{"id":176078,"date":"2025-06-20T16:53:03","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T16:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/20\/kelly-stafford-opens-up-about-mental-health-as-college-cheerleader\/"},"modified":"2025-06-20T16:53:03","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T16:53:03","slug":"kelly-stafford-opens-up-about-mental-health-as-college-cheerleader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/20\/kelly-stafford-opens-up-about-mental-health-as-college-cheerleader\/","title":{"rendered":"Kelly Stafford Opens Up About Mental Health as College Cheerleader"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Kelly Stafford<\/strong><\/a> doesn\u2019t shy away from talking about her body. The wife of NFL quarterback Matthew Stafford<\/strong> looked back on her time as a cheerleader at the University of Georgia and criticized her own relationship with food and how her coach made her feel about herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always tried to be small,\u201d she said on the Thursday, June 19 episode of her \u201cThe Morning After<\/a>\u201d podcast. \u201cI had a horrible relationship with food ever since cheering at Georgia because my coach made me feel like I was 500 pounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stafford, 36, then shuddered, thinking about that time in her life, before cracking a joke.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will say, though, you look back at those pictures and \u2014 not me, I don\u2019t feel like I looked big \u2014 but the guy holding me up was really struggling,\u201d she said. \u201cAll of his veins are, like, popping out of his face, he\u2019s holding his breath, I was like, \u2018damn.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Kelly Stafford Dated Husband Matt’s Backup Quarterback to Make Him Jealous<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tAaron J. Thornton\/Getty Images Kelly Stafford revealed that her relationship with Matthew Stafford \u201cstarted out horrible\u201d \u2014 and involved dating another quarterback out of spite. \u201cThis was my first college experience,\u201d Kelly, 34, recalled during a June appearance on the \u201cOff the Vine\u201d podcast of meeting Matthew, 36, days prior to starting school at the [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Kelly met Matthew, 37, during their time together in Athens while Matthew was an All-American for the Bulldogs\u2019 football team. The two married in 2015<\/a> and share twin daughters<\/a>, Sawyer and Chandler, 8, as well as daughters Hunter, 6, and Tyler, 4.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I got to let that go a little bit and understand I don\u2019t need to be a certain size,\u201d Kelly continued. \u201cI just need to be happy and comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her struggles persisted after college. She recalled the 2021 football season, Matthew\u2019s first with the Rams, when the team won the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was about two pounds,\u201d she said. \u201cThat year, moving to L.A., the pressure that was on him, I couldn\u2019t eat. He could eat fine. I couldn\u2019t eat, I couldn\u2019t sleep, honestly that was a really hard year for me. And you could tell.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Kelly Stafford Gets Emotional Discussing Her Recent ‘Depressing Thoughts’<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tKelly Stafford vulnerably acknowledged the negative toll social media has recently taken on her mental health. Stafford, 34, made the candid admission while discussing New Year\u2019s resolutions on the Thursday, January 2 episode of her podcast \u201cThe Morning After.\u201d \u201cI want to get off social media so bad. I don\u2019t want to be on it [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThis has been since I was 17. Since I was a freshman at Georgia,\u201d she added. \u201cI am finally comfortable being like, \u2018you know what? Why am I gonna kill myself to be that size?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It took time for her to figure out what look she likes best (and which look her husband prefers).<\/p>\n

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