These days, Donna Kelce is primarily known for one of two things — depending on who you ask. To NFL fans, she is the proud mother of Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce — the two brothers who famously faced off against each other in the 2023 Super Bowl.
Meanwhile, to Swifties, she is Taylor Swift’s potential future mother-in-law. After all, Travis and Swift are something of an item — and Donna seems to approve. Speaking to People about the matter, an insider close to the Kelces stated, “Donna likes Taylor and thinks she’s very sweet and down to earth.” That being said, in an interview on the podcast, “Got It From My Momma,” the proud mother of two revealed that she was shocked by how much press coverage Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift have received since they started seeing each other. “I thought it would be over at that point, but it seems to just continue, and every week just seems to trump the week before … So it’s really kind of wild, a wild ride” (via People).
Although watching this relationship has been a whole new experience for Donna Kelce, the famous NFL mom is no stranger to romance. Back in the day, she and her now ex-husband, Ed Kelce, had their own love story — filled with moments of joy and also self-sacrifice.
Back in the 1970s, before Taylor Swift was even born, Ed and Donna Kelce embarked on a surprising whirlwind romance. At the time, Ed was working in the steel industry and Donna worked at a bank. Desperate to wind down after a long work day, the couple-to-be both found themselves grabbing drinks at Fagan’s bar. Before long, the two ran into each other. Recalling this moment in Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce’s podcast, “New Heights,” Donna said, “He came up to me with the illustrious, I guess, pickup line, ‘Did you say Joe?’ And I said, ‘No.’ And he said, ‘Oh I thought you said Joe.’ I said, ‘Is your name Joe?’ And he went, ‘No, it’s Ed.'”
On the same podcast, Ed admitted that he didn’t remember that initial run-in, but he sure seemed to remember what he was wearing. “You got to realize, I’m coming there out of a shop that I worked at … where I made ceramic fire pieces for the steel industry … I’m in coveralls that are covered with cement and stuff.” Knowing that this outfit was not exactly ideal for a first date, Ed decided to go home and change. “We started talking and … I didn’t have a car, and I needed a ride home … She gave me a ride home … [I] took a quick shower and cleaned up, and we went out to a bar.”
These days, Donna Kelce is primarily known for one of two things — depending on who you ask. To NFL fans, she is the proud mother of Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce — the two brothers who famously faced off against each other in the 2023 Super Bowl. Meanwhile, to Swifties, she is Taylor Swift’s potential future mother-in-law. After all, Travis and Swift are something of an item — and Donna seems to approve.
Speaking to People about the matter, an insider close to the Kelces stated, “Donna likes Taylor and thinks she’s very sweet and down to earth.” That being said, in an interview on the podcast, “Got It From My Momma,” the proud mother of two revealed that she was shocked by how much press coverage Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift have received since they started seeing each other. “I thought it would be over at that point, but it seems to just continue, and every week just seems to trump the week before … So it’s really kind of wild, a wild ride” (via People).
Although watching this relationship has been a whole new experience for Donna Kelce, the famous NFL mom is no stranger to romance. Back in the day, she and her now ex-husband, Ed Kelce, had their own love story — filled with moments of joy and also self-sacrifice.
Ed and Donna Kelce met at a bar in the 1970s
Back in the 1970s, before Taylor Swift was even born, Ed and Donna Kelce embarked on a surprising whirlwind romance. At the time, Ed was working in the steel industry and Donna worked at a bank. Desperate to wind down after a long work day, the couple-to-be both found themselves grabbing drinks at Fagan’s bar. Before long, the two ran into each other. Recalling this moment in Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce’s podcast, “New Heights,” Donna said, “He came up to me with the illustrious, I guess, pickup line, ‘Did you say Joe?’ And I said, ‘No.’ And he said, ‘Oh I thought you said Joe.’ I said, ‘Is your name Joe?’ And he went, ‘No, it’s Ed.'”
On the same podcast, Ed admitted that he didn’t remember that initial run-in, but he sure seemed to remember what he was wearing. “You got to realize, I’m coming there out of a shop that I worked at … where I made ceramic fire pieces for the steel industry … I’m in coveralls that are covered with cement and stuff.” Knowing that this outfit was not exactly ideal for a first date, Ed decided to go home and change. “We started talking and … I didn’t have a car, and I needed a ride home … She gave me a ride home … [I] took a quick shower and cleaned up, and we went out to a bar.”
The pair had an instant connection
In some ways, Donna Kelce’s first date with Ed Kelce might sound totally laid-back and natural. However, the truth is that the encounter was not only unplanned — it also swept Donna completely off her feet. On her sons’ podcast, “New Heights,” the NFL mom admitted, “I was supposed to go out with a [different] guy that night and we were supposed to go to a play, and I never made it.”
Apparently, Donna was so engrossed in her chat with Ed that she couldn’t bring herself to step away. “Your dad and I talked forever,” she recalled fondly. When asked by her sons if she completely stood the other guy up, Donna replied in the affirmative. Interestingly, though, she did not seem to have very many regrets about that night. “It was meant to be,” she said of her relationship with Ed. “It was meant to be just the way it was.”
