Who is Travis and Jason Kelce’s dad, Ed?
THE KELCE family has been the talk of the NFL since Travis and Jason faced off against each other during Super Bowl LVII in 2023.
The world has gotten to know the NFL stars' mother, Donna Kelce, but now they want to know more about their father, Ed Kelce.
Who is Ed Kelce?
Ed Kelce is best known as the father of Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.
The oldest of two children, he grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and comes from a long line of veterans.
"Blue-collar town, blue-collar part of Cleveland, great neighborhood," Ed described during an appearance on his sons' New Heights podcast.
"It was a lot of fun," he added.
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While Ed might be the father of two high-profile NFL players, he often keeps details of his personal life out of the spotlight.
However, in a February 2023 interview with the Los Angeles Times, he revealed that he worked in the steel industry and would often bring his kids to work.
"I’d take them there — hard hat, safety glasses, boots, the whole nine yards," he told the publication.
"I’d tell them, 'You can have a job like your mother's, or you can have a job like mine.'"
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Ed has also built a social media following, with over 52,000 followers on his Instagram page, @papakelce.
When did Ed and Donna Kelce get divorced?
During an episode of the New Heights podcast, Donna told her boys the story of how she met their father, revealing that she was supposed to be on a date with another man at the time.
"He came up to me with the illustrious pickup line, which was, '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 said, 'No, it's Ed,'" Donna recalled.
"...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 ... It was meant to be. It's just the way it was."
While Donna and Ed's meeting might've been "meant to be" they ultimately divorced after more than 20 years of marriage.
Ed spoke of the divorce in the Amazon documentary Kelce, saying that the pair would have "preferred" to split earlier, but they stayed together for the kids.
"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 said, via Today.com.
Donna later spoke of it on the New Heights podcast, adding that they're "friends to this day."
"We get along great, it’s just sometimes people move apart," Donna explained.
Ed and Donna have continued to support their sons and have both been pictured at their football games.
On Sunday, January 28, 2024, the former couple attended the 2023 AFC Championship Game between the Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens alongside Travis' superstar girlfriend, Taylor Swift.
The Chiefs ultimately won the game 17-10 and will face off against the San Franciso 49ers during Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, February 11, 2024.
Rumors have swirled that if the Chiefs earn another victory, Travis may propose to Taylor.
Following the game against the Ravens, Donna and Taylor searched for Ed and Jason while walking on the field together.
"Where's — do we have a dad?" the pop icon asked her boyfriend's mother, per Page Six.
"We have a dad, we have Jason," Taylor said to Donna after finding the father-son-duo and going on to look for Travis.
What happened to Ed Kelce?
Before Ed entered the steel industry, he trained with the Coast Guard.
However, he had to drop out because of Crohn's disease.
"I enlisted in the Coast Guard, and the Chron's reared up," he explained on the New Heights podcast.
"I'd never had that before, and I was sick. I went through most of the basic training with some severe gastrointestinal issues.
"They don't need sick people in the service; they need people who are ready to perform," he added.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Crohn's disease is "a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)" that "causes swelling of the tissues (inflammation) in your digestive tract, which can lead to abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss and malnutrition."
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At this time, there is no cure for Crohn's disease, but there are therapies that can help reduce the signs and symptoms.
Some of the most popular symptoms of the disease include diarrhea, fever, fatigue, mouth sores, reduced appetite, and weight loss.