When you talk about Cleveland, Ohio, you have to talk about the Kelce family. The Kelce brothers, Jason and Travis, have made their state proud by having 16 pro-bowl appearances and 4 Super Bowl titles amongst themselves. Even some NFL teams don’t have that set of accolades. To be able to raise so much brawn and brains in a single household should be impossible. But their parents, Donna and Ed Kelce, have proved otherwise.

Who knew the chance encounter between Donna and Ed and their eventual love story would give birth to one of the greatest sibling duos in NFL history? The Kelce parents met at a bar in the 1960s when Donna had to go on another date (coughs), but Ed’s charisma wasn’t something she could resist. Eventually, the two fell in love, married, and welcomed their sons in the late 1980s. Let’s take a dip into the life of the (former) power couple.

The Kelce Super-parents: Donna and Ed

The super parents come from very different backgrounds and professions, but maybe that is what worked out for them. In the words of Donna Kelce on the night they met, “ It was meant to be. It’s just the way it was.” The Kansas City Chiefs‘s TE’s mom has a background in finance and retired back in 2021 according to her LinkedIn profile. In a guest appearance on her son’s podcast, New Heights, she mentioned that she was currently working as an NFL ambassador. She has also appeared in an ad alongside her sons.

Coming to the father of the household, Ed Kelce. According to the Los Angeles Times, the super dad worked as a sales rep who sold products to steel manufacturers. His initial dream was to join the military because he grew up in a military family in Cleveland. But a knee injury he suffered while playing football at college caught up to him and he couldn’t join the military. He also tried for the post of a coastguard, but his Crohn’s disease didn’t allow him to do that as well.

Momma Kelce started a tradition in her family by being the first college graduate and Papa Kelce broke one by being unable to join the army. But throughout the process, both faced hardships that helped them nurture the values that would be passed onto the eventual Super Bowl champs. They have been referred to as super parents because they always show up when it matters. They regularly attend their games following a ‘Divide-and-Conquer policy.’

But their journey wasn’t without ups and downs. They barely held onto the threads of their relationship so their children could have a bright future.

Travis Kelce’s parents delayed their separation to raise their kids

Successful parenting isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. You have to tackle a vast set of problems before actually making it work. The couple were apparently divorced for 10 years but held together just for the well-being of their children. In a podcast with Martha Stewart, the NFL ambassador said, “We worked together as a team.” 

In their documentary Kelce, Travis mentioned how he could make out that there were some problems in his parents’ relationship.” He noted that his parents used to sleep in different rooms when they were growing up, and he found it very odd. The former sales guy for steel manufacturer said this in a podcast,” If we had split as we probably both would have preferred, that would have been a nightmare with the logistics, getting kids where they had to be and providing all the support.” Now that their sons have made it, it was definitely all worth it.

The couple has embarked on different paths now but doesn’t have any bad blood. Donna, talking about her current relationship with Ed, said, “I don’t hate him. We’re friends to this day. We get along great. ” 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.”

I guess we can say that the journey doesn’t have to be perfect for the result to be perfect. If you don’t agree with me. Look at the Kelce family. Indeed, Momma and Papa Kelce are the real champions.