Matthew Stafford Wife: Who Is Kelly Stafford, the Former Cheerleader Turned Podcaster and Mother of Four?

Matthew Stafford’s wife is Kelly Stafford, a former University of Georgia cheerleader, registered nurse, and podcast host. The couple married in April 2015 and have four daughters together: twins Sawyer and Chandler, Hunter, and Tyler.

Kelly has become a prominent figure in her own right, building a platform through her podcast The Morning After and speaking openly about marriage, motherhood, and her recovery from brain surgery.

From College Sweethearts to NFL Power Couple

Matthew and Kelly met at the University of Georgia in 2006. He was the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs, and she was a cheerleader. They dated, briefly split, and eventually reconciled before marrying in April 2015, while Matthew was playing for the Detroit Lions.

Kelly has been candid about the challenges of finding her own identity while supporting her husband’s career. “Looking back at Detroit, I would say I was happy because I loved him, but I was also unhappy because I didn’t really know where I fit in or who I was,” she said on The Cutting Edge podcast. “You end up being this partner and your image is known as… Matthew Stafford’s wife. You tend to lose who you are, or I did.”

A Terrifying Health Scare in 2019

In April 2019, Kelly underwent a 12-hour surgery to remove a brain tumor. She had been experiencing vertigo spells, and an MRI revealed a tumor sitting on her cranial nerves. Doctors diagnosed her with an acoustic neuroma, a noncancerous and usually slow-growing tumor.

Kelly later wrote an ESPN essay describing her fear. “My biggest fear is not being here, and not being here to raise my girls,” she wrote. “Matthew was incredible during the whole process. He was literally by my side at every step.”

Her recovery included a return to the hospital a week after surgery due to pain from weaning off steroids. “The pain got so far ahead of me I couldn’t keep anything down, including meds,” she shared on Instagram at the time.

Building Her Own Platform

Kelly launched The Morning After podcast in September 2021, the same year Matthew was traded to the Los Angeles Rams. The show was designed to help other moms feel seen. “I was so damn tired of social media pretending everything was perfect,” she said.

The podcast went on hiatus in October 2025 and was extended indefinitely the following month. Kelly cited mental health and family as reasons. “I feel this pull to get back to my roots, and to do that, I have to pour into the people I love most,” she said. “I’ve got a husband in the middle of one hell of a season, and I want to be fully locked in with him.”

In April 2026, Kelly revealed the specific anxiety that drove her away from the show. “What I don’t miss is the anxiety I used to get the night before every episode was released wondering what headline was going to be created from the episode,” she said. “It just felt like my name was in the headlines every week.”

The 2026 Season and Retirement Questions

As Matthew entered his 18th NFL season in 2026, Kelly said she was treating every game as if it could be his last. “Every season now I will say I’m treating it like the last,” she told PEOPLE. “It’s been 18 years now. It’s been a wild, wild ride.”

The couple’s daughters are now old enough to understand their father’s career. “Now that all of my girls now understand football and what their dad does… that is truly special ‘cause a lot of guys don’t get to this point where their kids are this old,” Kelly said. The girls have even started lobbying against retirement. “They’re the ones that are like, ‘Daddy, you can’t not play. What do you mean? You have to play,’” Kelly said with a laugh.

Matthew’s MVP Tribute

When Matthew won his first AP NFL Most Valuable Player award in February 2026, he made sure to credit Kelly. “She’s been with me for such a long time,” he said. “She’s supported me through so many unbelievable moments. We’re a great team. I hope she knows that I support her as best I can.”

He added: “She’s helped me make some of the biggest decisions in my life and has steered me in the right direction so many times. We’re blessed to have her as the mom and wife of our family.”

Life in Los Angeles

The Staffords moved to Los Angeles in 2021 after Matthew’s trade to the Rams. Kelly has spoken about the pressure of living in the city. “I, as a 37-year-old woman, feel pressure to look a certain way here,” she told Us Weekly. “I can only imagine being my daughters growing up here.”

She has also been open about the cosmetic procedures she’s undergone, including a “mommy makeover” following three pregnancies. “I had my [chest] re-done and you also did the tummy tuck,” she said on her podcast.

Despite the pressures, the family has embraced their life in Los Angeles, with Kelly and the girls frequently attending Rams games and sharing family moments on social media.