Travis Kelce gave a surprising gift to his Parents celebrating their 25 years Anniversary In Love

Travis Kelce gave a surprising gift to his Parents celebrating their 25 years Anniversary In Love
 

Ed and Donna Kelce are the proud parents of not one, but two Super Bowl 2023 athletes.

After a combined 22 years of playing in the NFL, brothers Jason and Travis Kelce reached a football milestone no other brotherly duo has been able to accomplish: they were the first brothers to ever square off at the Super Bowl — meaning their parents, Ed and Donna, not only attended the big game, but they were also rooting for both teams.

 

Super Bowl LVII saw the Philadelphia Eagles face off against the Kansas City Chiefs. Jason’s longtime career as a center for the Eagles began back in 2011, meanwhile, Travis, a record-breaking tight end, has been playing for the Chiefs since 2013.

Of course, football fans followed Ed and Donna’s leadup to the 2023 Super Bowl with a diligent eye. Donna, for her part, made sure to show her sons equal support when dressing for the big game. For her “#gamedayfit,” the proud mom wore a shirt that split into Eagles and Chiefs colors on each side and a clear bag with each of her sons’ jersey numbers. She even donned sneakers corresponding to each team — Chiefs on her left, Eagles on her right.

Ultimately, the Chiefs ended up defeating the Eagles 38-35, making Travis the victorious brother of the aptly nicknamed “Kelce Bowl.” While Travis celebrated on the winner’s platform alongside Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes, Jason was seen getting emotional after reuniting with his mom on the field after the loss.

From their rom-com-worthy meet-cute to navigating life with two sons in the NFL, here’s everything to know about Ed and Donna Kelce.

Donna’s stepmother was her biggest champion

At the time of her mother’s death, Donna and her family — including her father and younger brother Don — had just moved out of Cleveland and to the suburbs. Looking back on her childhood, Donna credits her stepmother Mary — also known as Grandma Murr by the Kelce brothers — for picking up the pieces and getting her and Don back on track. When their mother died, the sister-brother duo were 12 and 10 years old, respectively.

“By the grace of God, if we didn’t have [Mary] I don’t think we would have made it,” Donna said during an appearance on her sons’ joint podcast, New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce.

While Donna’s father was against women playing sports, her stepmother was all in. During her high school years, Donna secretly — but with her stepmother’s support and guidance – competed at the Junior Olympics in track and field and won.

“She’s just a lovely lady,” Donna told her sons of Grandma Murr, who died earlier this year. “I feel so fortunate that I was raised by her.”

With her stepmother’s continued support, Donna became the first in her family to graduate college. After earning her degree from Ohio University, she pursued a 30-year career in banking. She worked for Mastercard before settling down with a local bank in Cleveland, where she specialized in commercial real estate finances.

Ed’s family has a big military background

Ed also grew up in Cleveland and, like his sons, was immediately attracted to the sport of football in high school. He gave college a try; however, coming from a family with a large military presence, Ed felt called to serve his country. “Everybody in my family prior to me was in the service,” Ed told his sons on New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce. “We’re also talking about family [that] lived through World War II, so that’s what everybody did because that was the background.”

Unfortunately, the Army rejected his application due to a pre-existing knee injury. Ed did, however, go on to enlist for the Coast Guard. Albeit, his dreams were cut short during boot camp when he learned he had Crohn’s disease. Ed pivoted and went on to have a very successful career in the steel industry, occasionally bringing his sons to work with them so they could get an understanding of what work in a mill was like.

“I’d take them there — hard hat, safety glasses, boots, the whole nine yards,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “I’d tell them, `You can have a job like your mother’s, or you can have a job like mine.’ ”

Donna first met Ed while on her way to another date

For Donna and Ed, it was love at first sight. While sharing their love story on New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, it was revealed that Ed actually stole his future bride from another guy who Donna originally agreed to go on a date with later that same night. On her way there, Donna stopped by a bar named Fagan’s in Old Cleveland Flats, where Ed also happened to swing by for an after-work drink. The two got to talking and Donna skipped her date!

“I was supposed to go out with a guy that night. We were supposed to go to a play, and I never made it. Your dad and I talked forever,” Donna told her sons, adding jokingly, “It was a good play, too! I really wanted to see it.”

For his part, Ed is still shocked he won over Donna as he was covered in dirt from head to toe after working at the steel lab all day. “I’m in coveralls that are covered in cement,” Ed continued the story. “We started talking and she gave me a ride home. She came in and I told her ‘hold on, let me change.’ ”

Not wanting the night to end, Ed recalled taking a quick shower and taking Donna to another nearby bar. “It was meant to be. It’s just the way it was,” Donna quipped.

They were married for nearly 25 years

Donna and Ed tied the knot in the late ’70s, about five years before welcoming their older son Jason. Less than two years later, they became a family of four with the addition of Travis. Together, they raised their family in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and sent their sons to the University of Cincinnati, where they both played college football.

After roughly 25 years of marriage, the pair went their separate ways following both their sons’ college graduations. While the divorce presented a hardship for the Kelce family, Donna looks back on her marriage to Ed fondly. On New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, Donna assured both Jason and Travis that she has no ill will toward their father and considers him a very important person in her life.

“I don’t hate him. We’re friends to this day. We get along great,” Donna said on the podcast. “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.”

However, as Donna explained, “sometimes people move apart.” When asked by her sons if she regrets marrying Ed, Donna responded, “No, never, because I got you two.”

In the 2023 documentary, Kelce, Donna and Ed talked about choosing to stay together for as long as they did for the benefit of their boys.

“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,” Ed explains in the film.

“Just trying to keep it all together when you’re being a parent,” Donna adds. “It’s tough.”

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