Fielding criticism as an NFL wife can be 'tough,' Kelly Stafford says. Here's how she takes care of herself.
It's all about good sleep, sweets and alone time.
Los Angeles Rams quarterback (and former Super Bowl champ) Matthew Stafford has a fierce supporter in his wife, Kelly. On her Morning After podcast and social channels, she gets candid about life as an NFL wife and mom to four girls with honesty and humor, allowing fans to see her as a person they can relate to. But life in the spotlight isn't always easy.
“I feel like people think for some interesting reason that we’re not real people, that we don’t have these feelings and that their words to us don’t matter and we can just, like, let it go,” Stafford tells Yahoo Life. “Turns out that, unfortunately, what people say matters, and this thick skin that they tell us that we need to develop … it’s a lot [easier] said than done.”
Negative social media comments can be difficult to digest.
“Matthew will have a hard game, and then I go to my social media and it’s tough to read because not only are they commenting about him, they’re commenting about me and my daughters,” she says. “[There] are incredible benefits to it, and we get to watch our men play a sport that they love for a living, which is rare and awesome, but there’s a lot that comes with it that you might not expect.”
Those pressures are all the more reason to prioritize her well-being, from getting enough sleep amid the chaos of kids and game schedules to fitting in workouts and some much-needed "me" time. Here's how Stafford gets it done.
Quality sleep is king
A good night’s sleep gives Stafford the patience she needs with her children and the ability to be present with them before they go to school.
“Not saying that my kids are bad or anything, but there’s four of them,” she says. “I just need to be calm in the morning, and when you get a good night’s sleep, everything just tends to be a little easier. … If you’re in a bad mood because you didn’t sleep well, that’s what they carry throughout the day.”
Stafford and husband Matthew have teamed up with Sleep Number to share how the brand's smart bed allows them to each sleep the way they prefer. Kelly likes a warmer, softer mattress setting, while Matthew needs a cooler, firmer one. Stafford says it has settled a lot of bedroom disputes.
“[Before the smart bed] we would fight back and forth," she says. "I would be like, '[the mattress is] too hard, I can’t sleep on it,' and [then] we would get a soft bed and he would wake up and he would be aching."
When she travels to watch Matthew play away games, she misses her bed. “[You] go on to watch your husband to play in a game for two nights and you realize you don’t sleep at all and you wake up and you’re feeling kind of a little stiff and everything,” says Stafford.
30 minutes of alone time means everything
Despite her busy schedule, Stafford tries to carve out 30 minutes every day for alone time.
“I just think making sure you make time for yourself, especially for your mental health, is huge," she says. "That’s something I wasn’t doing at the beginning when my kids were younger; it felt like I was always running around and kind of doing everything for them or Matthew or somebody else."
This became clear to her in 2019 when she was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma, a noncancerous brain tumor, that required surgery.
“[When] I had a brain surgery, that slowed me down to where I was like, 'I’ve got to make time for myself, I’ve got to put myself first,” she says. “[Whatever] it is that you love to do, that makes you happy, make sure you carve out 30 minutes a day to do that thing.”
In Stafford's case, that means meditation, though she also enjoys sneaking in some exercise. “When I work out, I feel better, whether that’s stretching in the living room while the girls are watching a movie or something [else],” she says.
Playing tennis is her go-to for intense exercise. “I’ve fallen in love with tennis in the last two years," the former college cheerleader says. "I love to compete. When you start getting older, it turns out I can’t play basketball against 21-year-olds — nor could I really ever, but I tried — and so tennis has become a love of mine where I can compete and exercise and also just make friends."
When she can’t get to the tennis courts, she practices Pilates at home.
Eat healthy — but make room for sweets
Fruit is Stafford's go-to snack, but occasionally she'll reach for chips. The one thing she can't resist? Sweets. Before bed, she might eat a piece of cake or some Sour Patch Kids.
“[I] have a massive sweet tooth," Stafford admits. "It’s part of the reason I always want to remain active, because … I don’t want to give it up."
On game day, however, nerves might keep her from eating. “I’m also born and raised on football. You go to a game, you have a beer and a hot dog — but to be honest, when I show up, I’m there to watch and food kind of unsettles me,” she says.
However, for special occasions like Super Bowl parties, she's all in on the goodies. “[I] love Super Bowl Sunday because I do feel like it revolves around food and it’s not necessarily the healthiest food and it’s a fun day to let loose,” Stafford says.
Her plate will be filled with chicken wings, a gameday favorite for many Americans; the National Chicken Council estimates that 1.47 billion chicken wings will be consumed on Feb. 9.
Stafford will also make room for dips. “[I] love a buffalo chicken dip with some Fritos,” she says.
