The Rise And Rise Of The Hype Boyfriend
When Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce appeared on stage with her at Wembley Stadium on Sunday night, press reports of the ‘frenzy’ that ensued have not been overstated. In response to the 6ft5 American football player making his Eras Tour debut in top hat and tails, there were giddy screams, rapturous applause and reports of some fans physically swooning and having to sit down. (Reader, I was one of them, and my ears are still ringing nearly 48 hours later).
More articulate fans were quick to tweet their elation on X. ‘I am so happy to be alive at this monumental point in history,’ wrote one. ‘They are like a cheesy hallmark movie and I’m so here for it,’ raved another. The eagle-eyed at Wembley might have spotted Kelce nervously leaving the VIP tent and walking off earlier in the set. Initially, this looked like a brush off but turned out to be the opposite. Kelce was preparing to join Swift for a brief skit that introduced the track 'I Can Do It With a Broken Heart', kicking his heels, picking Swift up and carrying her, and even pretending to apply make-up to her face.
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It was the surprise guest appearance that nobody saw coming, the relationship hard launch of the century and a joyful sight to behold. But most strikingly of all, it was the physical embodiment of a figure who’s been beaming proudly at the collective consciousness for a while now: the hype boyfriend. This is linked to the well-known figure of the hype man, which can be traced back to hip-hop and rap music, where it refers to a backing vocalist who supports the main performer by engaging with the audience to enhance the overall performance. That’s exactly what Kelce did during his on-stage appearance, glad to be helping to make his stratospherically famous and ridiculously talented partner look even better.
We’ve seen the celebrity hype boyfriend around a lot lately and, suffice to say, the internet can’t get enough of him. One of the most celebrated is Barry Keoghan, who has made headlines for publicly supporting girlfriend Sabrina Carpenter as she shoots to super-stardom. In the last few months alone, the artist has played Coachella, supported Taylor Swift and announced her own arena tour, as well as achieving her first number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with the eminently catchy 'Please Please Please' (all while her other hit, 'Espresso', remains in the top five). And during this ‘Summer of Sabrina’, where has her boyfriend Barry been? Starring in her music video and consistently attending her performances, where he can be seen smiling, dancing, clapping along and ‘giggling’ (per the Daily Mail) as he watches. If she’s working late 'cause she’s a singer, we’d all like to believe he’s going to understand and offer time, space and support.
One video of Keoghan watching Carpenter at Radio 1’s Big Weekend earlier this summer, captioned 'he’s smitten', has attracted more than 24 million views. Comments like ‘Love that he’s just following her around while she’s living her pop star life' and 'I want someone to look at me like that' abound. It’s little wonder the hype boyfriend has given rise to a new generation of another very online form of partner the ‘internet boyfriend’. The OGs in this realm were people like Pedro Pascal, Michael B. Jordan and Timothée Chalamet, but the prevailing social media crushes are now on Keoghan and Kelce, alongside figures like Nicholas Galitzine, Ramy Youssef and Paul Mescal (especially in those shorts).
And then there’s perhaps the original hype boyfriend, Tom Holland, beloved for giving Zendaya the very public love and praise she deserves online and in-person, whether it’s supporting her during worldwide press tours and events or photographing and sharing her every move even if he’s not there. When he couldn’t attend the 2024 Met Gala with Zendaya in May, Holland posted two photos of her outfits on Instagram simply captioned with love heart eye emojis, which we might consider a masterclass in hype from afar.
The other noticeable thing about this new era of hype boyfriends is that their support seems to be given willingly and enacted in very public spheres, whether on Instagram or in front of a record-breaking 90,000-strong crowd at Wembley. It’s hard not to compare that to famous men who seemed to veer away from publicly supporting their powerful partners recall the moment Swift’s ex Joe Alwyn was asked to name his favourite Swift song by GQ in 2018 and replied: 'I'm just not even going to go into that side of the world.' More recently, there’s Ben Affleck’s recent comment about J-Lo’s 'bananas' level of fame and how it affects their lives. While partners are entitled to their privacy, it still makes the hype boyfriend feel disappointingly novel.
Of course, support works both ways, and there has been plenty of coverage of Swift attending Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs football games. Meanwhile, Zendaya has been making frequent appearances to watch Holland star in Romeo and Juliet at London’s Duke of York Theatre. And you don’t have to be a celebrity to be a hype partner. Just look at the success of ‘Pookie’, the nickname coined by influencer Campbell Puckett’s husband Jett when describing her ‘fire outfits’ in viral TikToks created by the US couple.
You might legitimately see the hype boyfriend as a publicity stunt or exercise in good PR, but there’s nevertheless something unashamedly joyful about the figure of the hype boyfriend. We can bring his celebratory energy to all kinds of relationships friends, family members, colleagues. In fact, we should. And, in the meantime, we can admire them rapturously when they pop up unexpectedly.
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