On December 9, in a private screening room in downtown Manhattan, Us Weekly was among a small group of select journalists gathered to see the first two installments of Taylor Swift's new six-episode Disney+ docuseries, The End of an Era. Before it began, Swift - dressed in a dark top, pleated miniskirt and maroon tights with her long hair swept to the side - spoke to the crowd, which included her dancers, family members - mom Andrea, brother Austin and dad Scott - and former Today show host Hoda Kotb and CBS Mornings star Gayle King. "It's so fun for us to get to relive this," Swift said before eventually taking her seat. While watching, she bobbed her head, laughed and wiped away tears during an especially emotional scene. The End of an Era gives an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at the blood, sweat and tears that went into Swift's mammoth, record-breaking 149-date tour. In video footage and confessionals, Swift, 36, opens up about everything from her motivation to embark on the tour to the trauma of canceling three shows in Vienna after authorities discovered a terrorist attack plot. She also offers insight into her romance with fiancé Travis Kelce, calling it "the most meaningful relationship" she's ever had. While Swift has always been fairly transparent in her lyrics, her public persona remained somewhat reserved - until recently. Fans began to see a new side of the singer during the press tour for Life of a Showgirl, kicking off with her August 13 appearance on Kelce's New Heights podcast, where she recounted her emotional reaction to getting her masters back, candidly talked about her parents' recent health issues and exchanged plenty of sweet banter with her soon-to-be fiancé. (The Kansas City Chiefs tight end got down on one knee with a custom-designed old mine-cut diamond engagement ring in his backyard shortly after recording.) In October, Swift giddily discussed details of Kelce's romantic proposal and her obsession with sourdough bread on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and as a guest on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on December 10, she gushed about her "good year" and getting engaged "to the love of my life." It's a new, less guarded version of Swift. "Taylor used to be super type A, but she's become more spontaneous," says a source. "The armor is off. She's trying to live a more unfiltered life." Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy Many credit her two-year romance with Kelce, also 36, with helping her let go and lighten up. (She described Kelce as a "human exclamation point" on New Heights, and likens him to a vitamin infusion in the first episode of The End of an Era. Her mom also says the NFL star "brings a lot of happiness" in the series.) "Taylor is visibly lighter and laughing a lot more," reveals the source. "Travis gives her a fearless playfulness and the confidence to take up space unapologetically." The relationship, says the source, has allowed her "to be softer and more vulnerable in front of the world." She can be herself with Kelce. "Travis has given Taylor a sense of calm," says a second source. "He supports her in ways that she could have never imagined, and he never expects her to perform or curate a persona around him. That kind of ease has given her permission to be her real self." The public nature of her romance with Kelce is telling. "We're showing up for each other, other people are there and we don't care," she told Time in her 2023 cover story. "The opposite of that is you have to go to an extreme amount of effort to make sure no one knows that you're seeing someone." Biggest Revelations From Episodes 1 and 2 of Taylor Swift's 'End of an Era' They bring out the best in each other. "It's always light between them, and although they have serious life conversations, they really don't argue or fight," says the second source. During the December 3 episode of New Heights, Kelce told guest George Clooney he and Swift have "never once" gotten into an argument. "He's just my favorite person I've ever met, no offense to everyone else," Swift told Jimmy Fallon in October, noting she's thrilled "that this is the person that I get to hang out with every day forever." She intends for The End of an Era to be a celebration of all the hard work that went into the tour, and a "thank you" to her loyal legion of fans. ("When I leave [the show] there's just, like, this magic in the air," she says in the docuseries. "All these particles of shimmer and glitter and confetti and girlhood and friendship bracelet beads.") "There were so many incredible personal, behind-the-scenes memories that she wanted fans to see," says a music industry insider. "She knew [the tour] would be a moment, but never could've predicted how colossal it'd actually become, which is why she decided to celebrate it with the docuseries." Brooke Sutton/Getty Images The first source adds that Swift wanted fans to experience the "creative emotional arc" behind the tour. "Fans will see how h