Kayla Nicole is back in headlines again — and this time, it’s because she admitted to something that fans say is indicative of a pattern.
This bit of drama begins in October 2024. During an appearance on Angel Reese’s podcast, Unapologetically Angel, Nicole shared what she called the “pettiest thing” she’s ever done: dressing up as a man’s new girlfriend after he ended things with her.
“I was dating a guy, and he dumped me through a text message… dumped me for this singer/actress,” she said. “I dressed up as her. I dressed up as that lady for Halloween.”
She didn’t say the name, but listeners quickly figured out she was talking about Teyana Taylor. This led fans to believe that she and Taylor’s then-husband, Iman Shumpert, were having an affair while he was still married to Taylor.
The costume referenced Taylor’s iconic look from Kanye West’s “Fade” video, which was released in 2016. After the clip made the rounds, Taylor responded publicly, calling the move “distasteful,” “uncalled for,” and “ill and petty.”
When Shumpert stopped by Club Shay Shay on Wednesday, February 25, host Shannon Sharpe asked him about it again, and Shumpert leaned all the way into it.
“I don’t know why she brought it up, honestly, but me and Kay are good friends,” Shumpert said.
He also confirmed Nicole reached out to him after the backlash: “She hit me up… and was like, ‘I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I’m trying to tell a funny story on the spot. I did not mean to do that.’”
While Taylor was clearly miffed at the time, Shumpert said he didn’t take issue with it, adding, “It was a funny story, honestly.”
This now-confirmed information puts Nicole’s recent actions towards Taylor Swift in a whole new light. In October 2025, Nicole posted a Halloween video recreating Toni Braxton’s “He Wasn’t Man Enough for Me,” lip-syncing the song’s lyrics.
Nicole later said that the costume was based on a childhood memory involving a friend named Taylor.