Influencer Kristina Zias is feeling giddy following the release of Taylor Swift’s revealing new album The Tortured Poets Department.
In 2016 the Confident Collective co-founder was working for AfterBuzz TV when she sat down with Travis Kelce for an interview that resurfaced last year amid his then-budding relationship with the pop superstar.
Asked by Zias who he would kiss, marry or kill, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 34 — who was promoting his reality dating show Catching Kelce at the time — responded that he would “kiss” Swift.
On her latest album The Tortured Poets Department, Swift, also 34, makes it clear she saw the cute clip making the rounds. “Are you gonna marry, kiss or kill me / It’s just a game, but really / I’m bettin’ on all three for us two,” she sings on the love song “So High School,” which is laced with plenty of other Easter eggs from throughout her romance with the athlete.
Zias tells PEOPLE exclusively she was flooded by messages on Instagram when she woke up on Friday, April 19, after fans latched onto the lyric.
“In the smallest way, I am a part of their love story and I couldn’t be more excited. People [were] freaking out for me, and when I heard it I gasped and then said, ‘No, it couldn’t be!’” she says. “And now I keep getting tagged in videos about it, so it must be real. I am so honored. There is no one more iconic than Taylor Swift, and to think I even influenced her a bit thrills me.”
Zias jokes that she “put the idea of Taylor Swift in Travis’ head” back in 2016 and that she wants to “officiate the wedding.”
In all seriousness, “today Swifties confirmed they are the best hype girls,” she adds. “The amount of messages I’m getting from people that are so excited my interview made it into her song makes me feel like part of the best girl group ever.”
After releasing her highly anticipated album at midnight (which included another song, “The Alchemy,” that appears to be inspired by Kelce), Swift surprised fans two hours later by dropping The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, which included 15 more tracks.
“So High School,” one of the songs on the second half of her latest body of work, harks back to her early career hits like “You Belong with Me” and “Fifteen” with its sweet school girl-themed lyrics
