'I Was a Major Breadwinner in the Family': Donna Kelce Once Talked About Raising Travis and Jason Through a Failing Marriage

For all the attention that Travis and Jason Kelce have received over the years, many fans don’t realize that their parents, Ed and Donna Kelce, are no longer together.

The 72-year-old Donna Kelce has often spoken candidly about her marriage and the years she spent raising two future NFL stars. But during that time, she knew her relationship with her husband was crumbling.

What made this a herculean task was the fact that, amid the turmoil, she had to juggle work, motherhood, and carry much of the household’s financial weight.

“I was a commercial banker, and I wanted to get ahead, and so I worked really, really hard. I was a major breadwinner in the family,” Donna recalled last year on Glamour, adding that she wanted her children to see firsthand that “a woman can do whatever she wants.”

But while her career offered strength and independence, Mama Kelce admitted she and Ed realized early that their partnership wasn’t working. They still made the difficult decision to stay together until Travis and Jason were grown, prioritizing stability above all else.

“My husband and I knew that our marriage was not working, but we stayed together for the kids… to make sure that their life was as normal as possible. But in that one respect, I did stand still for several years until I could move on on my own,” she said.

That choice, as she later revealed on The Martha Stewart Podcast, was deliberate: “We decided that we would be married throughout the entire time that the kids were in the house, and that’s the way it worked out.” The couple ultimately divorced after their sons had graduated from college, ending a marriage of roughly 25 years.

Even amid those personal sacrifices, Donna told Glamour once that she liked drawing inspiration from outside figures to shape her parenting approach. When asked who embodied the kind of mother she aspired to be, she immediately referenced a fictional role model:

“My favorite was Clair Huxtable [from The Cosby Show]. She was a lawyer, she was a mother of five and she was a wife and she could do it all… that’s who I wanna be like,” Donna said, because for her, the character conveyed a simple message: “If you work hard, you have a good work ethic, you can achieve anything you want.”

In retrospect, Donna’s mix of determination, sacrifice, and steady guidance paid off in ways few could have predicted. Today, both Jason and Travis not only boast Hall of Fame-worthy resumes but also have credited their mother for instilling the values that carried them through their careers.

But most importantly, Donna’s ability to keep moving forward for her children ensured that the Kelce brothers’ foundation never wavered, even during the most difficult years.

Safe to say, Mama Kelce is a true inspiration!