Matthew Stafford is a Florida native. But in the NFL, you play for the team that gives you a shot. That took him to Detroit, where he stayed 12 years, and then to Los Angeles, where he will now play his 18th season and sixth for the Rams. However, his wife, Kelly, has also had to make a big sacrifice.
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“I miss home. I miss my family,” Kelly wrote in the caption of her Instagram post featuring visuals of her family members. “18 years away and it hasn’t gotten any easier. Anyone else move away and feel this way?”
“I get it 🥹❤️,” sportscaster Charissa Thompson seemed to connect with Stafford’s feelings.
Kelly Hall grew up along with her brother, sister, and parents. She attended the University of Georgia, where she was a cheerleader and met Stafford. The duo continued their romance after graduating in 2009. Later in 2014, the quarterback brought out the ring and Kelly said “yes.” They tied the knot in 2015.
A lot has happened in Kelly’s life since then. She’s now a mother to four daughters, and makes it a point to haul all of them to gamedays and support their father for some quality family time. It is tough to make these moments married to an NFL player, but Kelly makes the most of it. She also fought a brain tumor and used to run a popular podcast called The Morning After. It’s been a wild few years for Kelly.
However, there are times when she is reminded that she is no longer the young girl who shared a home with her siblings.
“I love you, I miss you a lot,” Kelly told her brother, Chad Hall, on The Morning After podcast. “It really does suck being this far, and you are very busy. … I don’t know, with all these kids, like, life gets busy, and it’s tough to reconnect.”
“We have a couple weeks off every summer and there’s nothing else that I prioritize more is trying to make sure we see everyone,” Chad, a former NFL player and now the wide receiver coach for the New York Giants, said. “Luckily we get to see Jenny (their sister) a little more because she’s closer.
“But just seeing you and your fam and your girls, it’s so fun seeing all our kids together.”
Kelly did share pictures of the times she got to spend with her family back home. She got to connect with all the other kids now part of the family, and the older members. Even though she shares a happy home and life with Matthew Stafford, there will always be that one place that her heart calls for. And there are times when it gets tough.
“Looking back at Detroit, I would say I was happy because I loved him, but I was also unhappy because I didn’t really know where I fit in or who I was,” Kelly said during the July 1 episode of The Cutting Edge podcast. “The move to L.A. really helped me realize I can be what I want to be, too.”
Kelly also said on The Morning After that the time between Stafford’s move from Detroit to Los Angeles was very stressful.
“[Matthew’s] very good at compartmentalizing everything,” she said. “Me on the other hand, when he says, ‘You think about the uncertainty all the time, you go crazy;’ I went f—ing mad. I went so crazy.
“But I will say, Sean [McVay] has always been such a good communicator in every aspect.”
This is going to be an important year for the Stafford household. The Rams quarterback is perhaps playing his last-ever NFL season, and he would want the support of his entire family. Somewhere down the line, perhaps Kelly’s family could also come cheer for the quarterback.