Ed Kelce and Donna Kelce raised two boys who not only ended up in the NFL, but also ended up competing in the Super Bowl. Jason Kelce and the Philadelphia Eagles faced Travis Kelce and his team, the Kansas City Chiefs, in a 2023 game. The Chiefs won by a narrow margin, but both brothers are Super Bowl champions. (Jason won a championship with the Eagles in 2017.)
The success of their podcast, New Heights, and Travis’ relationship with pop star Taylor Swift have made them even more famous. By extension, Ed and Donna also began to attract attention. Here’s everything you need to know about these star athlete parents, who Swift regularly spends time with during her fiancé’s games.
Who is Donna Kelce?
Donna grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland. Her mother died when she was only 12 years old, and her father remarried her stepmother, Mary, with whom she had a close relationship. In the New Heights episode, Donna said, “By the grace of God, if it wasn’t for[Mary]I don’t think we would have made it.”
Like her sons, Donna was also an athlete, but her father was against women being involved in sports. Mary supported her and eventually she competed in the Junior Olympics in track and field. She won despite training in secret from her father. Donna attended Ohio University and eventually went into the financial industry, working for Mastercard and then at a local bank in Cleveland specializing in commercial real estate.
Who is Ed Kelce?
Like Donna, Ed is also a Cleveland native and athlete who played football in high school. He continued to work in the steel industry at a steel mill. He told the Los Angeles Times that he sometimes brings his sons to visit.
“I’ll take my helmet, my safety glasses, my boots, the whole nine yards,” he said. “I told them, ‘You can have a job like your mom’s, or you can have a job like mine.'”
They both chose the third option.
How did Ed and Donna meet?
Donna was on her way to a date with another man when she stopped by Fagan’s bar in Old Cleveland Flats. Ed talked to her and they had such a good time that she never met any other men.
“I was supposed to go out with a guy that night. I was supposed to go to a play, but I couldn’t go. Dad and I talked about it forever,” Donna told her sons in New Heights. “This was another great play! I really wanted to see it.”
Ed said he went to a bar after work and wasn’t in his best attire.
“I’m wearing coveralls covered in cement,” Ed heard. “We started talking and she gave me a ride home. She came in and I said to her, ‘Hold on, let me get changed.'”
Ed took a quick shower and then took her to another bar.
“It was meant to be. That’s exactly what happened,” Donna said.
They married in the late 1970s and raised their children in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
How many children do Ed and Donna Kelce have?
Donna and Ed only have two children, Jason and Travis, who are soccer players. Jason was born in November 1987 and Travis was born in October 1989. Donna suggests that their closeness in age led to many fights and rivalries.
In an interview on the Today Show, she talked about breaking up “a lot of fights” as a child.
“Everything was a competition,” she explained. “It was a competition to see who could get to the table first, who could get to the front seat of the car. It was just classic sibling rivalry. They egged each other on.”
The competition pushed them further as both boys attended the University of Cincinnati and played college football.
Are Donna and Ed still together?
After a quarter of a century of marriage, the two divorced shortly after their sons graduated from college. However, they remain friends. Speaking about New Heights, Donna said, “I don’t hate him. We’re still friends. We’re very close. You two were like a tag team. We got to do all sorts of fun things. If one of us had to go out of town, the other would take care of the other child. It was perfect.”
But, she added, “sometimes people just drift apart.”
The former couple admitted in the 2023 documentary Kelce that they chose to stay together longer for the sake of their sons.
“If we had separated, which was probably what we both wanted, it would have been a logistical nightmare to get the kids where they were and provide all the support,” Ed said in an interview.
Ed moved from Cleveland to Philadelphia to be closer to Jason and his grandchildren. Donna continues to travel regularly to attend games and watch her sons play. You can often see her in the stands on game days.
What do they think about Taylor Swift?
Taylor Swift first went public with Travis in September 2023, when they started their romance while attending a game at Arrowhead Stadium. She seemed to hit it off with Donna right away and sat next to her in the VIP box throughout the season. She met Ed in October 2023 at a game between the Chiefs and Denver Broncos.
“I’ll tell you something special about Taylor that I noticed the first time I met her. She got up to go get a drink or something, and she started picking up bottles and cans and plates that were scattered around her. And that really, really struck me,” he told People magazine about their first meeting.
Donna also seems to think Swift is talented and down-to-earth, although she isn’t actually a fan of pop music.
When asked about being a Swiftie, she said, “In my day it was Earth, Wind and Fire (and) Chaka Khan.” “It’s more my music. But obviously, talent is talent.”
Did Swift spend a lot of time with Donna and Ed?
Although Swift and Travis have kept parts of their relationship private, Swift has made no secret of how close she is to her boyfriend’s parents. She is regularly seen sitting with them at Travis games.
Most memorably, Swift shared a suite with Donna and Ed during Travis’ first NFL 2024-2025 game against the Baltimore Ravens. She was photographed talking to Ed at the start of the game on September 5th, and was also photographed spending quality time with Donna afterwards.
Swift spent November 2024 with Donna and her mother, Andrea Swift.
On November 4, Swift went out with Donna again, this time accompanied by her mother Andrea, who attended Travis’ game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Kansas City. Swift wore an all-black outfit with denim shorts, knee-high boots, a black and red leather jacket, and some gold jewelry.
Ed attended Swift’s show in Toronto in November 2024.
On Saturday, November 23, Ed was photographed in the stands at Toronto’s Rogers Center enjoying Swift’s final show in the city. He was smiling and wearing many friendship bead bracelets. Travis was unable to attend the concert because he had an away game in North Carolina on Sunday.
Ed talked about what Swift and Travis’ relationship will be like after the 2025 Super Bowl.
Ed gave a rare look back at his son and Swift’s romance ahead of the 2025 Super Bowl. He told Australia’s Today show that he imagines great things in store for the pair once Travis finishes the season. “I think once we get past the Super Bowl, it’s going to be a really good time for both of us,” he told Us Weekly. “No NFL season, no Elas Tour. Just these guys, we can connect more. I think that can only be a good thing.”
He also talked about what it was like to watch a Travis and Swift match. “She’s learning more about soccer,” he said. “She watches a lot of football with her dad. She watches as much football as she can. It was funny. We were watching the game and the Chiefs were in the red zone and they…had to go for a field goal. And I’m sitting there thinking, ‘I hate field goals.'” And Taylor comes back and says, “I’ll take the point.” And I’m like, “Look…a year ago I didn’t know what a field goal was from the extra point, and now I’m just talking about soccer.” So she enjoys the game and I think she’s a very smart young woman. ”
Donna subtly showed support for the relationship in May 2025.
A fan account for Travis and his brother Jason shared an Instagram story on May 24th of Taylor and Travis enjoying a quiet dinner date at Harry’s in West Palm Beach. It appears that Donna continues to follow the account, as she likes the Instagram posts and shows her support for the couple’s night out. Travis has reportedly stepped away from the spotlight with Taylor, renting a $20 million mansion in Boca Raton for the spring.
Donna was photographed with Taylor Swift’s mother Andrea at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2026.
Donna was photographed spending time with Swift’s mother Andrea ahead of Travis and Swift’s wedding. The two posed together at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah in January 2026. Both wore black-based outfits, with Donna wearing a gray down coat with black gloves, pants, and shoes, while Andrea chose a black and white patterned coat with a black top and leggings.
