Matthew Stafford's Wife Kelly Stafford Shares Her Advice for Taylor Swift and Fellow Football Wives

As a self-described "elder football wife," Kelly Stafford has some advice for her fellow sideline regulars. Taylor Swift, Brittany Mahomes...are you ready for it? 

To be clear, The Morning After podcast co-host is confident the 14-time Grammy winner (dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce) and the Kansas City Current co-owner (expecting her third baby with husband Patrick Mahomes) aren't in need of her tips.

"I think they have their things pretty settled and know where they are in life," she told E! News in an exclusive interview. Nor does she necessarily feel she's the best person to be doling out advice "because I've messed up so many times," but she's willing to heave up some truths. 

"Something that I wish someone would have told me coming into this is, 'Don't lose yourself,'" shared Kelly, who connected with then-University of Georgia QB Matthew Stafford over pickup games of basketball on campus in the mid-aughts. 

Nearly two decades and four kids—daughters Sawyer and Chandler, both 7, Hunter, 6, and Tyler, 4—later, "I would say, 'Don't try to become the person that everybody else wants you to become,'" the 35-year-old continued. "Because that's what I did and I lost who I was. And that goes with personality, looks, all of it." 

With so many outsiders trying to call audibles, "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." 

Overall, she summed up, do your best to stick to your game plan. 

"You can't cancel out all the noise," she admitted, "but try to listen to yourself before you listen to anybody else."

Following that advice led Kelly to launch The Morning After with her good friend, Detroit-based TV reporter Hank Winchester, in 2021 as a way to stay in touch with loved ones after Matthew hung up his Detroit Lions jersey to team up with the Los Angeles Rams. 

"A big misconception about the podcast in general is people think it's all about football, and it actually isn't," Kelly noted. "I would say maybe we touch on it every now and then. During the season, it's a little more because that's what my life revolves around. But I love just having a community of people that are uplifting each other." 

Tackling everything from parenting to friendships, "I'm very vulnerable throughout this podcast," explained Kelly, "because I feel safe in this community, which is why I love it."

Oftentimes, she added, people feel this pressure "to do it all and to do it all without complaining, because, you know what? You should be happy you have kids. Because there's people that don't have kids. Totally understand that. But that doesn't mean it's not hard and that I can't express myself and get positive feedback so you don't feel so alone."

And for those looking to huddle up, she's taking her show on the road this fall, with six live dates starting in the Detroit area Sept. 7. 

Dubbed the Cleat Chaser Tour, both as a nod to the nickname that's followed Kelly since she was a University of Georgia cheerleader and to the fact that "quite literally, we will be chasing my husband's cleats throughout the country," each of the events are being held the day before Matthew's Rams take on their opponents.

"It's about life," Kelly described. "It's about parenting. There might be a splash of football in there, but for the most part, it's just to have a fun night, have some cocktails with your friends and get some good laughs in."

And, yes, Matthew will be cheering her on every step of the way. 

"He was like, 'Yes, go do it. That's so fun,'" Kelly said of the 36-year-old's reaction. "He's like, 'I know you're going to kill it.’ I mean, if I were him, I'd worry, just because things are always taken out of context, or stuff like that. But he knows that I would never, ever try to hurt him or his team in any way, on purpose."

As for any other negativity that may come her way, Matthew has helped diagram the best way to shake it off. 

"I'm human, my feelings get hurt," Kelly acknowledged of dealing with criticism. "I'm not going to sit here and be like, 'I don't care what they say about me.’ Of course I do. I'm actually very much a people-pleaser. So I struggled big time with it."

But after 15 seasons of brushing off Monday morning quarterbacking, "I have a husband who nothing fazes him," noted Kelly. "And that's actually helpful to see him just let everything slide, like, 'Nah, whatever.'"

While she's not quite as adept at dodging the backlash, she's got a solid teammate to gas her up whenever necessary. 

What's better than winning a Super Bowl? Why, since you asked, it's winning two—and getting to make the requisite trips to Disneyland afterward with the love of your life.

