Over the past 15 years, Kelly Stafford has learned every aspect of having a playing partner in the NFL.
Kelly, who is married to Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, describes herself as an “older football wife.” With her husband about to enter his 16th season in the league, Kelly is now offering advice to her fellow NFL WAGs, particularly Brittany Mahomes and Taylor Swift.
Brittany is married to three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes, and Swift, a 14-time Grammy Award-winning pop sensation, was rumored to be romantically linked to Mahomes' teammate Travis Kelce last season.
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Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl winning quarterback Matthew Stafford (No. 9) and his wife, 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. (Kevorkh Djansezian/Getty Images)
“I think they're pretty calm about things and they know where they are in life,” Stafford told E! News. But she also warned that she might not be the best communicator, citing past failures. “I've failed a lot, but she's willing to tell some truths,” Stafford added.
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Still, she had some advice for the wives and girlfriends of her fellow footballers: “What I wish someone had told me when I went into this job was, 'Don't lose sight of yourself,'” she said.
“I would say: Don't try to be what everyone else wants you to be,” she continued, “because when I did that, I lost sight of who I really was. And that goes for personality, looks, 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. (Jordan Kelly/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Staffords married in 2015 and have four daughters.
Stafford added that it's important for wives and partners to do their best to block out as much noise as possible.
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford kisses his wife, Kelly Stafford, after the Los Angeles Rams' victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl 56 at SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Frederick J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
“You're going to be told how you should look, what you should say, what not to say,” the Georgia native added, “and if you start listening to that, you lose your values, you lose everything that makes you who you are, and what makes you the person your husband fell in love with.”
“You can't turn off all the noise,” she acknowledged, “but try to listen to yourself before you listen to what other people have to say.”
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Kelly co-hosts “The Morning After” podcast with his friend 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 friendship and parenting. “I'm very vulnerable throughout this podcast,” Kelly explains. “I feel safe in this community, and that's why I love it.”
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