In case you missed it, pop icon Taylor Swift and NFL star Travis Kelce “JUST&T” got married at Madison Square Garden. As we anxiously await further details, let’s take a New York minute to credit the woman who made this whole thing happen: her mom. “You said something to the effect of, like, ‘You’ve gotta start doing something different,’” Taylor says her mom Andrea Swift suggested in her pre-bridal era. After at least 15 high-profile breakups (and the hit songs to take the edge off), mom was right to suggest a pivot. And it seems she was right about Travis, too. In the “mom knows best” move of the century, it was Andrea who first picked up on a potential match when she discovered “this guy” Travis had gone to one of Taylor’s shows, later coming out as a Swiftie on his “New Heights” podcast in July 2023. Andrea knew nothing about the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, so she called up her cousin Robin who was a diehard fan.   “I go, ‘Tell me about this guy named Travis Kelce,’” Andrea says. “She goes, ‘Oh my God, he is the nicest guy! And he really loves his mom.’ And I went, ‘Ding, ding, ding, ding.’”  Taylor had always been a hard pass on sports dudes because she wasn’t an athlete herself. But she soon found common ground with someone who could also hold the attention of a stadium crowd for hours at a time. Mom liked how the first move Travis made toward her daughter involved passing a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it backstage, a gesture Taylor could relate to. “Then I became obsessed with him and therefore became obsessed with learning about football,” Taylor remembered. “Greatest surprise of my life.” Their first date was in late 2023. Nearly three years later, It’s a love story, baby, just say ‘yes.’ Where would we be if mom hadn’t interrupted Taylor’s dysfunctional relationship cycle using everything she knows about her 30-something daughter? Probably just living the single-ish life at the pop star’s Rhode Island estate with her #squad of the summer. It’s me, Hi, I’m the problem, it’s me for the millionth year in a row. Maybe timing is everything, but I’d like to make the case for mom-influenced matchmaking. Yes, I personally know a bunch of happily married couples who laugh about meeting on Tinder. But the original algorithm — your mom — might be the most reliable gauge of character and compatibility we have. It appears that having spot-on maternal instinct and eyes on the back of your head could save modern society. We used to engage in this style of conscious coupling back in colonial America when relationships weren’t about feelings and love. Instead, marriages were set up by families for the purpose of survival, whether it be for financial or lineage-based reasons. To be honest, eliminating “U up?” texts and unsolicited NSFW pics from dating sounds nice. Just give me a few sturdy logs, a couple sheep, and a sixpence and call me wifey.  One of the most fascinating elements to contractual marriage is how these relationships can blossom into the love of someone’s life, even in the mid-2020s. Converting total strangers to lovers, outsourced pairings can produce deep dedication, genuine contentment, and happiness. With all that community support, families pool resources to get out of poverty and preserve cultural traditions. The biggest perk is that it’s all less likely to end in divorce. Isn’t this what we’ve been looking for? Despite the fact that arranged marriage feels situationship-y for modern times, somewhere along the line, we left mom out of the equation and decided we’re better off infinitely swiping left and complaining to ChatGPT that all the good ones are taken. Let that sink in. Guys, I’m a woman, I do what I want, and I’ve seen enough rom-coms to know I deserve to be shot in the heart with true love and fall head over heels for an LA 10 who just sold his billion-dollar tech company, has shredded abs and charming wit, rescues dogs, loves his family, can fix anything, plays “Jolene” on guitar, and has a heart of gold.  If my parents had set me up, I might be living down the street, married to “Steve” from that thing (names and careers have been changed to protect the innocent). But maybe then I wouldn’t have spent all those years trying to love future ex-boyfriends into loving me back (a story for another time, over drinks).  The thought of having no say in choosing my forever person reminds me of “Married At First Sight.” On the reality show, sex therapists and psychologists rigorously match couples with partners they’ll meet for the first time at the altar. Terrifying. But Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner from season one in 2014 are still happily hitched. And that’s after Jamie cried at first sight because she was so unattracted to Doug.  As “Millionaire Matchmaker” host Patti Stanger told generations of failed daters, our “picker” is broken. If you go for unavailable bad boys or overscheduled Pilates Barbies, this may be true for you. So maybe it’s time to let mom do the choosing. Even if it all works out, you’re not obliged to tell her she was right. (She already knows she is.) The average celebrity marriage lasts just over seven years, compared to a normie couple’s typical three decades of wedded bliss. Famous musicians are most likely to call it quits, with professional athletes faring a little better. Only time will tell if Travis and Taylor are in it for the long haul, but for the moment, the future looks glamorous (as long as no one trips over that reported $20 million infidelity clause). Still reeling from the festivities, Travis’ mom Donna Kelce called the wedding “magical, man, magical.” “I write songs about love constantly, so I love the idea of it,” Taylor said of a real-life commitment. “We’ll see how I end up doing with the actual thing.” Whatever happens, we already preordered the album about it. *** This article is part of Upstream, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

