Kelly Stafford got real candid about her and Matthew Stafford’s marriage.
During the latest installment of “The Morning After” podcast, Kelly celebrated the couple’s 10th anniversary on Friday and explained that the couple has worked hard at their marriage through highs and lows.
“Marriage is f–king hard,” Kelly said. “Anyone who tells you differently is f–king lying through their teeth.’ … [before marriage] you put yourself first all the time.
“Now all of a sudden, you’re putting someone else first. Two, then there’s kids involved. It just becomes tougher and tougher with the more things thrown your way.
“… I will say, there has been so many ups and downs in our marriage. There really has. I would say the first year of marriage was really, really hard. It’s crazy because nothing really changed in our lives. We were kind of already living together but that was our first big thing thrown our way, IVF, infertility.”
The couple met while enrolled at Georgia, where she was a cheerleader and Stafford was the star quarterback, and tied the knot in 2015.
They have welcomed four daughters, 8-year-old twins Sawyer and Chandler, 6-year-old Hunter and 4-year-old Tyler.
Kelly also recalled her brain tumor.
In 2019, she underwent a successful 12-hour surgery for a brain tumor, which was described as an acoustic neuroma in her cranial nerves.
“We’ve had an incredible marriage,” Kelly said. “I love that man more than I did at the start… But there is always stuff to work on.”
She added that they did marriage counseling before and during their marriage.
Kelly went on to explain that they’ve adapted and grown together — and recalled supporting Stafford when he made his transition from Georgia to the NFL.
“I’m not saying he changed as a person,” Kelly continued. “He’s still the same guy that I’ve always known when it comes to his personality and the way he is with people and stuff like that.”
“But I will say, there was something that I had to adjust to, which was the more crazy, fun Matthew to the professional Matthew at a very young age,” she added, referring to Stafford’s transition from college football to the NFL.
Kelly gushed over the Super Bowl champ in a message posted to her Instagram on Friday.
“10 years in and my heart feels so full,” she wrote. “Couldn’t imagine loving you more, but I know over the next decade, that’s exactly what’s gonna happen. Happy anniversary John Matthew Stafford ❤️.”
Instagram/Kelly Stafford
Kelly, who shared the post to her Instagram Story, added that the couple was spending their anniversary at their daughters’ gymnastics competition.
“Lucky us, 10 years fell on our girls gymnastics competition. Convention centers are so romantic. Can’t wait to celebrate today,” she wrote, adding a red heart emoji and a crying-laughing emoji.
In February, the Rams and Stafford agreed to a restructured contract.
Stafford’s fourth season with the Rams ended in a 28-22 loss to the Eagles in the divisional round on Jan. 19 in Philadelphia.
He finished the season throwing 20 touchdowns against eight interceptions and a solid 93.7 passer rating.