Travis Kelce and Tom Holland know being obsessed with your superstar wife is good for business

Business Insider | 13-08-2026 11:44pm |

Tayvis and Tomdaya.Alessandra Tarantino/AP Photo; TheStewartofNY; Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BIIn the middle of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, her then-boyfriend, Travis Kelce, materialized onstage wearing a top hat and grinning ear-to-ear. He clicked his heels, cradled Swift in his arms, and mimed putting makeup on her face during a well-rehearsed skit, hitting all his marks as a member of her supporting cast.While tens of thousands of fans in London's Wembley Stadium screamed their approval, none had shelled out money for tickets to see Kelce. His cameo was the mere cherry on top of Swift's monumental career achievement: She'd set an attendance record for the venue and generated an estimated $1 billion for the UK economy.Not that Kelce seemed to mind playing second fiddle. In fact, he said it was "an honor" to dip his toe into Swift's world, casting himself as a superfan who got luckier than most."You can do no wrong when Taylor's onstage," Kelce said on his podcast. "She's the best to do it."Kelce is a star in his own right, an athlete on track for the NFL Hall of Fame. Yet Kelce's reported net worth is dwarfed by Swift's multibillion-dollar fortune, and this summer's headlines about his return to football can't resist shoehorning in a mention of his and Swift's recent wedding.Off the field, Kelce's prestige is not threatened by Swift's success but is perhaps even bolstered by it. He belongs to a new wave of secure Hollywood husbands: male celebrities whose enthusiastic endorsement of their high-earning wives makes them more endearing and, crucially, more bankable.Taylor Swift's now-husband, Travis Kelce, joined her in a supporting role during The Eras Tour stop in London.Gareth Cattermole/TAS24 via Getty ImagesThink: Tom Holland, Spider-Man himself, interrupting his own interview at a "Spider-Man" premiere to admire the glamorous arrival of his wife, Zendaya. (This has happened not just once, but many times.) Holland also told Men's Health that he doesn't join Zendaya on non-Marvel-related red carpets because "it's not my moment, it's her moment."Or consider the musician Benny Blanco, who said he's so afraid of flying that he literally took a boat across the Atlantic Ocean to lay eyes on his billionaire wife, Selena Gomez, who's currently in London filming her Emmy-winning TV show. "The things we do for love," he wrote on TikTok.This pattern offers a refreshing contrast to the more common reality, which is that divorce rates in heterosexual couples rise significantly when a woman is more professionally successful than her male partner.It may also offer an escapist balm for the women in question. Celebrity culture thrives by reflecting our own desires like a gilded mirror — and husbands like Kelce, Holland, and Blanco represent an alluring ideal for women at a time when many are outpacing their male counterparts in the labor market. Women outnumber men in medical school and law school; they earn more bachelor's degrees; and they hold more jobs in the US as of March, according to a survey conducted by the Indeed Hiring Lab."That concept of a supportive husband is really appealing to women in 2026," Mike Fahey, the founder and CEO of the PR agency Fahey Communications, told Business Insider. Plus, famous hype husbands who are loving and supportive enjoy the added bonus of being "more marketable," Fahey said.A female breadwinner isn't exactly a new phenomenon, but as women accumulate more cultural and economic clout — and as prominent men publicly celebrate that trend — the strict "alpha male" archetype loses its luster."We're reimagining what masculinity looks like," Fahey said. "As more of those couples take A-plus-list status, others follow suit. You just need one trailblazer to really change the game for the rest of Hollywood."'They're more than just the alpha male. They're the modern male.'Tom Holland rarely poses for photos on the red carpet with his wife, Zendaya. "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," in which the couple are also co-stars, is an exception.Lia Toby/Getty ImagesThe social media era has transformed celebrity branding, turning descriptors like "real" and "relatable" into high praise. Now more than ever, it pays for celebrities to put their dimensions on display, be it via Instagram posts, red carpet appearances, or paparazzi shots. One of the best ways to do so is by giving fans a glimpse into their relationships."This is a really important place for men to show that they're more than just the roles they play," Fahey said. "They're more than just the alpha male. They're the modern male."Take someone like the rapper A$AP Rocky, who rose to fame with songs like "Peso" and "F**kin' Problems," which feature lyrics in which he brags about his groupies and his own pretty face. Rocky still releases popular, braggadocious music — and his latest album, "Don't Be Dumb," debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in January — but now, he also spends a lot of time gushing about Rihanna, his longtime

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