Travis Kelce is failing his job as Taylor Swift’s muse

In your life, you’ll do greater things than dating the boy on the football team,’ Swift once sang

I’m still at the restaurant mourning the end of Taylor Swift’s relationship with her long-term boyfriend and musical collaborator, Joe Alwyn.

On Aug. 26, National Football League (NFL) star Travis Kelce and Swift announced their engagement via Instagram. On Oct. 3, Swift released her newest album, The Life of a Showgirl (TLOAS), which received many poor critical reviews.

Love songs like “Wood” and “Wi$h Li$t” were rumoured to be about Kelce, and received some of the worst feedback. By contrast, albums like Folklore were written while Swift was with Alwyn and received critical acclaim. It seems Swift’s engagement to Kelce’s is a bad omen for the quality of her songwriting.

In the past, Swift has received criticism for being a serial dater, but her relationships with men have provided material for the songs of love and heartbreak that make up her brand. Swift isn’t one to shy away from calling out her lovers—or ex-lovers—sometimes referring to them by name in blistering breakup ballads.

I don’t shy away from stating that to churn out content, Swift needs a significant other to be her muse. Her six-year relationship with Alwyn provided just that—even co-writing songs.

Kelce and Swift’s relationship seems different. Jokingly referred to themselves as fans’ “English teacher and gym teacher,” when Swift sings about Kelce, she points out their differences in passion, singing, “you know how to ball, I know Aristotle.” That lyric comes from “So High School,” a song from The Tortured Poet’s Department and one of Swift’s first songs to allegedly portray Kelce. Like many songs on TLOAS, “So High School” was panned for cheesy lyrics.

With Alwyn, Swift wrote arguably two of her best albums to date, Folklore and Evermore. With Alwyn’s musical help and his degree in English Literature, Swift wasn’t the only writer in the relationship, leading to poetic and powerful songwriting. There’s also a vulnerability to Swift’s music during her relationship with Alwyn that’s missing from recent albums. This might be due to the massive fame she achieved through The Eras Tour since their breakup.

When with Alwyn, Swift’s work and life seemed genuine, private, honest, and softer. In her new, very public relationship with Kelce, Swift is largely apolitical, flashy, and comfortable with fame and attention.

Interestingly, Swift once dedicated an entire album to Alwyn: Lover. Initially condemned by critics as her worst album for its earnest love songs and campy lyrics, it has since become one of Swift’s most popular. One song, “Cruel Summer,” became Swift’s longest-running Top 10 Hit on the Billboard Hot 100 years after its release. Perhaps Swift’s work always trends weaker when she is happily in love.

However, TLOAS isn’t Lover. Time will tell if the album picks up in popularity, but with corny lyrics like, “His love was the key that opened my thighs,” Swift will need to be much sharper the next time she takes a pen to her relationship with Kelce.

In the meantime, die-hard fans of Swift’s Folklore, Evermore, and all that came before will mourn the muse and partner in lyricality that Alwyn once was for this pop icon.