Spending time on the sidelines cheering for the University of Georgia wasn’t always a winning moment for Kelly Stafford.

The spouse of NFL star Matthew Stafford and host of The Morning After podcast recently spoke out about the less glamorous parts of being an NCAA cheerleader. On the June 19 episode, she shared that her struggles with body image began during that period, as her coach made her feel as though she weighed “500 pounds.”

That lack of validation from her coach left a lasting impact on her self-image. “Looking back at those pictures — not that I think I looked large — but the poor guy lifting me really looked like he was struggling,” she recalled. “His veins are popping, his face is red, he’s holding his breath. I was like, ‘Damn.’”

Her complicated relationship with food followed her into her early days in Los Angeles after her husband joined the Rams. “I probably weighed two pounds,” she said. “That first year in L.A., with all the pressure he was under, I couldn’t eat. He was fine, but I couldn’t eat or sleep. Honestly, it was really tough. And you could see it.”

Now 36, the podcast host said she’s repaired her connection with food, adding that Matthew actually prefers her with “a little bit of thickness.”

Their romance began in Athens, GA — a classic quarterback-meets-cheerleader scenario. In June 2024, their story resurfaced online after Kelly revealed she once dated backup quarterback Joe Cox just to make Matthew jealous.

“It wasn’t a fairy-tale beginning,” she confessed on the Off the Vine podcast. “I loved him and hated him. I went out with the backup just to get under his skin — and it worked. He was the rebellious one. Matthew was so kind and proper, a true Southern gentleman. The other guy was the exact opposite, and it got to him.”

The plan paid off, as Kelly and Matthew tied the knot in 2015 and are now parents to four girls: twins Sawyer and Chandler, 8, Hunter, 6, and Tyler, 4.