Over the past decade and a half, Kelly Stafford has learned the ins and outs of what comes with having a partner who plays in the NFL.
Kelly, who is married to Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, has described herself as the “elder football wife.” Her husband will soon begin his 16th season in the league, and she is now offering some advice to her fellow NFL WAGs (wives and girlfriends), specifically Brittany Mahomes and Taylor Swift.
Brittany is married to three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes. Swift, the 14-time Grammy winning pop sensation, became romantically linked to Mahomes’ teammate Travis Kelce last season.
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 NASCAR Cup Series Wise Power 400 at the Auto Club Speedway on February 27, 2022 in Fontana, California. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
“I think they have their things pretty settled and know where they are in life,” Stafford told E! News. But, she also cautioned that she might not be the best messenger, citing her previous missteps. “I’ve messed up so many times,” but she’s willing to heave up some truths,” Stafford added.
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Nevertheless, she did offer her fellow football wives and girlfriends some advice. “Something that I wish someone would have told me coming into this is, ‘Don’t lose yourself,'” she shared.
“I would say, ‘Don’t try to become the person that everybody else wants you to become,'” she continued. “Because that’s what I did and I lost who I was. And that goes with personality, looks, all of it.”
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) warms up during the Los Angeles Rams training camp on July 27, 2024, at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA. (Jordon Kelly/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Stafford’s tied the knot in 2015 and share four daughters.
Stafford added that it is important for wives and girlfriends to do their best to block out as much of the noise as possible.
Los Angeles Rams’ quarterback Matthew Stafford kisses 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)
“You’re going to have everyone telling you what you should look like, what you should say and not say, all of these things,” added the Georgia native. “And if you start listening, you lose the values and everything you have that makes you who you are, and makes you the person your husband fell in love with.”
“You can’t cancel out all the noise,” she admitted, “but try to listen to yourself before you listen to anybody else.”
Kelly co-hosts “The Morning After” podcast along with her friend Hank Winchester.
Matthew spent the first 12 years of his career with the Detroit Lions. While the podcast does occasionally touch on football, Stafford and Winchester tackle a wide range of other topics, including navigating friendships and parenting. “I’m very vulnerable throughout this podcast,” explained Kelly, “because I feel safe in this community, which is why I love it.”
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