Pro wrestler Jeff Jarrett has shared a story about a private performance Taylor Swift held for his family shortly before his wife died of breast cancer.
The WWE Hall of Famer and current AEW talent recently spoke to TMZ Sports (via People) and said he’d known Swift since she “was a little girl,” and revealed that before his first wife passed from breast cancer, the now record-breaking pop star performed a three-hour private concert for their family and friends.
Recalling the moment, the AEW star said that around 2006, Swift had moved to Jarrett’s Hendersonville hometown, and locals became accustomed to hearing stories about her “knocking on labels’ doors”, making her a standout in their “small community.”
“Obviously, like every little girl in America, my daughters were big Taylor fans,” he said. “And her songs had just kind of broke, but she was a hometown girl,”
Swift was 17 years old at the time and had just released her self-titled debut album by then. At that point in time, Jarrett said his wife was “really ill” and “passed away about five months after” the private performance.
When Jeff Jarrett was working for TNA in their early years, his next door neighbour babysat his children.
Taylor Swift was the next door neighbour / babysitter.
Jeff’s daughter Jaclyn ended up in the music vide for Taylor’s song “Mine”. pic.twitter.com/MYw6lttjMZ
— Allan (@allan_cheapshot) July 29, 2023
He said a friend of Swift’s had suggested she visit the Jarrett family after his wife’s diagnosis, adding that when she arrived without her guitar, she “actually ran back home” to get it because his daughters “wanted her to sing and play.”
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According to him, what started as a small family gathering then snowballed into a group of about 45 people after Swift began to play, which he said lasted for three hours and was “an amazing experience.”
Jarrett said Swift, who used to babysit his daughters, has maintained contact with his family. “What a very cool relationship that developed,” he said. “When my wife passed away, Taylor would come around, and was really good with the girls.
“I think in a lot of ways, and I’ll get emotional saying this, she kind of bonded with the family, specifically with the girls.”
He also extended her now-fiancé Travis Kelce an invite to step into an AEW ring. Late last month, Swift announced her engagement to Kelce, writing in a caption on social media: “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”
