Lifetime'sChristmas in the SpotlightStar Hopes Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce 'Love' the Movie: 'We're Not Trying to Be Them' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Jessica Lord (left) and Jeannie Mai inChristmas in the Spotlight.Photo:David Spowart/A+E

David Spowart/A+E

The story is a familiar one for anyone who has been followingSwift and Kelce’s romancesince the Grammy winner and Kansas City Chiefs tight end began publicly dating in October 2023. However, Lord tells PEOPLE thatChristmas in the Spotlightis a loving homage to the couple, not an exact retelling of their love story’s fairytale beginning.

“We’re not trying to be them, we could never be them,” the British-Canadian actress explains. “They’re these incredible, inspiring stars [and] I think so many people look up to them and their love for each other.”

Jessica Lord inChristmas in the Spotlight.David Spowart/A+E

However, Lord does hope the couple enjoys the movie if they do happen to tune in. “I hope they love it, you know? And the fact that it would be a warm holiday movie that brings them together would be just so lovely, but it really is our version of their incredible love story.”

For Lord, playing Bowyn feels like a full-circle moment. Since she was a young girl growing up in England and Canada, Lord — who is a dancer and singer herself — has looked up to Swift, 34. In fact, her grandparents even took her to one of the “Fortnight” singer’s concerts when she was younger.

“I’m a huge fan,” Lord says of Swift. “I look up to her in general as a woman in the industry and just as a person. She’s so dedicated to her craft and her fans and the way she gives back, the way she stands for women … she’s just such a boss.”

Bowyn isn’t a Swift clone, though. Unlike the real-life pop star, the fictional character lost her father when she was younger and her relationship with her mother is strained. Both aspects inform Bowyn’s drive and, according to Lord, strengthen her as a character.

Laith Wallschleger (left) and Jessica Lord inChristmas in the Spotlight.David Spowart/A+E

Like Swift, Lord has a close relationship with her parents, but she says she found plenty to relate to in the character of Bowyn — especially when it comes to their mutual love for performing.

In terms of how she and Bowyn are alike, Lord explains, “Her love for performing, the dance aspect, but especially her love for other people. Her love for giving back. Her nonprofit work. Her love for children. She even, just in general, loves love. And that’s very much like me as well.”

For Swift and Kelce fans, the draw of the movie might lie less in the obvious homages to the couple and more for the way it imagines what their relationship is like behind closed doors. Lord shares thatChristmas in the Spotlightdives into Bowyn and Drew’s romance on an intimate level that’s only possible because the characters are fictional.

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Jessica Lord (left) and Laith Wallschleger.David Spowart/A+E

“With Drew and Bowyn you really get to have an insight into what they’re really like at their core, how they are together, you know how they are behind closed doors,” she says, adding that Swift and Kelce fans will still have plenty of Easter eggs to look out for.

Lord adds, “It’s just really nice to see that Taylor has found this person, and it just seems so genuine, and, yeah, I just hope that they enjoy the movie. I hope it’s an easy-watching, holiday romcom for them.”

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Christmas in the Spotlightpremieres Saturday, Nov. 23 at 8:00 p.m. EST on Lifetime.

source: people.com