Dating could get taxing, especially when you are in the celebrity spotlight, with an increased risk of your past and present colliding in real time. Just ask Kayla Nicole. After almost 3 years of a breakup with the Chiefs star Travis Kelce, she got tired of fans still calling her Travis’ ex. “I don’t know if that means I have to date someone else publicly, but they’re going to have to just let it go. Until then, I’m going to ride this off into the sunset,” she said on the Second Wind podcast in May.

But the awkward/weird moments with her exes have been going on for a long time. Now, a month later, Kayla Nicole herself has shared about her feelings of crossing paths with her ex. Oh, no, this one’s not about Kelce. It’s about her ex, who was there before the TE. On the June 21 episode of The Pre-Game With Kayla Nicole, Kayla was ‘unpacking the power of the pivot: in career, in character, and in connection’. While doing that, she also unpacked the encounter she had with her ex, the NBA player, Iman Shumpert, during an audition they both gave.

“I had to audition with my ex-boyfriend. So, imagine what my reaction is when I walk into the room, and in comes my ex, Iman Shumpert,” she said. Rejecting the perspective that she loves to talk about her exes, Kayla said, “And y’all know I’m not bringing this up because I love talking about my ex-boyfriends. I’m bringing this up because I want you guys to know how much of a professional I am, okay?” Emphasizing that she did not let their history affect her work and professionalism.

Calling it a “full circle moment,” Kayla then talked about what happened during the audition. She also revealed that it was their producer who got the two to open up about their breakup. Oh, and the breakup was ugly. For context, the two did date for a while, fresh out of college, circa 2014. But things hadn’t ended well between the two after Iman had broken up with her via a text. Read that again.

And now, it was, as if she had to relive that again. “The audition went so well! I think that we had great on-camera chemistry. The producer was even asking questions… She’s like, ‘Oh, so you guys know each other?’ And we’re both like, ‘Yeah, you know, we go way back.’ And she’s like, ‘Well, tell me more about that.’ And I’m like, “Oh my God.” I’m like, ‘Yeah, for sure girl.'” Surely Kayla wasn’t too happy about it, now that she’s done talking about her exes.

Obliging to the producer, Kayla and Iman started talking about when they first met in 2014. Kayla also gave her first impression of Iman and her memory of him, calling it a full indie description of this man. But what left her surprised was Iman’s answer during the audition. “One thing that stands out in my memory about Kayla is that she always wore Chucks and a flannel. The one thing that stood out most about Kayla was the way that she looked at the city. The way that her eyes lit up. It was like this innocence about her,” he said.

It was after listening to this that Kayla was left with her mouth open, amazed at how he remembers her. And that honestly was some pretty smooth talk from Iman. Reflecting on how the audition went, Kayla seemed pretty content. Not just with the audition, but also considering how things eventually went while working with her ex. “I just thought that it was a really cool experience to experience with an ex.” While Kayla is excelling at handling her past relationships during work, she is also doing a great job on her fitness journey. Undoubtedly, there was pain, but that has only made her resolve to achieve her mission stronger.

Kayla Nicole stays strong on her fitness mission

Kayla Nicole’s been through a lot of struggles, even publicly. But this struggle is different. This is a struggle that she readily wants to face because what lies on the other side is success. We are, of course, talking about Kayla’s struggle in her new fitness mission. And it’s the epitome of it for her especially when she has to dealt with fellow Gym rats who have poor gym etiquette and use vapes in the gym.

However, not every pain is a ‘struggle’ but Kayla’s putting her body through grind, that’s for sure. After all, for Kayla, the gym is like a therapy session and a safe space, and that has gotten her addicted to working out.

Nicole usually posts a lot of updates from her training on her Instagram stories. But this time, it’s her fitness trainer, Gerald Washington, who shared some peeks of Nicole’s workout routine. He showed Kayla working out on a cable deadlift and in incredible pain.

Washington added the caption, “Clearly this targeted exactly where I wanted it to 😬” as Nicole shows her pain on her face, massaging her glutes. Nicole also added her own version to her story and wrote, “In here fighting for my life 🙄.” Talk about maximum effort.

But while all that’s happening, she’s slowly finishing her mission. Her mission, well… missions? “Mission grow the glutes/shrink the waist has commenced 🫡,” as her trainer writes in another clip. As for Kayla, not only is she taking her followers through the journey of her goal completion. But she’s also motivating many to start their own fitness journey.