Travis Kelce’s Parents Love Taylor Swift! Inside His Mom Donna and Dad Ed’s Relationship With ?Her
Football fans have long been aware of the famous Kelce family, with sons Travis and Jason playing for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, respectively. However, the Kelces have reached a new level of popularity amid Travis’ romance with Taylor Swift. The pop star was spotted with Travis’ mom, Donna Kelce, at a Chiefs game and later met his dad, Ed Kelce, too. So, who are Travis’ parents and what are their relationships with Taylor like?
Who Is Travis Kelce’s Dad Ed Kelce?
Before his retirement, Ed worked as a sales rep in the steel and metal industry. The Cleveland, Ohio, native comes from a military family and tried himself to join the service, but a knee injury caused his application for the Army to be rejected. Ed then enlisted for the Coast Guard but had to quit during boot camp due to a Crohn’s disease diagnosis.
Travis and Jason’s father was heavily involved in their athletic lives growing up. However, despite both brothers going on to play for the NFL, they actually started out playing tee ball and baseball, with Ed as their coach.
"The first thing you did was you were a toddler on the living room floor and you rolled a ball to me, you rolled it back and we played that way and that’s where it all started,” Ed once told his sons on their “New Heights” podcast.
Who Is Travis Kelce’s Mom Donna Kelce?
Donna, who is also retired, used to work in finance. With encouragement from her mother, Mary, Donna — affectionately known by fans as Mama Kelce — graduated from Ohio University with a bachelor’s degree in communications in 1981, according to her LinkedIn. She then received her master’s in business administration from Baldwin Wallace University in 1983.
Donna started her career as an equity writer for Bank One and worked her way up to vice president. Before retiring in 2021, she worked as the senior vice president at Truist for 11 years.
Donna is also Travis and Jason’s biggest fan when it comes to their football careers. She once traveled 1,300 miles in the same day to see her sons play in games on opposite sides of the country! Additionally, when Travis and Jason became the first siblings to face off against each other in a Super Bowl in 2023, she wore a split Eagles and Chiefs jersey to support both of her boys.
Are Travis Kelce’s Parents Still Married?
Donna and Ed met at a bar that Donna stopped at on her way to meet another man for a date. She and Ed started talking and hit it off, so Donna skipped her date, and the rest is history. They tied the knot in the late ‘70s.
Unfortunately, Donna and Ed’s marriage didn’t last. They got a divorce after nearly 25 years, splitting up after Jason and Travis graduated college. In Kelce, the September 2023 documentary about Jason, Donna and Ed revealed that they tried to stay together while raising their kids. However, Jason and Travis did notice tension between their parents.
“I knew my mom and dad’s situation was different than other parents,” Travis said in the doc. “I would go have sleepovers at other houses and the other parents are staying in the room, and my parents didn’t stay in the same room. I started making those connections when I was in middle school, and I realized that they were probably gonna split. But they stayed together for me and Jason’s benefit I believe.”
Even though they aren’t together anymore, Donna and Ed have remained friends. Mama Kelce reassured her sons on “New Heights” that she doesn’t “hate” Ed.
“We’re friends to this day. We get along great,” she said. “We were like a tag team with you two. We got to do all sorts of fun things. When one of you had to go out of town, the other person would help with the other child. It was perfect.”
What Do Travis Kelce’s Parents Think of Taylor Swift?
After weeks of dating rumors, Taylor made her first appearance at a Chiefs game to support Travis on September 24, 2023. She sat in the box with Donna and cheered Travis on. The NFL star spoke about the experience on “New Heights,” revealing that his family had “nothing but great things to say” about Taylor.
“She looked amazing, and everybody was talking about her in great light,” Travis added. “To see the slow-motion chest bumps, to see the high fives with Mom, to see how, you know, Chiefs kingdom was all excited that she was there — that s–t was absolutely hysterical, and it was definitely a game I’ll remember, that’s for damn sure.”
Since then, Taylor and Donna have been seen cheering Travis on together on several occasions. The duo has gotten so close, Donna even surprised Taylor with a custom '87' ring — Travis' jersey number — which she wore to watch him secure his spot in Super Bowl LVIII on January 28, 2024.
“We’re all rooting for the same person,” the proud mama told People about sharing the moment with his son’s girlfriend after the big game. “It was a really good time.”
Donna continued to show her support for her son's relationship after the AFC Championship game, "liking" a photo posted of Travis and Taylor celebrating ?his win with a warm embrace.
In fact, Taylor has blended in "seamlessly" with Travis' family, a source told Us Weekly on January 22, 2024 — a development that reportedly "really means everything to him."
Mama Kelce even made her approval of Taylor Facebook official, changing her profile's cover image to a group photo featuring Travis and the "Lover" singer on February 1, 2024.
Taylor has only continued to prove her dedication to Donna’s son as the pop star is reportedly heading straight from a show in Tokyo to make it in time for Travis’ appearance at Super Bowl LVIII on February 11, 2024.
How Has Mama Kelce Shown Her Support For Taylor Swift?
And while Donna is her son's biggest fan, she is also quick to show support for Travis' girlfriend's career. Donna was seen watching Taylor's Eras tour concert movie at a Florida theater in November 2023.
Also in November 2023, Donna, speaking to Access Hollywood about Travis and Taylor's viral kiss at Taylor's Eras tour stop in Argentina, called their relationship "as good as it gets."
"They’re letting the whole world see what’s happening, so I can’t say anything except for I’m just glad that he’s happy,” she told the outlet during her November 15, 2023, interview.
Travis' dad, Ed, has also expressed his adoration for Travis' superstar girlfriend, telling People in October 2023 that Taylor was a “very sweet, very charming, down-to-earth young woman."
Ed noted that Taylor had missed the "diva memo," citing Taylor's habit of cleaning up other people's trash inside the family's private box at Chiefs games as an example of her "very special" demeanor.