"I was not prepared for this," Brittany Mahomes told CBS News in July of the whirlwind of accolades and excitement that came with falling for QB1 at her high school in Whitehouse, Texas. "And at such a young age. We were in love and I loved him with all of my heart. But, you know, I didn't expect it to skyrocket this soon, and us kind of just being thrown into the fire like this."

Patrick proposed at Arrowhead Stadium on Sept. 1, 2020, the day the Chiefs were presented with their Super Bowl LIV rings, and they tied the knot March 12, 2022.

The athlete told CBS that being dad to daughter Sterling Skye, born Feb. 20, 2021, and Patrick "Bronze" Lavone Mahomes III, born Nov. 28, 2022, gave him "a much better understanding of being present and enjoying" the game of football.

"When my kids grow up," he explained, "I wanted them to see that dad wasn't just gone just to be gone. I was gone doing something, to build, to be great. And so, whenever they get older, they can see how hard I worked."

The low-key Lion is engaged to model Christen Harper, Sport Illustrated Swimsuit's co-Rookie of the Year in 2022 and a star of the web series Women of the League.

"I swore that he messaged me first," Christen told Fox News Digital of meeting her future fiancé on the dating app Raya in 2018. "But when we went and looked back, I actually sent the first message. So all you ladies out there, you better send the first message because you never know—you gotta shoot your shot."

While the co-founder of the wellness app Planted is a permanent fixture on the sidelines rooting for No. 16, Christen called Jared "just the best cheerleader" when it came to her goals as well. "It's so fun because I get to cheer him on for his football season," she said. "But he is the number one supporter, the number one person that's just in my court."

If Hailee Steinfeld still likes a man with true grit, she could do worse than the Bills' two-time Pro Bowl selection. 

Josh may be a quiet, "no comment" kind of fella when it comes to his dating life—"The fact anybody cares about that still blows my mind," he said on Pardon My Take—but he seems to be a swell boyfriend.

He and Hailee vacationed in Mexico in July 2023, she was spotted at a Bills home game vs. the Raiders Sept. 17 and they caught a Buffalo Sabres game in October.

The 262nd pick in the 2022 NFL draft was never Mr. Irrelevant to Jenna Brandt.

And while the 49ers have another sort of bauble in mind, Brock put a ring on it in July 2023.

The two married in Des Moines, Iowa March 9.

Baker's football fortunes were all over the place for a couple of years before the Bucs took a chance in 2023 and ended up in the playoffs. But throughout the journey, Emily Wilkinson Mayfield has been along for the ride

Baker, a Heisman winner with the University of Oklahoma, met Emily in 2017 and proposed six months later, so she's been there for all of the ups and downs (and hilarious State Farm commercials) since he went No. 1 in the 2018 NFL draft to the Browns.

And the fairer half of the Baker & Emily Mayfield Foundation is certainly in it for the long haul.

“Happy 4 year anniversary to my sweet husband," Emily posted to Instagram on July 10. "These last few years we have grown in so many ways, and I am SO proud of where we are in our marriage."

And on Dec. 4, she revealed their first baby is on the way. Quite the rebuilding year, indeed.

He has some Aaron Rodgers-size shoes to fill in Green Bay, but mom Anna Love and girlfriend Ronika Stone have no doubt Jordan's up to the challenge.

Ronika, a pro volleyball player and daughter of retired Super Bowl champ Ron Stone, rocks Packers merch with pride. And when she and Anna weren't exactly given the VIP treatment at Arrowhead Stadium during an away game against the Kansas City Chiefs game in 2021, she handled it with grace and humor.

"I always wanted to be on sportscenter...thought it'd be for volleyball tho," Ronika posted to Instagram after a pic of she and Jordan's mother sitting in the nosebleeds went viral.

The unexpected savior of the Browns' 2023-24 playoff chances was Super Bowl winner (with the Ravens) Joe, who was busy playing stay-at-home dad to his four sons and one daughter with wife Dana when he got the call.

