Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford married his wife Kelly in 2015, and she has stood by his side throughout the ups and downs of his NFL career. The pair of college sweethearts have also had to navigate some difficult challenges, particularly when Kelly had a serious health scare several years ago.
Here’s everything you need to know about Kelly and their family, including the four beautiful daughters the couple has brought into the world.
Meet Kelly Stafford, Mother of Four
Kelly and Matthew met at the University of Georgia. Kelly was pursuing nursing at the university back then. Matthew, on the other hand, was already making his name in the college football world. In 1998, he became the first true freshman quarterback to start for the Georgia Bulldogs.
The two clicked with each other almost instantly. Though the couple is now rock solid, even they weren’t immune to the initial blues of a young relationship. In a recent interview with KFC Radio, Kelly revealed that there were hard days for the duo.
She discussed how they “went back and forth there for a little bit with the love-hate.” Not only this, she also revealed that she went out of her way to grab Matthew’s attention. “I dated the backup to piss him off,” laughed Stafford, adding, “Like, that was the type of situation we were in.”
It was more of a fun relationship for Matthew, but Kelly wanted much more. Whatever the situation, the couple made it to the altar and are tighter than ever, cherishing a blissful family life together.
“I always loved Matthew, and I told myself I had to move on because this isn’t happening,” she said. “I started talking with the backup who was the complete opposite of Matthew, so it worked.”
The pair then got married in 2015, roughly a year after Kelly became a registered nurse following her studies at the University of Georgia.
The couple had a serious health scare in April of 2019 when Kelly was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor called an acoustic neuroma. She experienced bouts of vertigo, and it became clear that she needed surgery to remove the tumor.
“Within the last year, I began to notice things that I thought was just me getting older… Things that I had been doing my entire life were now, all of a sudden, difficult,” Kelly said in an Instagram post.
The procedure to remove the tumor was initially expected to take six hours, but it turned into a 12-hour ordeal after the surgeon apparently found an “abnormal” vein in her skull. Fortunately, her neurosurgeon was an expert on these kinds of abnormal veins and had actually written a paper about them.
Kelly made a full recovery, and she seems to be in much better health now.
Cut to 2017 and the Staffords became first-time parents on March 31, 2017. Kelly gave birth to twin daughters, Sawyer and Chandler. A little over a year later, they welcomed their third daughter, Hunter Hope, in August 2018. Their home was now filled with laughter and chaos.
KEEP READING: A View of Matthew Stafford’s Mansion
By 2020, the power couple had even more to celebrate. Kelly announced that they were expecting their fourth child. They welcomed their youngest daughter, Tyler Hall, in June. With four little girls at home, their lives were busier than ever — Matthew had his own house of cheerleaders waiting for him to crush the field.
Matthew’s football career took a new direction in 2021 when he was traded to the Los Angeles Rams after over a decade with the Lions. It was a bittersweet move, but it led to a career-high when he led the Los Angeles Rams to victory in Super Bowl LVI. Through it all, Kelly stood by his side, supporting him during the highs and lows of his NFL journey.
On the side, Kelly hosts a podcast called “The Morning After” with family friend Hank Winchester. She has spoken up about postpartum health on the show and admitted to struggling with body image issues following the birth of her twins.
On her podcast, she made headlines when she said that Matthew struggles to connect with his younger teammates. After it became a big story online, Kelly admitted that she “put her foot in her mouth.”