A California judge on Monday dismissed all charges against a radiologist accused of intentionally driving his family off a Northern California cliff in 2023 after he completed a court-ordered mental health diversion program. Dharmesh Patel, 45, was charged with attempted murder after driving his Tesla off a 250-foot cliff along the Pacific Coast Highway near an area known as Devil’s Slide in Pacifica, about 14 miles south of San Francisco. His 41-year-old wife, 7-year-old daughter, and 4-year-old son were inside the vehicle when it dropped hundreds of feet. All four survived the January 2023 crash, which first responders described as an “absolute miracle.”  The Tesla crashed into a rocky outcropping, flipped several times, and came to rest on its wheels, the Associated Press reported. Firefighters had to cut the family out of the wreckage.  After surviving the crash, Patel’s wife, Bubna, told investigators she believed her husband “did it on purpose” and needed a “psych evaluation,” according to local outlet KTVU. She added that her husband suffered from depression.  “He said he was going to drive off the cliff,” she said, according to KTVU. The Southern California-based family was reportedly in the Bay Area visiting relatives at the time of the crash.  After his arrest, Patel told a psychiatrist he believed his children would be kidnapped and trafficked, according to the Associated Press. Patel pleaded not guilty, surrendered his California medical license, and remained in jail without bail until 2024. He was ultimately released after a judge found him eligible for an outpatient mental health treatment program. He moved in with his parents in San Mateo County and was monitored with a GPS bracelet.  On Monday, a San Mateo County judge dismissed the charges after Patel successfully completed the two-year mental health diversion program, according to the Associated Press.  “The judge was required by law to dismiss the charges,” San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told the outlet, referring to a 2023 California bill that allowed Patel to qualify for the mental health program. Patel’s wife later testified that she had forgiven him and did not want him to be prosecuted, according to the AP. In court, San Mateo prosecutors opposed diversion for Patel, saying the former doctor “got the break of a lifetime,” according to ABC7.  Wagstaffe said he is working with lawmakers to prevent defendants charged with attempted murder from qualifying for mental health diversion. “We’ll try again in the future,” he told the AP. “We’re not giving up.”

Former NFL quarterback Tom Brady joked Tuesday that Egypt’s stunning World Cup collapse against Argentina may have surpassed the infamous “28-3” comeback from Super Bowl LI.  Yeah so that might top 28-3

An ex-girlfriend of embattled Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner accused him Tuesday of repeatedly removing condoms without her consent during sex, according to a report by The Washington Post. Lyndsey Fifield, who dated Platner in Washington, D.C., from 2013 to 2015 and has previously accused him of physical abuse, claimed he ignored her pleas to wear protection during sex. She said she was not using birth control. “He would pull condoms off,” she told The Post. “He would do it in a sneaky way. He wouldn’t tell me.” Platner allegedly removed condoms without Fifield’s consent at least six times in D.C. during their roughly two-year relationship.  The practice, commonly referred to as “stealthing,” has been recognized in some jurisdictions as a form of sexual battery. There is no federal law criminalizing the practice, though a handful of states, including Maine, Washington, and Vermont, have enacted laws addressing it.  The Platner campaign called the allegation “categorically false and politically motivated,” according to the outlet. The campaign also noted that Fifield, who has worked in Republican politics, publicly supported Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he faced allegations of sexual assault.  Fifield told The Washington Post she first disclosed the allegation during an off-the-record interview on June 20 before later deciding to go public. She said she decided to come forward to support fellow Platner accuser Jenny Racicot, who detailed disturbing allegations of rape to Politico and CNN. “I confronted him both during and after [sex] because he knew that I was not on birth control and how dangerous that was,” she told The Post.  In June, The New York Times cited several ex-girlfriends who claimed Platner engaged in a pattern of “intimidating and disturbing” behavior in their relationships and lied about not knowing the meaning of his Nazi tattoo.  Three of the women, including Fifield, described volatile and “toxic” relationships with the Senate hopeful, claiming he demeaned women, became physically threatening, and was repeatedly unfaithful. In that report, Fifield accused Platner of twisting her arm, shoving her into a bedroom, and holding the door shut until she became “calm.”  At the time, the Platner campaign denied the report and rushed to MS NOW to do damage control.  “There are some allegations in this piece that I just want to be kind of unequivocal about, are simply not true,” Platner said on the leftist television network. “Anything alleging physicality, anything alleging that I knew what my tattoo was, these are the statements of someone who’s politically motivated.” The latest revelations come as Platner is reportedly refusing to step aside unless Democrats let him choose his replacement. Over the past 24 hours, Democrats and leftists have called on Platner to drop out of the race.  “I have spoken with Graham Platner about the best path forward for Maine. In light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said Tuesday.  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee would not dedicate financial resources to the election if Platner is the nominee. “The DSCC will not invest in the Maine Senate race if Platner remains on the ballot,” Schumer said in a statement with fellow Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).  Maine Democrats have until July 13 to replace him on the ballot, leaving the party just days to settle on a new nominee to challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Toyota announced Monday that it would invest $3.6 billion to expand production of its Tacoma pickup truck in Texas, moving most of the model’s manufacturing from Mexico to the United States over the next four years. Toyota said the investment will expand its San Antonio plant and shift most Tacoma production from its Tijuana, Mexico, facility. The expansion will increase annual production capacity by 150,000 vehicles. The company will add a second assembly line to support the Tacoma truck.  President Donald Trump celebrated the company’s plans in a post on Truth Social Tuesday morning. Production will shift over four years, with the Tijuana plant continuing to manufacture Tacomas during the transition before Texas becomes the main production site. The San Antonio plant currently produces Tundra pickups and Sequoia SUVs. The investment follows Toyota’s announcement in November 2025 that it planned to invest up to $10 billion in additional U.S. investment over five years. “Toyota’s continued investment in North America is a testament to our confidence in the region’s workforce, innovation and long-term growth potential,” said Ted Ogawa, President and CEO of Toyota Motor North America, on Monday. Toyota joins other automakers shifting production to the United States in response to tariffs on imported vehicles and auto parts. The nearly $4 billion expansion is estimated to create nearly 2,000 more on-site jobs in Texas. “By expanding our San Antonio plant, we are deepening our commitment to American manufacturing, creating meaningful and sustainable jobs, while advancing our mission to deliver high-quality vehicles that meet the changing needs of customers today and into the future,” Ogawa said.