Kelly Stafford is choosing to focus on her mental health.
The mom of four, who is married to Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, is stepping away from her podcast, The Morning After, so she can better provide for herself, her husband, and her children. For Thursday's episode (Oct. 2), Kelly was joined by her executive producer, Kyra Stevens, instead of her co-host Hank Winchester.
“I wanted to let you guys know that I will be taking a break for about a month,” Kelly said. “I’ve just been kind of struggling (with) where I see this thing going. Obviously, I have four daughters and a husband and this podcast is another one of my babies and I love it a lot, but not as much as them. It has been taking more time than I’ve wanted it too. And so, Kyra and I are going to take this month and put our heads together and kind of see where to take it from here.”
“As you guys know, I started this podcast to kind of build this community, a community that accepts failure and supports each other through it instead of judging. I feel like we can all lean on each other now,” Kelly continued. “I leaned on you guys, I hope that you leaned on this podcast, either for laughter or just to realize that not everything is perfect and it doesn’t have to be.”
The Rams have had a great season so far, with three wins and one loss, which they suffered on Sept. 21 to the Philadelphia Eagles (33-26). Kelly shared that while the NFL season goes into its fifth week — the Rams are currently playing the San Francisco 49ers tonight (Oct. 2) — she is going to decide what direction she's going to take the podcast.
“For right now, just for somewhat of my mental health and it’s also midseason, there has been changes in this podcast,” Kelly said. “I just think I need to take a step back and kind of figure out what the plan is. I’m not saying this is over. I really need a second.”
While the California teams face off tonight, Kelly revealed that her husband is not even aware about her wanting to pause the podcast. Kelly and Matthew got married in 2015, six years before he was selected by the Detroit Lions in the 2009 NFL Draft.
“My husband doesn’t even know about this. I’m sure this will come as a surprise to him as well. I need to do this for myself first and also for everyone that surrounds me. I love you guys and I’m so grateful for everything that you have given me, which is honestly support and laughter through the DMs and making me feel seen and understood as a mom that struggles.”
Kelly began the podcast with Winchester in 2021 where they discuss NFL life, family, and current events. Winchester is a reporter at the local NBC affiliate WDIV in Detroit. He has not commented on the pause of the show at this time.
