If you’ve ever turned down a drink at a party only to get hit with raised eyebrows, a knowing smile, or the dreaded “Are you pregnant?” — you know that gut-punch feeling.
And now Kylie Kelce, mother of four and wife of former NFL center Jason Kelce, is using her platform to say what so many women have felt but struggled to put into words: stop asking.
On the March 5 episode of her “Not Gonna Lie” podcast, Kelce brought back her viral “You know what’s f***ed up?” segment to tackle the topic directly.
“Hey, you know what’s f***ed up? Assuming a woman is pregnant or trying to get pregnant when she simply declines a drink,” she said roughly four minutes into the episode.
Blunt? Absolutely. But the message underneath was deeply compassionate — and for anyone going through fertility struggles, pregnancy loss, IVF, or the decision to be child-free, it may have felt like a long-overdue exhale.
It Happens to Kylie Kelce ‘All the Time’
Kelce said the assumption happens to her “all the time,” even though she has been open about simply not enjoying alcohol.
“I’ve been on record multiple times informing the real ones that I do, in fact, not usually drink,” she explained, adding that she doesn’t really like alcohol all that much and would rather enjoy a glass of water, iced tea or “a crispy Coke.”
She said she “can brush it off pretty fast” but acknowledged she would rather not have to answer at all. Unfortunately, it’s something that happens to her often — including recently.
The Painful Realities Behind a ‘No Thanks’
Kelce laid out, with striking clarity, just how many painful realities can hide behind a woman’s decision not to drink — or behind any moment when someone speculates about pregnancy.
“But let’s not do that because we’ve said it so many times on this show — you never know what someone is going through, what they have gone through previously, what stage they are at in their journey, if they are building a family,” she explained.
She continued: “In other words, they could be trying and you could be bringing something up that’s not really good. Or even weirder… You could be saying it to someone who has actively chosen to not have kids, which is also none of your business.”
Then she went further, naming specific experiences that so often go unspoken in casual conversation but weigh heavily on the women living through them.
“Some people could have had a loss. Some people could be actively in IVF treatments. Some people could have a diagnosis that could make it physically not possible for them to have kids even though they would like to. Some people might have an addiction to alcohol and be in recovery. Some people might just not like the taste,” she explained.
The Marriage-to-Baby Pipeline Question
Kelce also called out a broader pattern many women recognize: the assumption that marriage automatically means baby planning is underway.
She said she would often get asked “are you trying?” when she and Jason Kelce first got married. Her response? “We practice a lot.”
“Now it’s weird for both of us. Why do you need to know that? That’s between me and my husband,” she said.
It’s a moment that’s both funny and pointed. She named the discomfort so many women have swallowed politely at family dinners, work events, and social gatherings — the sense that their reproductive lives are treated as public property the moment they say “I do.”
She also noted that when someone brings up the pregnancy question — either because of a declined drink or because they think someone “look like” they might be pregnant — she then feels a need to address it.
“You’re making it weird,” she said. “And you’ve put us both in this situation now. And that’s not fun for anyone.”
Her Advice Is Refreshingly Simple
Rather than just calling out the problem, Kelce offered clear alternatives for anyone who finds themselves in the position of offering a drink to someone who declines.
“Offer her something else to drink and then move on. Or don’t offer her something else to drink and move on. Another option, mind your business,” she said.
Practical advice that respects the complexity of what a woman might be carrying — without requiring her to disclose any of it.
Kelce said she falls into the category of people who don’t like the taste of alcohol. But she spoke not just for herself. She spoke for every woman whose reason is far more painful and far more private.
The podcaster shares four daughters — Wyatt, 6, Elliotte, 5, Bennett, 3, and Finnley, 1 — with husband Jason Kelce, whom she has been married to since 2018, according to TODAY.
