Travis and Jason Kelce's Dad Knew the Brothers Were "Outrageously Special" at a Young Age
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Donna Kelce, mother of NFL stars Jason and Travis, has become a celebrity in her own right. After taking center stage during Super Bowl LVII, she has appeared in commercials with her sons, spent time with Taylor Swift at Travis's games, and even hobnobbed with Jake from State Farm. With their mom in the spotlight, fans are wondering who their dad is. Ed Kelce keeps a lower profile than the mother of his children, leaving fans to wonder, where is Ed Kelce now? Here's what we know about the proud patriarch of the Kelce family.
What does Ed Kelce do for work?
Before the Super Bowl, Ed appeared on an episode of Jason and Travis's New Heights podcast presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment. He opened up about his life and his relationship with his sons. Ed explained that he's the oldest of two children and grew up in a blue collar area of Cleveland, Ohio. Ed attended college but didn't graduate. He enlisted in the Coast Guard but suffered from Crohn's disease and was unable to serve. He then spent his career working in sales in the steel industry.
Ed explained that work at the steel mill slowed down over the holidays, so he took a seasonal job at a candy store to make extra money to help pay for his sons' Christmas gifts. Travis asked him why he did that, and Ed explained, "I had two kids that I was crazy about."
Ed revealed on the podcast that he also has an interest in writing. He's working on a book about his sons called Somebody to Grow Up With. He said, "I've got to get off my butt and finish it one day."
He's a supportive dad.
As the first father two have two sons in the Super Bowl, he has a lot to be proud of. Ed was an athlete himself. He played baseball and football but injured his knee in the senior year of high school. After high school, he took up rugby. In the podcast interview, it's clear that the no-nonsense father is very proud of his sons, but he wasn't easy on them. Travis said that even when he had a good game, Ed always told him, "You could do better." He coached Jason and Travis growing up and fostered their love of baseball, hockey, basketball, and football.
Ed said, "My job is to help you find a passion, and then feed that passion...Whatever you want to do, I'm there... It was very apparent to me when you were high school that there was something outrageously special about both of you. Maybe even middle school."
He is divorced from Travis and Jason's mom, Donna.
Ed and Donna were married for 25 years before getting divorced. Donna told Travis and Jason on their podcast that she was on a date with another man when Ed approached her. Donna said, "He came up to me with the illustrious, I guess, pickup line, 'Did you say Joe?' And I said, 'No.' And he said, 'Oh I thought you said Joe.' I said, 'Is your name Joe?' And he went, 'No, it's Ed.'"
The family talked about their marriage on the Kelce documentary. Jason and Travis played sports, sometimes two sports in one season, and their parents had to "scrimp and save" to make things work. Ed said, "Sacrifice is a terrible world, but it's the easiest. Your priorities are very different."
Travis said, "There was no lack of my parents being supportive, that's for sure." But he knew at a young age that his parents didn't have a happy marriage. He said, "I knew my mom and dad's situation was different than other parents. I would go and have sleepovers at other houses...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 going to split, but they stayed together for me and Jason's benefits, I believe."
His dad explained, "If we had split, as we probably both would have preferred, that would've been a nightmare with the logistics of getting kids where they need to be and providing all the support."
He's the grandpa to Jason's three daughters
Jason and Kylie have three daughters, Wyatt Elizabeth, Elliotte Ray, and Bennett Llewellyn. Ed lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia, not far from Jason and Kylie and his granddaughters. On a recent podcast episode, Jason explained that Travis gave Wyatt a polaroid camera for her birthday, and "Papa Kelce" helped her set it up at the birthday party.
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