Travis and Jason Kelce have been receiving a lot of attention for their professional and personal lives. Fans seem to keep a tab on them diligently, all the more in the case of Travis, now that Taylor Swift is also in the picture. Talking about the private lives of the Kelces, many probably wouldn’t know that Travis and Jason’s parents, Ed and Donna Kelce, are no longer together.
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The 72-year-old Donna Kelce has often spoken candidly about her marriage and the years she spent raising two future NFL stars. But in that period, she also could feel that her relationship with her husband was crumbling.
What made it all the more tough was that, amid the marital turmoil, she had to juggle work, motherhood, and carry much of the household’s financial responsibilities.
“I was a commercial banker, and I wanted to get ahead, and so I worked really, really hard. I was a major breadwinner in the family,” Donna recalled last year on Glamour, adding that she wanted her children to see firsthand that “a woman can do whatever she wants.”
But while her career offered strength and independence, Mama Kelce admitted she and Ed realized early that their partnership wasn’t working. They still made the difficult decision to stay together until Travis and Jason were grown, prioritizing stability for the children above all else.
“My husband and I knew that our marriage was not working, but we stayed together for the kids… to make sure that their life was as normal as possible. But in that one respect, I did stand still for several years until I could move on on my own,” said Donna.
That choice, as she later revealed on The Martha Stewart Podcast, was deliberate: “We decided that we would be married throughout the entire time that the kids were in the house, and that’s the way it worked out.”
The couple eventually divorced after their sons graduated from college, ending a marriage of roughly 25 years.
Even amid those personal sacrifices, Donna told Glamour once that she drew inspiration from outside figures to shape her parenting approach. When asked who embodied the kind of mother she aspired to be, she spoke about a fictional role model.
“My favorite was Clair Huxtable [from The Cosby Show]. She was a lawyer, she was a mother of five, and she was a wife, and she could do it all… that’s who I wanna be like,” Donna said.
That had a lot to do with how the character conveyed a simple message: “If you work hard, you have a good work ethic, you can achieve anything you want,” added Donna.
In retrospect, Donna’s determination, sacrifice, and steady guidance paid off in ways few could have predicted. Today, both Jason and Travis boast Hall of Fame-worthy resumes. And they have repeatedly credited their mother for instilling the values that carried them through their careers.
But most importantly, Donna’s ability to keep moving forward for her children ensured that the Kelce brothers’ foundation never wavered, even during the most difficult years. Mama Kelce has been a true inspiration for her kids.