"Joe's not one to sit still,” Dana told Cleveland.com ahead of the playoffs. "He was always like, 'What can I do? I’m just going to get you a coffee.' I think I had like seven coffees a day.”

The couple, together since senior year at Audubon High School in New Jersey, married on June 25, 2011. They welcomed Stephen in June 2012, Daniel in September 2013, Francis in January 2015, Evelyn in September 2016 and Thomas in April 2018.

“It’s definitely changed how I spend time in the off-season," Joe said in a Ravens promo video. "Me and my wife look at each other and wonder what we did before we had them, because you’re just wrapped up in those guys."

Joe met Olivia Holzmacher in 2017 at Ohio State—and he didn't drop the ball once he transferred to Lousiana State, where he won a national championship and the Heisman trophy with the Tigers in 2020.

When he went No. 1 to the Bengals in the NFL draft, Olivia wrote, "Thankful to be by your side Joe … so excited for what the future holds."

Still together and having triumphed over the long-distance dating that has sacked so many other couples, sky's the limit for these two—whether or not they're engaged like former Bengal Adam "Pacman" Jones recently declared but showed no receipts.

After 12 seasons leading the Lions' offense, the team swapped quarterbacks with the Rams in 2021, meaning longtime Bloomfield Hills, Mich., residents Matt and Kelly Stafford were off to L.A.—where he promptly won a Super Bowl in his first season with his new team.

And it turned out he had a secret weapon in the pocket with him: Yes, it was his wife's unflagging support.

Kelly shared on TODAY after the Rams' win that she wrote her husband letters before every game leading up to the big one in February 2022. "It was just how much I thought he truly deserved this, and why I thought he deserved it," she said. "The most important thing at the end of the day is that we all have each other."

Married since April 4, 2015, the Staffords are parents to four daughters, 6-year-old twins Chandler and Sawyer, 5-year-old Hunter Hope and 3-year-old Tyler Hall. 

The team's quarterback first sparked romance rumors with Sarah Jane Ramos in September 2023 when she shared photos of herself watching a Cowboys game with his sister-in-law, Holly Prescott.

In November 2023, Sarah and Dak announced on Instagram that they are expecting their first child.

Who dat? Why, it's Heather Carr, recent NOLA transplant after her husband of 11 years signed with the Saints in 2023 following nine seasons with the Oakland-turned-Las Vegas Raiders.

They were students at Fresno State when they met, Derick trying his darndest to get a cute waitress' attention.

"I was just like 'Ugh, I don't want anything to do with that,'" Heather recalled to Fresno's ABC 30. "The typical football guy, right?"

But when she purposely gave him a wrong phone number, he came back to the restaurant to give her his digits—and tell her that, when she was ready, he'd pick up the phone. A few weeks later, she found out Derick wasn't so typical.

"Some days he comes home, he's quiet, he's tired," she reflected of her star QB. "Just making sure he always knows that I'm here to encourage him, support him, do I need to do anything for you."

When it was time to move across the country, she stocked up on Saints gear in all sizes for sons Dallas, 10, Deker, 7, and Deakon, 4, and daughter Brooklyn, who turns 3 in November.

"He and I share the same vision for our babies, which I think makes the world of a difference, that we’re on the same page," Ciara, who married Russ in 2016, told Sports Illustrated in 2022. "It’s important that our kids—you know, they have way more access than we had growing up—so we want to make sure we keep them humble in the process to make sure they do things like having to pick up after themselves and knowing that life isn’t going to be handed to you."

Russ joined the Broncos in 2022 after 10 seasons in Seattle and gained a new team member off the field as well: Daughter Amora Princess Wilson was born in December 2023, joining Future Zahir (Ciara's son with rapper Future, born May 2019), daughter Sienna (April 2017), and son Win (July 2020), in the family lineup. 

"Every day I come home from work and it's late at night," Russ told GQ in 2021. "It's after film and practice and all that, and me and Ciara are together, and we just smile from ear-to-ear in the kitchen because we realize that our family is a beautiful blended family but it's also, you know, our family. It's us."

