Taylor Swift suffers heartbreaking loss on wedding day to Travis as singer receives tragic news

Taylor Swift was dealt some sad news on her wedding to Travis Kelce, as she heartbreakingly found out that her favourite teacher had died.

The pop singer, 36, tied the knot with the NFL star, also 36, in a star-studded private ceremony in New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Friday (3 July).

But heartbreakingly, on the same day, it was confirmed that Kirk Schwabe, who taught the singer at Hendersonville High School in Nashville during her teen years and later worked as her security guard, had passed away aged 69 following a diagnosis of metastatic kidney cancer.

The tragic news was confirmed to The Telegraph by Schwabe’s family, after his daughter, Sarah Gordon, wrote on Facebook on Thursday that he’d been moved to hospice care.

Schwabe taught Swift for two years in high school and went on to become her security guard (Denise Truscello/Getty Images)

She said in an update: “Over the past several weeks, his health has declined rapidly, and he has now been moved to hospice care.”

Sarah added: “If you know my dad, you know he has poured his heart into everything he’s done. ‘He has always loved teaching. He loves his students.”

She also posted a photo of a young Swift with the teacher, as they held a record plaque of her 2006 debut album, Taylor Swift.

As per The Telegraph, Schwabe’s wife, Jane, said he treated the singer ‘like he did his daughters’.

Paying tribute, his daughter Jane added: “My dad had a remarkable way of making people feel seen, valued, and protected.

“Whether you were family, one of his students, or someone like Taylor whose path crossed his, he cared deeply about people. That’s the legacy he leaves behind.”

Schwabe worked as a police officer in Chicago before he became a criminal justice teacher at Swift’s high school in Nashville, which she attended between 2004 and 2006.

But in 2009, as the pop star’s career was just taking flight, Schwabe quit his job to work as her personal security guard at the request of her father, Scott.

The teacher's family confirmed to The Telegraph that he tragically died on the singer's wedding day (John Nacion/Getty Images)

Schwabe spoke to The Telegraph about Swift in an article published just days before his death and her wedding.

Recalling how she was in the classroom, he reminisced: “She was one of those kids that could stand in the back, and knew what was going on in the whole classroom. She was aware of who was doing what.”

He explained that her dad called on him to intervene after students picked on her, and were ‘teasing her, doing imitations, or something stupid’.

Schwabe said: “Her dad spoke to me, and I said ‘Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of it.’ It was taken care of that day.”

He eventually retired from his security job but he and Swift maintained a close relationship.