NEED TO KNOW
- Matthew Stafford married his college sweetheart, Kelly Stafford, in 2015
- The Los Angeles Rams quarterback and podcast host have four daughters
- Matthew and Kelly have been open about their lives, including when she was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor
When he’s not scoring touchdowns as a quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, Matthew Stafford is sharing touching moments with his wife, Kelly Stafford, who he has been with since college.
The couple met while attending the University of Georgia and later married in 2015. Since then, they’ve welcomed four daughters: twins Sawyer and Chandler, Hunter and Tyler.
Matthew’s wife and kids are his biggest cheerleaders and are often seen encouraging him at football games. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them,” Matthew told PEOPLE in February 2022.
A year later, Kelly expressed similar sentiments on Instagram, calling Matthew her “rock.”
“Having someone you can always depend on is one of the most underrated things in this life,” she wrote in honor of his 35th birthday. “We are so incredibly lucky to have you as our rock … someone we can always lean on, snuggle with, make us feel safe and be our comfort.”
So who is Matthew Stafford’s wife? Here’s everything to know about Kelly Stafford and her relationship with the NFL star.
She’s met Matthew at the University of Georgia
Matthew Stafford and Kelly Hall.
Kelly Stafford Instagram
Matthew and Kelly have known each other since college. They both studied at the University of Georgia, where Matthew became the first true freshman quarterback to start for the Georgia Bulldogs since 1998.
During her time at the school, Kelly studied nursing and became a registered nurse in 2014, sharing the news that she’d passed her exam on Instagram.
She married Matthew in 2015
Matthew Stafford and his wife Kelly Stafford at the 2025 ESPY Awards on July 16, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty
After dating for several years, Matthew and Kelly wed in April 2015.
At the time, Kelly posted a photo from their wedding day on Instagram of her in a white wedding dress.
Nearly eight years later, she shared videos of the special occasion and recapped it on her podcast, The Morning After.
“All I see when I watch this is the man I love and how lucky I am to have a partner who is not only an incredible husband but also a patient, loving father,” Kelly wrote in May 2023.
When they celebrated 10 years of marriage in April 2025, she marked the milestone by sharing some advice with her The Morning After listeners.
“You can’t expect the person you marry at 25 to be the exact same person at 45. People evolve, priorities shift, and life circumstances change,” she said. “The most successful couples are the ones who adapt and grow together.”
She and Matthew have four daughters
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford with his family on January 14, 2023 in Detroit, Michigan.
Steven King/Icon Sportswire via Getty
The pair have four children together — all girls.
Identical twins Sawyer and Chandler arrived in March 2017, then Hunter in August 2018, followed by Tyler in June 2020.
The proud mom often shares snaps of her family on social media.
In January 2024, all four girls wished their dad good luck with sideline hugs ahead of the Rams versus the Detroit Lions playoff game.
Kelly’s brother is a former NFL player and now coach
Matthew and Kelly Stafford with Chad Hall.
Kelly Stafford Instagram
Matthew isn’t the only NFL pro with whom Kelly has a close tie.
Her brother, Chad Hall, is an assistant quarterbacks coach for the New York Giants. Before starting the position in 2025, he was part of the coaching staff at the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills, according to his bio.
Hall is a former NFL player himself. He was a wide receiver from 2011 to 2013 with the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs.
She had a brain tumor removed in 2019
Matthew Stafford and his wife Kelly Stafford with a doctor.
Kelly Stafford Instagram
In April 2019, Kelly shared in an Instagram post revealing that she’d been diagnosed with a benign brain tumor, an acoustic neuroma, and would be undergoing surgery.
“Within the last year, I began to notice things that I thought was just me getting older … Things that I had been doing my entire life were now, all of a sudden, difficult,” she shared in the caption, also explaining that she’d experienced several spells of vertigo.
Later the same month, Kelly posted on Instagram that she underwent a 12-hour operation to remove the brain tumor and was in recovery. The operation was scheduled to last for six hours, but after the surgeon found an “abnormal” vein in her skull, the procedure took longer than expected.
She started The Morning After podcast in 2021
Matthew Stafford and Kelly Stafford.
Kelly Stafford/Instagram
Kelly launched her podcast, The Morning After, in September 2021. For two years, it was a solo endeavor until she brought on reporter Hank Winchester as a co-host.
More recently, in October 2025, Kelly announced that she was taking a break from the audio show to focus on her mental health, coinciding with the NFL’s midseason.
“I started this podcast to kind of build this community, a community that accepts failure and supports each through it instead of judging,” she said, per the New York Post. “I feel like we can all lean on each other now. I leaned on you guys, i hope that you leaned on this podcast, either for laughter or just to realize that not everything is perfect and it doesn’t have to be.”
Kelly added, “I just think I need to take a step back and kind of figure out what the plan is. I’m not saying this is over. I really need a second.”
She defended Matthew after 2022 Super Bowl criticism
Matthew Stafford with his wife Kelly Stafford on February 13, 2022.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP
Like other elite athletes, Matthew has occasionally faced criticism from fans, and Kelly has been by his side, offering him support.
According to E! News, after the Rams won the 2022 Super Bowl, some started to question whether Matthew could make it into the Hall of Fame.
Kelly responded to his critics on her Instagram Stories, writing, “Can y’all just let him enjoy this?!”
She continued, “It went from Matthew can’t win, to Matthew can’t win against winning teams, to Matthew can’t win big games, to Matthew can’t win playoff games, to Matthew can’t win it all … And now … the debate on the HOF?”
After Matthew’s big win, Kelly also posted sweet photos of the couple kissing on Instagram with the caption, “My Champion.”
