Travis Kelce's Mom Donna Kelce Reveals 'The Hardest Thing' She Has Ever Done

It’s been an incredible journey for Donna Kelce, the mother of NFL stars Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce.

When the two brothers made history by facing off against each other in the Super Bowl, Donna Kelce also rose to fame, winning the public's affection with her warmth and down-to-earth personality.

Her admirable qualities as a role model have earned Donna Kelce a spot as one of Glamour's 2024 Women of the Year.

Alongside Tina Knowles, Maggie Baird, and Mandy Teefey, Donna Kelce was recognized as one of the Moms on Glamour's 2024 Women of the Year list. The four women came together to discuss topics such as motherhood, stardom, ambition, and their future aspirations.

"Being a mom is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life," Donna admitted. "It’s so much easier to just go to work, but raising children, when they’re totally dependent on you and you’re trying to do the best you can with the limited resources that you have, it’s the most daunting task I’ve ever had to do."

"You don’t understand how your children relate to other children across the country," she continued. "You know what they’re doing in your particular part of the world, but until they start getting involved in tournaments or people outside of your city, then you understand that they’re different, and you just try as a parent, I think, to support your child in whatever they love to do and just revel in it really."

Now both well-known names in the NFL world, the two didn't find a passion for the sport until seventh grade.

"They didn’t start playing football until they were in the seventh grade," Donna told Glamour. "So there were many other sports like hockey, lacrosse, basketball—everything you could possibly imagine. They were always athletic, but you just don’t know until you start getting those letters from colleges and then, Okay, they may have something."

Jason Kelce has been selected to the Pro Bowl multiple times (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022) and was given the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2023. He has since retired from the NFL.

As for Travis Kelce, he has been named to the Pro Bowl multiple times (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) and played a crucial role in the Chiefs' victory in Super Bowl LIV (2020) against the San Francisco 49ers and again in Super Bowl LVII (2023) against the Philadelphia Eagles, securing his second championship. He is currently playing alongside Patrick Mahomes on the Kansas City Chiefs.

When reflecting back on raising her two sons, Donna said they were just like everyone else, though they were "very rambunctious."

"I think you just bring things up that they did when they were children to just show them that they’re like everybody else—how many broken windows there were, how many times I had a call from the neighbor," she told the outlet. "They weren’t mean children or bad children; it’s just that they were very rambunctious. I think it’s just bringing them back to their childhood—what they’re most grateful for and where they were able to have a platform to grow."

When Jason and Travis faced each other in Super Bowl LVII, Donna became a focal point of media attention as the mother of two players on opposing teams. Her warm, down-to-earth personality has resonated with the public and captured the hearts of fans and sports commentators alike.

While being a role model is a wonderful honor, Donna says she is still navigating the fame and adjusting to her new life.

"We can’t go anywhere, really," she admitted. "If we want to do something, you have to rent out the restaurant or the movie theater or whatever. I do get to sneak away every once in a while, and we go to places that nobody knows where they are."

Jason Kelce shares two children with his wife, Kylie Kelce -- Wyatt Elizabeth Kelce and Ellie Rae Kelce.

" It’s just fun seeing how your children act with their kids—trying to find out what kind of a parent they’re going to be," Donna said of being a grandmother and watching her son be a father. "[It's] just like, 'How can they be so tender and be such a maniac out on the field?'"

She added her other son, Travis, "is a good uncle," and "it’s just very heartwarming to know that [Travis and Kelce] have that within them to be very nurturing, very kind, very gentle—especially with girls."