Stephen Colletti has a surprising connection to Donna Kelce’s future daughter-in-law Taylor Swift — but did they discuss it while filming season 4 of The Traitors?
Stephen, 39, and his costars talked about filming with Donna, 73, during an interview with People published on Monday, January 12.
“Aw, America’s mom,” Candiace Dillard Bassett said of Donna, who is the mother of NFL stars Jason and Travis Kelce. “We talked about how she liked to bake cookies and how she’s, like, a mom.”
Survivor alum Rob Cesternino added, “She’s incredibly smart. She’s a businesswoman. People just think of her as Travis and Jason’s mom, but she’s actually really sharp.”
‘Traitors’ Cast Were ‘Worried About Swifties’ Because of Costar Donna Kelce
Stephen, meanwhile, acknowledged that the Taylor connection was on everyone’s minds, with his costars frequently mentioning that they were nervous about backlash from fans if they voted to banish Donna. (Taylor and Travis, both 36, announced their engagement in August 2025 after two years of dating.)
“She also had the strongest armor going into the show,” the Laguna Beach alum explained. “As soon as people started throwing her name around, everyone was like, ‘I don’t want to throw Donna’s name out there. The Swifties are going to come for me!’ Everyone was afraid of the Swifties right off the jump.”
But most importantly: Did Stephen tell Donna that he once played Taylor’s love interest in her “White Horse” music video?
“That’s right. I did a Taylor Swift music video back in the day,” he recalled. “I should have bonded with Donna about that. It didn’t come up.”
While Swifties never forget a video boyfriend, Stephen’s Traitors costars were shocked to learn of his connection to the pop superstar.
“Wait, what?!” marveled Monét X Change, as Candiace quipped, “OK, video vixen. We need to Google that later.”
To recap for Monét and anyone else who wasn’t on the Taylor train in the Fearless era: Stephen played Taylor’s cheating boyfriend in the “White Horse” visual, which debuted in February 2009. Taylor wanted Stephen for the role after seeing him on One Tree Hill and Laguna Beach because she felt he looked too sweet to ever treat a woman badly.
How Many Times Were Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce Brought Up on ‘The Traitors’?
“He had sort of the look we were going for … because the guy in the video is supposed to look really sweet and [like] someone who just looks like he would never lie to you,” she told MTV ahead of the video’s release. “But in the video, he does. So I thought he would be perfect for it, and actually, he did an amazing job.”
Alas, Stephen didn’t have much time to talk to Donna during filming, as she was banished from the castle during episode 3 on Thursday, January 8, becoming the first Traitor to leave the show. In a new twist for season 4, Donna was the “secret” Traitor, meaning neither the audience nor the other Traitors knew her identity until she was banished.
“I know I’m the sacrificial lamb, and I know that I had a blast meeting every single one of you,” Donna told the cast before revealing her identity. “On that note, I think I’m going to go … but you got yourself a Traitor!”
New episodes of The Traitors air Thursdays on Peacock.
