Kayla Nicole Admits ‘Exhausting’ Online Trolling Over Travis Kelce Relationship Makes Her ‘Question’ Herself

Kayla Nicole is wearing her emotions on her camo sleeve.

The influencer, who stars on Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test season 3, isn’t letting a past relationship define her as she continues to open up about the attention she’s received since her ex-boyfriend Travis Kelce started dating Taylor Swift.

In the second episode of Fox’s intense competition series, Nicole, 32, discussed her five-year relationship with the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 35, and the challenges she’s dealt with since their split back in 2022.

“Going through a public breakup, just to be frank, it’s been overwhelming. I’ve never experienced anything like it,” Nicole said in a confessional at the beginning of the episode, adding that she was “reduced to a headline to something so small as someone’s ex-girlfriend.”

The sports reporter said her decision to compete on Special Forces — which puts celebrity recruits to the test as they take on rigorous physical and emotional tests in Wales, home of the British Special Forces Selection — was in part to prove something to herself.

“I feel like if I complete this, it’ll be a massive impact for myself. ‘Am I doing enough? Am I enough?'” she questions. She tells fellow recruits, “I just get a lot of like s— because [Kelce] is dating such a mega superstar.”

Still, Nicole added that she “liked” Swift and thinks she’s “very talented.”

This season, the recruits will “endure the harsh reality of ocean warfare,” per a press release. Some of the challenges they’ll face include “a treacherous ladder crossing between steep cliffs nearly 100 ft above the sea” and “a boat dunk drill where they will be submerged into the frigid ocean.”

For the first challenge of episode 2, Nicole and her fellow recruits — including Denise Richards, Jordyn Wieber and Ali Manno — are asked to bungee jump off a 130 ft. tall bridge before repelling to the ground.

Before jumping, Nicole explained, “I’m a very confident person, but dealing with trolls or just hate online, I constantly feel like I’m in a state of vulnerability. I would love to be in a headspace where I’m just not affected at all.”

She made clear, “I’m doing this course because I want to remind myself that I’m capable of doing hard things.”

Ultimately, Nicole passed the challenge and broke down in tears as she did, telling a fellow recruit she was “emotionally f—— drained.” She was then called in by one of the directing staff (DS) agents who noticed her “self-doubt” afterward.

“I do feel a little low, depleted, a little bit,” Nicole said. “Even like coming to this experience, it was like I just kept telling myself, like I don’t want to embarrass myself. And there’s a part of me that wants to prove that, like I am capable of doing hard and challenging things.”

She adds, “Like I wanted to prove that to other people, in all honesty, but really prove it to myself, though, because I feel like I need that.”

The DC pulled up a news article centered on her breakup with Kelce. The headline read, “Travis Kelce’s Ex Kayla Nicole Asks Trolls to ‘Leave Her Alone’ as Taylor Swift Releases New Album.”

Nicole replied, “Yeah, it’s pretty constant. Exhausting.” When asked if still happens, she said, “Constantly. It doesn’t matter. I could post about the sky being blue, and people will have a response about an ex and their new situation.”

“It’s inadvertently affected me to the point where it makes me question, just like, my overall value as a person, as a partner,” she said, breaking down in tears.

When asked why she questions her value, the media personality replied, “I think it’s just the comparison and it’s just like on loop. I think I’m still trying to figure out how to deal with that.”

In a confessional, Nicole said, “I’m proud of the mental fortitude that it’s taken for me to get here, but I want to be able to control my emotions. I’m definitely gonna have to tap into that to make it to the end of this for sure.”

Later in the episode, Nicole told fellow recruit Brody Jenner about her conversation with the DS and how he pulled up the article. “I didn’t think they were going to that,” she said, recounting the shock she felt when he opened up the computer and showed her.

Special Forces isn’t the first time Nicole opened up about the negativity she received post-breakup. In October 2024, the sports commentator appeared on an episode of Angel Reese’s Unapologetically Angel podcast to discuss the challenges.

“I would be lying if I said that that level of hate and just, like, online chaos didn’t impact me, it does. Even to this day,” she said at the time. “You can go to my most recent post and it will be people debating each other why I am worthless and I’ll never be a talented person and I have no career.”

Later that month, Nicole held back tears when opening up on the I Am Athlete show about the backlash she received after her appearance on Reece’s podcast. “I thought that I handled things with grace,” she said looking back.

“I answered the questions to the best of my ability,” Nicole told hosts Brandon Marshall and Martellus Bennett in the episode titled “Mastering the Media” released on Oct. 15. However, the public “had their interpretation of things,” she said at the time.

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.