Kelly Stafford Reveals What Husband Matthew Stafford Really Thinks About Her Baring All on Her Podcast

Matthew Stafford doesn't call a lot of audibles off the field. 

While the longtime NFL vet is very vocal when leading his Los Angeles Rams, when it comes to wife Kelly Stafford's The Morning After podcast, he rarely engages in any Monday morning quarterbacking. 

"Matthew and I are complete opposites," Kelly explained of her husband of nine years in an exclusive interview with E! News. "I'm an open book. He's very private. He loves that I do this. He loves that I have made something for myself."

And he's usually not one to call any plays. 

"There has been one time throughout this whole thing, where he's like, 'All right, let's talk about this,'" she revealed of Matthew offering input on the podcast she and Detroit-based TV reporter Hank Winchester launched in 2021. "I thought I was speaking on just the way the world has changed. Turns out, it really affected his locker room."

"So that was the one time he was like, 'Listen, talk about whatever you want, but don't talk about anything that can affect my locker room,'" the Georgia native, 35, continued. "And I felt horrible that entire month about that. But otherwise, he's really supportive."

Naturally, the quarterback, 36, was her biggest cheerleader when she threw out the idea of taking her and Hank's show on the road. 

Their Cleat Chaser tour—kicking off in the Detroit area Sept. 7—will give the best friends a chance to huddle up with their audience in person.

Aimed at tackling life's myriad of misconceptions (chief among them, the idea that anyone's existence looks like the heavily filtered version they upload to social media), the talks are "about life," teased the mom of 7-year-old twins Sawyer and Chandler, Hunter, 6, and Tyler, 4. "It's about parenting. There might be a splash of football in there, but for the most part, it's just to have a fun night, have some cocktails with your friends and get some good laughs in."

And while the name is a reference to the fact that "quite literally, we will be chasing my husband's cleats throughout the country," each of the six live events taking place the day before Matthew's Rams take on their opponents, it's also a not-so-subtle nod to the label the onetime University of Georgia cheerleader hasn't been able to shake since she connected with the school's star QB back in the mid-aughts. 

"It's honestly something I've been called my whole life, which is really interesting," explained Kelly. "We're so focused on the men in this equation, people forget that I grew up playing four sports. I was surrounded by athletes in my family." (Among them: Brother Chad Hall, a wide receivers coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars.)  

And, yes, she's aware the chatter only increased when she recently shared that she had the briefest of dalliances with Matthew's back-up quarterback in their college days. 

"I was 17!" Kelly marveled of the story gaining traction. "Were you all perfect when you were 17?" 

Mostly, though, she was stunned that it garnered so much notice, given that she had already shared the tale on The Morning After. 

"The way it was portrayed doesn't match the actual story," she pointed out of recent headlines. "But Matthew and I know the story and we have no regrets in it, because it led us to where we are." 

The only bit she feels she fumbled was "that people got pulled into it that were never involved in the first place, and that broke my heart, because those are my friends," Kelly shared. "But other than that, I had zero regrets, because I have an amazing husband and four amazing daughters and I'm happy."

Because she's well aware that she's scored.

The former No. 1 pick is a two-time Pro Bowler who nabbed a Super Bowl ring in his first season with the Rams, followed by a massive $160 million four-year contract. But, more importantly, he's the guy who does his best to block his wife's stressors. 

"Matthew is such a calming force in my life," said Kelly. "He just settles me and he's such an incredible man in so many ways." 

Among the Texas native's most impressive stats is his ability to always put his family first. 

"He shows my daughters what they should aspire to be with when they're older," she noted, "and I think that's the most important gift you can give them." 

She, in turn, provides Matthew with that proverbial nudge toward the end zone, whether that means leaving their home in Michigan behind for sunnier climes and a shot at a Super Bowl ring ("He was so grateful for me just being like, 'If you want to chance it somewhere else, I will follow you—your girls and I got you") or reminding him he's more than just an accurate arm. 

"I give him that push that he might need, and to realize he's more than a football player, because I feel like sometimes they get lost in that too," said Kelly, who remains active with the SAY Detroit Play Center. "We just balance each other out."  

The guy beneath the helmet is "brilliantly smart," with a sense of humor to match her own.

"When you can laugh at yourself, too, with your significant other, it makes life so much more fun," noted Kelly. "He's a good man and he just makes me a better person. I hope I do that for him. But if I don't, I'm grateful." 

Her only complaint about her personal MVP, "Sometimes I'm like, 'I wish you would put yourself out there, because you would make the world happier,'" she acknowledged. 

Thankfully, she's game to lead the charge, providing fans a glimpse at the winning moves he makes off of the field.  

On the field, Matthew Stafford is one of the best quarterbacks of the NFL. But when the football player comes home, he's simply dad. 

During bye-week, Matthew and his wife Kelly Stafford treated their kids to a festive fall day near their home in Los Angeles. 

"33 and grateful for the people that fill this home," Kelly wrote when celebrating her birthday. "Thankful for these girls' contagious smiles and for a husband who never fails to make me laugh." 

"A pier breakfast, turned beach day, turned watching pro female surfing competition…" Kelly wrote on Instagram. "Pretty epic summer day with great 'aloha vibes.'"

After playing at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, Matthew was able to reunite with three of his daughters in a suite. 

After cheering for Dad all day long, it's no surprise that Matthew's kids just want to snuggle after game day. 

Whether they are at the stadium or going to school, Matthew's daughters love to wear the Rams' team colors. 

When Matthew worked from home during COVID-19 shutdowns, his daughters quickly wore him out. 

"My whole heart in one photo," Kelly wrote on Instagram when capturing her daughters snuggling by Matthew.