Kelly Stafford revealed that her relationship with Matthew Stafford “started out horrible” — and involved dating another quarterback out of spite.
“This was my first college experience,” Kelly, 34, recalled during a June appearance on the “Off the Vine” podcast of meeting Matthew, 36, days prior to starting school at the University of Georgia. “I was there for cheerleading, he was there for football. [We] talked all night. But he was the quarterback of an SEC college.”
Kelly explained that Matthew’s clout as the quarterback at Georgia meant girls couldn’t stop fawning over him. Although Matthew said it was “fun” dating Kelly, she soon realized he wanted to keep things fluid.
“I was like, ‘Oh, we’re in a relationship. This is great,’” she said, noting after their first date she was hooked. “I didn’t know casual dating. … Long story short it wasn’t that cute of a relationship at first.”
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Kelly revealed that she and the Los Angeles Rams quarterback were on and off throughout their early romance.
“I hated him. I loved him,” she said of the rocky time, confessing, “I dated the backup [quarterback] to piss him off, which worked.”
Kelly noted that Matthew’s backup in college was “the bad boy,” which was the total opposite of him. “It upset him. It worked, thankfully,” she laughed.
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The mother of four recalled how easy it was to make Matthew jealous because he “lived in the same dorm” as the other athlete.
“He would see my car there,” Kelly said, adding that was the turning point for Matthew. “At one point, he waited and followed me out and got in my car and wouldn’t get out. [He told me], ‘He’s not right for you.’ Meanwhile, he’s dating 12s out of 10s. … Supermodels.”
Kelly remembered there being “a lot of back and forth” that led her to question if they would last. “I think if you asked anyone who knew us in Georgia, if they thought we would’ve ended up together with four kids they would’ve laughed their asses off,” she continued.
Despite having her own reservations over their longevity, Kelly said once they “decided it was it, it was it,” noting that Matthew ultimately made the call.
“I was always all in. I didn’t let him know that,” she confessed. There was something about him. He’s brilliant.”
According to Kelly, they became official while Matthew was training in Arizona and she was still at school in Georgia.
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“We did long distance for a year maybe and then I moved to Michigan,” she said. “Moved there against my dad’s permission.” (Stafford was initially drafted into the NFL by the Detroit Lions.)
Matthew eventually had a sit down with Kelly’s dad to “assure him” things would be OK. Kelly proceeded to do her nursing school in Michigan as Matthew began his career in the NFL as starting quarterback with the Lions.
The couple tied the knot in 2015 and have since welcomed four daughters: twins Sawyer and Chandler, 7, Hunter, 5, and Tyler, 3. The family has been living in Los Angeles since 2021 when Matthew became the Rams’ quarterback.