Sure, offensive lines are great, but it's Julie Hampton Cousins who really has Kirk's back.

The elementary school teacher "thrives in the work of supporting" her husband of nine years, she told People. "I love hosting people for games, cooking and planning snacks and meals. I also enjoy organizing all kinds of stuff for Kirk off the field, like his bodywork, making sure we all get good sleep and that we're getting in quality time with our boys. It's a very unique job, but I'm very happy to be in it."

And while at 35 Kirk is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, he said he'd love to play until sons Turner, 4, and Cooper, who'll be 6 on Sept. 29, can "really remember it and will have enjoyed being a part of it."

Marissa Lawrence has been cheering her husband on since their Cartersville High School days in Georgia—and their photo album includes memories of every milestone, from their senior prom to their April 10, 2021, wedding day to Trevor going No. 1 to the Jaguars just weeks later and many tropical vacations since.

"Every year gets sweeter with you @marissa_lawrence," Trevor wrote on their anniversary in 2023. "2 years down already and we’ve made so many memories and experienced so much together. Excited for all the years to come. I love you more than you know."

The third-round 2022 draft pick turned late-season rookie starter has a nose for numbers.

"4 years, 1460 days, 2,102,400 minutes with you has been one hell of a journey, we have had our ups and downs but it has made us stronger in the end," Desmond posted about his then-fiancée Claire Cornett in 2020. "Can’t wait to spend forever with you."

The University of Cincinnati sweethearts introduced daughter Leighton Elizabeth Ridder to the world on April 21, 2021 (yes, Bearcat onesies do come in that size), and then tied the knot July 15, 2022.

Sophie Scott is always showing up at Gillette Stadium for him, so it's only fair he show up there for her.

College sweethearts at Alabama, the couple made the move to Boston together when Mac was drafted by the Patriots in 2021.

The only quarterback selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft reported for training camp in 2023 a married man, swapping vows with former Princeton soccer player Amy Paternoster on June 24.

The couple, who started dating in 2021, honeymooned in Puerto Rico.

On Amy's 22nd birthday Feb. 13, Kenny posted to Instagram, "Extremely grateful for you every day and spending the rest of my life with you will be the greatest honor I could ask for."

After his fifth-year option was picked up by the Dolphins in March 2023, Tua admitted to reporters that he considered retiring after his injury-marred 2022 season.

And not least because he had so many wonderful things to stay home for.

"Never one to put my private life out there. But this one deserved a post," Tua wrote on July 17, sharing a one-time-only snap of his love Annah Tagovailoa. "Happy 1 Year Anniversary to my beautiful wife. I love you."

In a rare peek into his off-the-field world, Tua told reporters in November 2022 that he was thankful for his wife and new baby (who made his public debut at the Tua Foundation luau benefit the following April).

"It's very unique how having a child impacts how you see things differently in life. It’s like nothing that I’ve experienced," Tua said. "There’s no playbook for this because everyone’s experience is different, whether you’re having a boy first or a girl."

That being said, he added, "I thank my heavenly Father up above that I got a boy first. Oh, man. I don’t know what I’d do if I had a girl. It'd be a little harder, I think, because I wouldn’t know what to do necessarily."

2012 was a banner year for the Texas A&M alum: He wed college sweetheart Lauren in January and went No. 8 in the NFL draft that April.

After spending the first seven years of their marriage in Miami, they headed to Nashville in 2019 with son Steel and daughter Stella, now 7 and 5.

"There's hard stuff that comes with every life," Lauren said in an interview for the Titans' YouTube channel, "but I looked at this as a really fun opportunity to live in Nashville and see what this community is about. It has been so rich for us."

The former model also quickly teamed up with the Titans Women's Association to start giving back in her new home—and for the unique camaraderie, of course.

"There's parts of our life that only we understand," Lauren said. "I think that's important for everybody in the world to have that, to lean on each other."