Inside Kayla Nicole’s Alleged Halloween Shade Over the Years
Rumors of a feud between Kayla Nicole and Taylor Swift continue to circulate. Nicole, who previously dated Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, unfollowed several of his teammates and their partners, including Patrick and Brittany Mahomes, after Kelce began dating Swift in late 2023. Then, Swift released the song “Opalite” on her 2025 album, The Life of a Showgirl. The song contained lyrics that fans found shady toward Nicole. For Halloween in 2025, Nicole’s costume might’ve thrown even more shade in Swift’s direction. And it’s not the first time that her Halloween costumes have been interpreted this way.
Kayla Nicole dressed as Toni Braxton for Halloween in 2025
For Halloween 2025, Kayla Nicole stepped onto social media with a bold and unmistakably styled tribute. She channeled Toni Braxton’s early 2000s look from the “He Wasn’t Man Enough” music video, complete with the metallic mini-dress, slick hair, and confident choreography. The Instagram post featured a video of Nicole dancing to the track, along with a behind-the-scenes look at how she created the iconic clip.
What made the costume particularly headline-worthy was the apparent undertone. Fans quickly interpreted the choice of song and look as a subtle dig at Nicole’s past relationship with Travis Kelce and his current engagement to Taylor Swift. By choosing “He Wasn’t Man Enough,” she inadvertently (or intentionally) tapped into a layered commentary about her former relationship and the process of letting go.
In the song, Braxton sings: “Listen, girl
Who do you think I am?
Don’t you know that he was my man?
But I chose to let him go
So why do you act like I still care about him?
Looking at me like I’m hurt
When I’m the one who said I didn’t want it to work
Don’t you forget I had him first?”
Fans went wild over the look and the shade toward Swift.
“The power and petty of Black women is unmatched!!” one fan commented. “And I love it so much.”
“This is actually a PSA and I love that,” another fan wrote.
Kayla Nicole shaded ex Iman Shumpert by dressing up as Teyana Taylor in the past
Kayla Nicole revealed that one of her most memorable Halloween costumes was a full-on tribute to Teyana Taylor’s iconic look in “Fade.” While speaking on Angel Reese’s Unapologetically Angel podcast, Nicole revealed that she was dating “a guy” that she moved to New York for, and he dumped her via text. She then dressed up as his girlfriend for Halloween. The boyfriend Nicole referred to was Iman Shumpert, and the woman was Taylor.
“I was dating a guy, and he dumped me through a text message, and he dumped me for this singer/actress,” Nicole said. “… Dumped me for her. Lied about it for months, then popped out with her and became this public thing.”
While she never named Taylor explicitly at the time, internet sleuths dug up a 2016 photo of Nicole modeling the exact outfit Taylor wore in the video — solid proof the costume was the singer’s look.
Nicole explained that the timing of the costume choice was driven by emotion. After a breakup via text, she said she was “defeated” and “heartbroken,” and this Halloween reenactment was a way to process the moment. However, what may have started as a personal catharsis quickly grew into public drama. Taylor responded indirectly, calling Nicole’s words “very distasteful & uncalled for,” and implied the costume was a deliberate dig, according to Page Six.
Fans have mixed feelings about Travis Kelce’s ex throwing shade at Taylor Swift
Kayla Nicole’s potential dig at Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce with her Halloween costume in 2025 certainly garnered attention. Several fans loved the shade, especially given Swift’s “Opalite” dig.
“I love this for her,” a fan on Reddit wrote. “The comments about ‘she needs to move on’ are funny cause it’s not like Taylor just shaded her in her new album pretty directly.”
Other fans think Nicole is using the shade for clout and to advance her personal brand.
“Kayla is using the attention she is gaining from being Travis’s ex in order to gain clout and grow her own brand,” another Reddit user explained. “She is an influencer, marketing herself is her way of making a living. She said a couple weeks ago on her pod she’s trying to get on next season of Dancing with the Stars, and this is probably her best attempt to get there.”
