Donna Kelce Says She "Stood Still" in Marriage to Ed: "We Stayed Together for the Kids"

Donna Kelce has made a vulnerable admission about her marriage to Ed Kelce, with whom she shares athlete sons Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce .

In a conversation as part of the Glamour Women of the Year awards with fellow famous moms Tina Knowles, Mandy Teefey and Maggie Baird, the women discussed the line in the Barbie movie that goes, "We mothers stand still so our daughters can look back to see how far they’ve come."

Baird, who is mom to Billie Eilish and FINNEAS, said she agreed to an extent but that it was a "balance," and that she believes moms should also be breaking their own barriers.

"I agree. I think it is a mix of both," Donna chimed in. "I was a commercial banker for a bank in several different states. I wanted to get ahead. I worked really, really hard. I was a major breadwinner in the family. And I think it’s important for kids to see that a woman can do whatever she wants, but I did stand still too."

The mom of two then went on to explain a major way that she had to "stand still" when she was younger. "My husband and I knew that our marriage was not working, but we stayed together for the kids," she said. "Ours was a very friendly relationship. So, we could do that and make sure that their life was normal as possible. But in that one respect, I did stand still for several years until I could move on on my own."

Donna was married to Ed for 25 years starting in the late 1970s, with Jason being born in 1987 and Travis in 1989 (like a certain Taylor Swift, if you recall). They divorced after both their children had graduated from college.

In the 2023 documentary Kelce , Donna and Ed had previously admitted that they "stayed together for the kids," as reported by Us Weekly .

These days, the ex-spouses continue to be friendly and to come together to support their high-achieving sons.