Matthew Stafford’s NFL journey has stretched from being the No. 1 pick of the Detroit Lions to winning a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams, and through it all, one constant has been his marriage to Kelly Stafford.
As he prepares for each new season in L.A., family remains central to how he talks about his career, from the decision to leave Detroit to the way he balances life as a starting quarterback with being a husband and father of four.
Who is Matthew Stafford’s Wife, Kelly Stafford?
Kelly Stafford met Matthew at the University of Georgia, where he was a highly touted quarterback, and she was a cheerleader. According to reports, their relationship began on campus and went through some early ups and downs.
In an interview with KFC Radio, Kelly explained that Matthew was not initially interested in a serious relationship, which led her to move, an action that eventually brought them together.
Apparently, Matthew wasn’t interested in being in a relationship, so Kelly purposely dated Matthew’s teammate to get his attention. “I dated the backup to piss him off — like that was the type of situation we were in.”
Laughing, she added, “In the end, we ended up together, and we had to go through all of it, so the back up had to happen. I mean, it got his attention.”
Kelly later trained as a nurse, passed her exam in 2014, and has also built her own public profile. She launched her podcast, The Morning After, in 2021, where she discusses family life and occasionally Matthew’s career, and has been open about major health challenges.
In 2019, she revealed she had been diagnosed with a benign brain tumor, an acoustic neuroma, and underwent a 12-hour surgery to have it removed, later describing the operation and recovery in detail on social media.
The couple married in April 2015 and have four daughters: twins Sawyer and Chandler, born in March 2017, followed by Hunter in 2018 and Tyler in 2020. Kelly and the girls are regular fixtures at Rams games and events, and both spouses have described each other as a central source of support during the highs and lows of a long NFL career.
Stafford and Kelly’s Relationship Timeline
Stafford and Kelly’s relationship reportedly dates back to 2006, when they first met at Georgia. He quickly became the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback, while she balanced classes, cheerleading, and the relationship that would eventually carry into the NFL.
In 2009, Stafford left school early after being selected No. 1 overall by the Lions, beginning a 12-year run in Detroit that would include multiple playoff appearances but no postseason wins.
Kelly and Matthew married in April 2015 in Atlanta. Coverage from outlets has highlighted details of the wedding, from a Nike shoe bar tied to his sponsorship at the time to a reception focused on keeping guests present in the moment.
As their family grew, Kelly chronicled much of their life in Detroit on Instagram, including the arrivals of their daughters in 2017, 2018, and 2020.
On the football side, a turning point came after the 2020 season, when Stafford and the Lions agreed to part ways. Detroit traded him to the Rams in early 2021, a move he has repeatedly linked to conversations at home. Speaking to reporters in a 2022 media conference, Stafford made clear he would not have pushed for a change without Kelly’s backing.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them,” Stafford, who shares four daughters with his wife, Kelly, told reporters in a media conference on his birthday Monday.
“I would never have made the decision to go in and ask to be traded [somewhere] unless I had full support from my family and understanding that things were going to change, things were going to be different both professionally and personally.”
He emphasized how much that support meant as he settled into Los Angeles. “Having that support is the reason that I’m here today,” he added. “The fact that we got chosen to join the L.A. Rams is something that we feel so blessed to be a part of and have that opportunity.”
In his first season with the Rams, Stafford helped deliver a 23-20 Super Bowl LVI victory over the Bengals. Since then, family has remained central to how both Stafford and Kelly describe their lives: from college sweethearts into a long-running partnership that spans four daughters.
