A decade into marriage, Kelly and Matthew Stafford seem like the picture of stability. Four kids, countless game days, and an NFL career that’s taken them from Detroit to Los Angeles. But those are just the cover stories. Something that is for the public to see. However, when you are together for 16 years, it’s by time and circumstance that you keep a lot between yourselves.

Kelly and Matthew did that. But after giving birth to four beautiful daughters, Kelly thought she couldn’t be the only one with her problems. And she was right. So, back in March, she revealed her problems with infertility and IVF, the first serious challenges she and Matthew faced as a couple. “Nothing really changed in our lives [when we first got married],” she recalled.

“The first big thing thrown our way was [dealing with] IVF and infertility.” Kelly says those difficult moments became a foundation, teaching them how to talk, support each other, and hold it together when nothing felt easy. And that’s what she revisited and opened about during National Infertility Awareness Week 2025.

Now, years removed from that chapter, obviously, Kelly still feels a connection to the infertility community. “Even though it’s been years since our own experience with infertility, it’s a community you belong to forever,” she wrote the caption for the post she shared alongside a photo of her and Matthew at a Chosen Fertility event in California.

Then, on April 26, Kelly joined their “1 in 6” movement with an IG story re-share. For all of you who are wondering: it’s an initiative raising awareness around the staggering number of people affected by infertility.

She’s not just showing up. She’s lending her voice to a campaign that’s trying to change the conversation. With nearly half a million followers, Kelly knows the value of her PSA. What’s the best part is the response she gets for campaigning… People feel seen. Some shared their own fertility journeys; others simply thanked her for “talking about what no one else does.” Well, that’s Kelly for you. And she’s not leaving the Mamas of the world behind, no matter the help they need.

Kelly Stafford’s words of wisdom

Kelly Stafford’s approach to parenting doesn’t come from a playbook—it comes from lived experience. She and Matthew may live comfortably now, but she’s making sure their four daughters grow up with perspective.

“It’s important that kids know how blessed they are,” she said on The Morning After. But explaining it? That’s the hard part. “Sometimes you have to show them.” So she does. When they sponsor families at Christmas, the kids are involved from start to finish. Picking out gifts. Delivering them. Seeing, firsthand, that not every child has what they have.

“I want them to be aware that people struggle in this world for the littlest things,” Kelly said. There’s no lecture involved. Just action. She believes in letting the moments speak for themselves. She also brings them along when there’s a chance to give back—anywhere, anytime. “Whenever we have an opportunity to give back and it is something that we can take the kids to, we do,” she said. Kelly knows they won’t understand it all now, but these are the early lessons—ones that stick more than words ever could.

And while she’s serious about raising empathetic kids, Kelly’s also quick to admit her own slip-ups. Like cursing in front of them during a trip with friends—four times, by her count. Her solution? A dollar in a swear jar for every misstep. Because kids learn what they see. If they see that such a slip costs you a sweet little buck from your own pocket, why would they wanna lose it?

So even when she’s not at her best, the accountability is visible, too. She’s not trying to be perfect. She’s trying to be present. Sometimes the little things count, and in the Staffords’ case, it is being present.