Sad news for everyone who hoped to see Taylor Swift‘s engagement ring make its debut on a red carpet: as she wasn’t at the 2025 Video Music Awards this weekend.
The newly engaged singer was nominated for Artist of the Year alongside Bad Bunny, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Morgan Wallen, and The Weeknd, but E! News confirmed that she was “opting to skip” the event.
Why, you ask? It was thought that her absence could have something to do with the fact that Travis Kelce and the Chiefs played their first game of the season on 5 September against the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil. However, the Eras Tour star didn’t make this game. According to TMZ, the main reason she didn’t attend was the trip’s short duration. With the NFL season underway, the Chiefs had to return home immediately after the game, and it appeared that no wives or girlfriends joined them for the event.
Tay spoke on Travis’ New Heights podcast last month about how she has been spending her time off since finishing her Eras Tour in December 2024.
“It’s great because I’m getting my hobbies back,” she said. “When I was on tour, all I had the bandwidth for was, ‘What’s the acoustic mashup this week? How do I say welcome to the Eras Tour in Portuguese?’ That was the only thing taking up my brain space.”
“It’s been so fun to see what Taylor actually gets into around the house,” Travis added.
Tay continued: “It’s like I’d say all my hobbies could be categorized as hobbies you could have had in the 1700s. I get all my granny shit.
“I love to paint. I love to cook. I have a different baking obsession every six months. Right now, we’re very deep in a sourdough obsession that has taken over my life.”
This was Tay’s first time missing the annual awards show since 2021. It’s expected that she’ll return to the VMAs stage next year, as it will likely be a very big one for her with her upcoming album, The Life of a Showgirl, coming out on 3rd October.
The singer had been nominated for Artist of the Year award this year, however, it was Ariana Grande who received the accolade on the night.
Had Tay one, she would have made history as the most decorated artist of alllll time with 31 awards (she and Beyoncé are currently tied with 30 awards each). Fingers crossed for next year!