Over the past decade and a half, Kelly Stafford has learned all the ins and outs of having a partner who plays in the NFL.
Kelly, who is married to Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, calls herself an “older football wife.” Her husband is about to begin his 16th season in the league, and she is now offering some advice to her NFL wives and girlfriends, particularly Brittany Mahomes and Taylor Swift.
Brittany is married to three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes. Swift, the 14-time Grammy-winning pop sensation, was linked to Mahomes’ teammate Travis Kelce last season.
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Super Bowl champion quarterback Matthew Stafford #9 of the Los Angeles Rams and his wife and Kelly pose on the red carpet before the start of the NASCAR Cup Series Wise Power 400 at Auto Club Speedway on February 27, 2022 in Fontana, California. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
“I think they’ve got their stuff pretty much sorted out and know where they are in life,” Stafford told E! News. But she also cautioned that she may not be the best ambassador, pointing to her past missteps. “I’ve messed up so many times,” Stafford added, “but she’s willing to speak some truths.”
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Still, she offered some advice to her football wives and friends. “I wish someone had told me at the beginning of this thing, ‘Don’t lose yourself,'” she said.
“I would say, ‘Don’t try to become the person that everyone else expects you to be,'” she continued. “Because that’s exactly what I did and I lost who I was. And that has to do with personality, looks and everything.”
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) warms up during Los Angeles Rams training camp at Loyola Marymount University on July 27, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Jordon Kelly/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Staffords married in 2015 and have four daughters together.
Stafford added that it is important for wives and girlfriends to do their best to block out the noise as much as possible.
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford kisses his wife Kelly Stafford after winning Super Bowl LVI between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on February 13, 2022. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
“Everyone will tell you how to look, what to say and what not to say, all of these things,” the Georgia native added. “And when you start listening to that, you lose the values and everything that you have and that makes you who you are and the person your husband fell in love with.”
“You can’t completely block out the noise,” she admitted, “but try to listen to yourself first before listening to others.”
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Kelly co-hosts the podcast “The Morning After” with her boyfriend Hank Winchester.
Matthew spent the first 12 years of his career with the Detroit Lions. While the podcast occasionally touches on football, Stafford and Winchester cover a wide range of other topics, including navigating friendships and raising children. “I’m very vulnerable throughout the podcast,” Kelly explained, “because I feel safe in this community, and that’s why I love it.”
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