Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has been delivering touchdowns on the football field. Meanwhile, Matthew Stafford’s wife, Kelly Stafford, has been delivering headlines off of it. In the last two years, the wife of the Rams QB has been all over the news.
On one occasion, following a loss, Kelly became known as a “sore loser” for her reaction to a big game. She even threw a pretzel at a San Francisco 49ers fans, shocking thousands of viewers across the country.
In another incident, Kelly publicly claimed that the state of Michigan was a “dictatorship.” She later apologized for her comments.
These scandals have left many football fans teeming with questions. Who is Matthew Stafford’s wife? And what is Kelly Stafford like, really? We have done some digging to help you understand the complexities of Kelly Stafford’s life.
A Fairy Tale at First Glance
If you don’t look too closely at Kelly Stafford’s life, it looks like a fairy tale. Kelly grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, as the youngest of three siblings. Her family loved football and long encouraged the siblings to participate in sports.
Kelly’s older brother, Chad Hall, played high school football for years. He later went on to become a wide receiver in the NFL. These days, he is coaching the Buffalo Bills as an offensive assistant.
Kelly herself followed in her older brother’s athletic footsteps. She was a very strong cheerleader in High School. After years of hard work and dedication, Kelly landed a spot on the University of Georgia cheerleading team.
While she dedicated a lot of her time to athletics, Kelly was also a strong student. She focused on the sciences and earned her nursing degree in 2007. Even though she no longer practices, Kelly is to this day a registered nurse.
Becoming Matthew Stafford’s Wife
During her college years, Kelly Stafford’s all-American fairy tale continued. While she was cheering on the UGA football team, Kelly caught Matthew Stafford’s eye.
The pair started dating and quickly fell in love. They continued their relationship well after college, and Kelly supported Matthew as he started his pro football career with the Detroit Lions.
In 2014, after eight years of courtship, the couple decided to take their relationship to the next level. Matthew Stafford asked Kelly to marry him. She accepted his proposal.
One year later the pair tied the knot in a huge, blow-out ceremony at the Foundry at Puritan Mill in Atlanta, Georgia. Just the bridal party had 27 people. The actual ceremony itself included well over a hundred guests.
Whereas some weddings tend to be elegant, Matthew and Kelly opted for a fun environment. Their gift bags included University of Georgia bottle poppers. They also offered guests a hangover remedy.
During the reception, guests could stop by a spray paint hat station. There, they picked up personalized, neon baseball caps, which they could wear for the remainder of the evening.
A Family of Four Daughters
Not long after their wedding, the Stafford’s started a family. The two welcomed twin girls Chandler and Sawyer just one year after tying the knot.
In 2018, they added another girl to their family, naming her Hunter Hope.
The most recent addition to the Stafford crew is Tyler Hall Stafford. The baby girl was born in 2020 at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Detroit Michigan.
With four girls in the house, the Stafford family has its heart (and hands!) full. However, many fans are wondering whether or not the couple wants to add a boy to the mix.
According to Kelly’s social media, the Stafford’s won’t be trying for a boy anytime soon. And, they are very happy with their family of little women. Kelly even refers to her kids as her “girl squad.”
“Another little girl to complete our girl squad,” Kelly shared on her Instagram account. In a separate post, she said again, “Our family became complete.”
Medical Tragedy Strikes Matthew Stafford’s Wife
As mentioned above, it’s easy to look at Kelly Stafford’s life and see a fairy tale. However, the reality is much grimmer.
In April 2019, the young mother was playing with her children when she felt that something was wrong. She began experiencing vertigo while she was playing with her daughters.
Her symptoms were so bad that she almost dropped Hunter. “I almost threw Hunter to Matthew because I didn’t want her to go down with me,” Kelly explained in a tell-all article.
Eventually, Kelly recognized that she needed to seek medical help. She went to the doctor, where she scheduled an MRI. Unfortunately, the results of the test were shocking.
Kelly was diagnosed with what doctors call an “acoustic neuroma.” Most people, however, know this condition as a brain tumor.
Upon receiving the diagnosis, Kelly was “terrified.” In her tell-all, she said that she couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen if she died. “My biggest fear,” she wrote, “is not being here and not being here to raise my girls.”
Luckily, the doctors determined that Kelly’s tumor wasn’t cancerous. Nonetheless, she would need srurgery to remove the tumor and prevent it from taking her life.
A Terrifying Brain Surgery
As Kelly prepared for brain surgery, she was paralyzed with fear. She asked herself, “What if this thing gets taken out and something goes wrong?” Botched brain surgeries, as she knew, can be fatal.
Even if she survived, Kelly ran the risk of losing part of her brain functioning. Her doctor told her that she had a 50% chance of losing her hearing. There was also a smaller chance that she would lose control of her facial muscles.
As Kelly admitted in her article, “It was all really scary.”
However, Kelly was able to find strength in her husband and her kids. She knew that she had to undergo the procedure in order to stay with them. So, on April 17, 2019, the young mother underwent brain surgery.
Kelly’s brain stopped producing audio waves several times during the surgery. Her doctor was concerned that she would lose her hearing. Because of this, he paused surgery several times during the procedure.
When Kelly finally opened her eyes after surgery, the first thing she saw was Matthew waiting by her bedside. He was able to give her the good news: the tumor had been fully removed. And Kelly could still hear.
The Long Road to Recovery
Kelly was very lucky to survive her surgery. However, she didn’t feel healthy right away. On the contrary, Kelly left the operating room feeling so sick that she could barely walk.
Matthew Stafford’s wife also struggled with migraines and issues with her sight. “I couldn’t really tell what I was seeing out of the right side. One person would look like four. Even if I tried to look right, it was hard,” Kelly explained.
Because of all of these symptoms, motherhood became a lot more challenging for her. No longer was Kelly able to be a super active mom. Instead, she struggled to interact with her girls in the same that she once did.
“That has been one of the hardest parts,” Kelly confessed. “(Not) being able to be an active mom.”
Football games have also lost a lot of their allure. In crowded, loud environments, Kelly feels easily overwhelmed. “The noise and constant action would be tough for me,” she admitted.
Even though Kelly’s life has changed, she tries to remain positive. Right now, she and Matthew have chosen to remain grateful for their family life. They seek to spread kindness and take each day as a blessing.
A New Home & Hope for the Future
As Kelly adjusts to her life post-surgery, she and her family have relocated to a stunning new home. Indeed, Matthew Stafford’s house in Los Angeles is something else.
In March of 2021, the Stafford’s purchased a 15,000 square foot mansion. The house is complete with a private movie theater, a sprawling pool, and a gorgeous walk-in closet for Kelly.
As we know, an impressive house tends to come with an impressive price tag. In the case of the Stafford home, the property cost a whopping 19.6 million dollars.
While this might seem like a lot of cash, it didn’t set the Stafford family too far back. Matthew Stafford’s net worth is estimated to be about 80 million dollars. Most of his earnings come from his 135 million dollar deal with the Rams.
At the end of the day, even as the Stafford family has struggled, it looks like their all-American fairy tale is back on track.
Matthew Stafford’s Wife & More
Matthew Stafford’s wife Kelly has been through a lot. Between her scandals and her medical scares, Kelly Stafford’s life has been a bit of a rollercoaster.
Click here to stay updated on the Stafford family and other members of NFL royalty. The Total Pro Sports blog follows football news very closely. Keep an eye on our blog to stay in the loop.
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