Kelly Stafford admitted she let jealousy get the best of her when Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship took over the NFL world.
During the latest installment of her podcast, “The Morning After,” Stafford addressed what she said was a cloud hanging over her due to her comments about Swift earlier this year — when she was expressed frustration about the heightened attention around the couple — and explained that she is a fan of the singer.
“I feel like there is just this… cloud hanging over with this Taylor Swift thing. Now, I have never once said I didn’t like Taylor Swift — ever,” Stafford told her co-host Hank Winchester. “But I will say I kind of got tired of the Chiefs’ coverage of it — actually the NFL’s coverage of this budding relationship last year. And, can she do anything about that? No, she can’t.
“It was a good business decision for the NFL, but I almost felt like it was outshining the games. I think that’s what bothered me. I was a little jealous of the fact that they were getting all this attention and all of a sudden the football game was the sideshow. So yeah, maybe I let jealousy get the best of me.”
Stafford and her husband, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, took their four daughters — twins Sawyer and Chandler, 7, Hunter, 6 and Tyler, 4 — to see Swift’s Eras Tour in New Orleans last weekend.
It came a months after Stafford didn’t seem thrilled about Swift and Kelce’s romance dominating the NFL space.
“I don’t know if I want to see another four months of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce coverage,” she said during a separate episode of her podcast in May.
Stafford explained that she knew attending Swift’s Eras Tour would come with backlash.
“I don’t remember exactly what I said, but I’ve always loved Taylor Swift and her music,” Stafford said. “I was a fan of hers when she was a country star because her and I are the same age. I kind of grew up listening to her music. It’s always positive.
“Going to the concert I knew there was going to be ‘backlash’ … Why was I feeling that way? And it really was, I had some jealousy issues of the fact that she all of a sudden became the main show in NFL football or their relationship. And I watch my husband work his ass off and I watch all these guys who play for the league work their asses off and all of a sudden they’re like the sideshow. So that is where that kind of came from.”
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Stafford went on to explain how she’s happy about the positive effects Swift’s NFL presence had on the league’s growth.
“But I’m so thankful for her in a lot of ways because there are so many more women, there are little girls watching with their dads and it definitely makes my girls love football more knowing that she’s adjacent to it,” Stafford said.
“Honestly, I think my girls are prouder of their dad because he’s playing the sport Taylor Swift loves… But that concert, holy s–t.”
