An insider exclusively revealed to Us that Swift and Kelce were able to maintain an “intimate” vibe for their July 3 wedding even though they had more than 1,000 guests on hand in Madison Square Garden.
“The whole night felt really intimate and personal despite being in an arena and how star-studded the guest list was,” one source told Us at the time. “There were about 1,000 guests there, but it felt intimate.”
The newlyweds chose an “enchanted garden-inspired” theme for the evening, complete with soft blush and light peach as a color palette.
“They transformed the venue into an elegant and unique wedding experience that reflected both their personalities,” a second insider shared with Us. “It was decorated elegantly, incorporating their down-to-earth style mixed in.”
Kelce broke his silence about his wedding at the Kansas City Chiefs’ training camp on August 12, describing it as “the best night of my life.”
“MSG, man, I always told myself I’d go for a playoff game when the [New York] Knicks were rocking, and my wife went when I was stuck in minicamp,” Kelce said. “I didn’t get the opportunity to go then, so it’s kind of cool to get to live out my childhood dream of being in that venue, the mecca of all sports venues, being able to get married in there.”
