At first glance, Kelly Stafford, wife of Matthew Stafford, appears to be a devoted mother of four, a supportive spouse, and a familiar face in the NFL world. However, while she’s often recognized for those roles, there’s much more to her story. Before Matthew won the Super Bowl in 2021, she faced a serious health battle that changed her life.
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The Staffords have four children, all girls. Twins Sawyer and Chandler were born in 2017, Hunter in 2018, and Tyler in 2020. A big family is a beautiful thing, but childbirth and the months that follow come with challenges for mothers. Kelly was no exception, and she has been vocal about her fight with postpartum depression after the birth of her first child.
During an appearance on The Skinny Confidential podcast in January, she discussed it again, expressing how she felt “very body-conscious” and how that affected her marriage. Eventually, she was able to learn from that experience and maintain a more healthy view of self following the births of her other two children.
That wasn’t her only battle, however. Kelly shared in 2019 that she had a benign brain tumor removed that April after a 12-hour surgery. As she did with postpartum depression, she shared her story so that others going through something similar could feel seen and supported. She also reflected on when she first started experiencing symptoms that year.
“I was trying to teach my girls the front roll… And the room just started spinning. And I told my mom, ‘Whoo, I’m getting old,’ and she was like, ‘What?’, and I’m like, ‘The room is spinning after that,’ and she was like, ‘You’re 29 years old, what are you talking about,'” Kelly recalled.
“And the vertigo spell started to get worse and worse, to the point where I was holding Hunter… and I felt the room spinning and I kinda just threw her to Matthew before I went down,” she continued.
After that scary episode, Matthew insisted his wife go to the doctor to get checked out. A shrewd move, as the doctor found the tumor, a benign acoustic neuroma. Kelly also discussed how the surgery has affected her since.
“I have never been the same… Now, playing sports, my balance is still—I’m still learning. My brain has to learn to balance on both sides, normally you have both sides. The more you can make it uncomfortable, the better it gets. No smell and taste thing, thank god, because I love food… And part of my hearing is gone on my right side.”
Kelly first met Matthew while both were attending Georgia University between 2006-2008. She already had football in her blood, as her brother, Chad Hall, played in the NFL from 2010 to 2013. Hall is now the assistant QB coach for the New York Giants.
Kelly was a Bulldogs cheerleader, and Stafford was the starting QB. A love story as old as time. But she also attended nursing school, eventually becoming a registered nurse after passing her exam in 2014.
However, after marrying her multimillionaire hubby in 2015, she never had to get into nursing. Instead, she has been the face of one of the most successful WAG podcasts on the market, co-hosting The Morning After with Detroit journalist and family friend Hank Winchester.
Her hubby, Matthew, has had a bit of a whirlwind over the last few weeks. Both his camp and the Rams seemingly funneled out reports that Stafford might be traded, with both sides hoping the news would help them in negotiations.
It’s unclear what worked on whom, but eventually, both sides agreed to an undisclosed contract restructuring to keep Stafford in L.A. for at least 2025. The deal will likely include more guaranteed money, as Stafford had very little in the final two years of his previous contract.
