Scrolling through social media, it’s easy to feel a little jealous seeing couples celebrating milestones with picture-perfect smiles. But behind those polished anniversary posts? There’s often a lot more going on. Just ask Kelly and Matthew Stafford. Their 10th wedding anniversary wasn’t about flashy parties or over-the-top gifts. It was about showing up for each other—especially when things get hard. If you’ve ever wondered what really happens after ‘I do,’ their story might hit home. Because even couples who seem like they’ve got it all together still have to put in the work.
Kelly Stafford kept it 100 on her podcast The Morning After when she talked about a decade of marriage with Matthew, the Rams’ QB. “Marriage is f—— hard,” she said. “Anyone who tells you differently is f—— lying through their teeth.” No sugarcoating, just the real deal. Their love story started back in college at the University of Georgia—she was a cheerleader, and he was the star quarterback. Sounds like the song “You Belong with Me” doesn’t it? They tied the knot in 2015, but since then? Life’s thrown them some serious curveballs. We’re talking about a rough first year of marriage, going through IVF, moving cross-country when Matthew got traded to the Rams, raising four daughters, and Kelly’s 12-hour brain surgery back in 2019.
She talked about how marriage flipped everything upside down: “Before marriage, you put yourself first all the time. Now all of a sudden, you’re putting someone else first. – then there’re kids involved.” Add NFL schedules and health scares into the mix, and yeah, it gets heavy. The couple leaned on counseling, grew together (and apart), and figured things out as a team.
What makes their journey so relatable? They’re actually talking about the tough stuff. No filters. Kelly’s been open about how the early years weren’t easy—even though they’d already been living together. She also got real about losing herself in the chaos of being a wife and mom. Figuring out how to set boundaries, reclaim her identity, and still show up in her relationship? “We’ve built a remarkable marriage,” she said. “I love him even more now than I did at the beginning… but there’s always room for improvement”. Difficult—but necessary.
While Kelly and Matthew Stafford navigate their way through the struggles of marriage, it’s not all about keeping things real. Sometimes, you also need a touch of a fairy tale to set things back in order. Now, for the part that’ll hit you in the feels.
10 years in: a decade of growth, grit, and gratitude
Kelly’s sister once told her, “It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant. It could be that you go on the back porch and open a beer together and just hang out.” That advice stuck. For Kelly and Matthew, it’s been those simple, everyday moments that helped them stay grounded through the chaos of NFL life and raising four kids. Instead of a big public celebration, Matthew surprised Kelly with a ring—but it wasn’t just about jewelry.
Kelly posted a clip of her podcast on her Instagram page The Morning After. She told the story of how he noticed she rarely wore her original wedding ring anymore—she’d mostly just rock the band because it got knocked around chasing four kids. He picked up on that without her saying a word and decided to do something about it.
Kelly said on the podcast, “He got me a ring, a new ring. He noticed… and decided to get me a different ring. And kind of was like, I hope you—he got on a knee.” It happened on a regular Friday night, with the kids upstairs getting ready for a family date night. “We were just in our kitchen. He gave me the bag, and then was like, ‘Wait one sec.’ He pulled the box out, got on one knee, and said some really sweet things,” she recalled. “Honestly, 10 years. It feels special. And it feels like, man, were we just meant to be together.” Cue the music, Taylor Swift, we wanna hear “Love Story.”
And Kelly? She definitely showed up for their anniversary, too. She surprised Matthew with not one but three super thoughtful gifts: a fancy watch he wanted for a long time, a handwritten four-page letter straight from the heart, and the ultimate personalized gift—a custom book with the top 100 things they’ve said over the last 10 years. The book is full of their favorite inside jokes and little sayings that only make sense to them, each one paired with a photo of their time together. It was a decade of memories wrapped into one epic, nostalgic throwback.
“I like personal gifts,” Kelly said. “He has everything.” So instead of going big just for the sake of it, she wanted to give him something that actually meant something—something that told the story of them. Dear Kelly and Matthew Stafford – gifting skills? Nailed it! Through hard seasons, messy moments, and big changes, they’ve kept choosing each other. And sometimes, that quiet decision to stay in it and keep loving each other? That’s the most romantic move of all.
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