Celebrities Jason and Kylie Kelce’s lives have taken center stage — especially with Travis’s whirlwind of a relationship with Taylor Swift gripping the nation. But as we oftentimes find out, not all publicity is good publicity. A-listers are accustomed to battling uncomfortable headlines or having their beef put on blast while the court of public opinion weighs in. It’s nothing new for Jason, who is used to the buzz that surrounds him after a 13-year-long career in the NFL and his hit joint podcast “New Heights” that he launched alongside his younger brother in 2022.
It’s not the same for his wife, Kylie, however, who is not particularly a fan of the limelight. The couple first met on Tinder in 2014 and went on to tie the knot in 2018 and welcome three daughters together. The event consultant has publicly stated she isn’t big on celebrity life, which creates a huge juxtaposition given her husband’s career and her brother-in-law’s larger-than-life relationship.
Kylie has adapted to her public persona, but it hasn’t always been smooth sailing — for her or Jason. The couple has weathered their fair share of controversies, often sticking up for one another when it comes to their marriage or their character. While they may seem like the perfect American family — there’s a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to these spouses. Here’s a look at the shady side of Jason and Kylie Kelce that everyone ignores.
Kylie Kelce told Travis ‘we’re not family’ during the Kelce V. Kelce Super Bowl game
The year 2023 saw the infamous face-off between the Kelce brothers during the Super Bowl game, and Kylie was caught in the middle. Travis, who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs, and Jason, who played for the Philadelphia Eagles at the time, were pitted against each other in a tense matchup while close friends and loved ones were forced to pick sides.
Kylie spoke to People ahead of the exciting game, joking that she wasn’t exactly her brother-in-law’s biggest fan leading up to the game. “I, of course, am like, ‘Sorry Travis, we’re not family this week,” she shared in jest. “But, you know, next week, it’ll be all love again.” The Kelce brothers playing on opposing teams in that year’s Super Bowl game marked the first-time event in NFL history — and it didn’t go unnoticed by Kylie or her in-laws. “People will play 10-plus years in the NFL and they don’t get to be in one Super Bowl, so this is Travis’s third and I believe it’s Jason’s second,” she told the publication. “It’s just an incredible opportunity and the fact that they get to play each other is like the cherry on top.”
Unfortunately for Kylie, her beau wasn’t able to take home a Super Bowl ring at that year’s game. Travis and his team ended up victorious, edging out the Eagles in a 38-35 win.
Jason had questionable behavior in the delivery room
Kylie Kelce called out her husband for his delivery room antics while they welcomed their daughter Bennett. The mother of three posted a hilarious TikTok video in which she captured Jason in various moments throughout the labor process, from his interesting sleep schedule to what he brought from home.
“Three ways my husband was a tremendous support person while I was in labor,” she wrote on a clip of the former NFL star sleeping soundly, noting the first reason as his decision to bring a portable fan for himself. “Better than the air mattress he was thinking of bringing,” Kylie noted. She then added his efforts to make “sure he didn’t miss a meal” as the second reason, alongside a clip of him enjoying a bagel while she wasn’t permitted to eat due to the delivery. “Stayed well rested,” she captioned another clip, which featured Jason enjoying an afternoon nap while she stayed awake to his snores. Kylie posted the video in good fun, even adding that she “couldn’t have done it without him!” while sharing a video of their new addition.
Jason’s delivery room antics were previously featured in the Amazon Prime “Kelce” documentary, in which he and Kylie argued about the fan. “If you bring a fan to the hospital I will personally kick you out,” Kylie scolded in the film (via Today). “Just trying to be comfortable,” Jason responded. “Just think how nice it’s gonna be when you get those stirrups off and you have a nice breeze going across your face.”
Jason incited a brawl during an NFL practice
Jason Kelce let his emotions get the best of him during a practice session with the Philadelphia Eagles, leading to an all-out brawl. In August of that year, the father of three was playing alongside his teammates in a joint practice session with the Indianapolis Colts when one move from an opposing player incited a fight. Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin delivered a late hit on Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell, causing Jason to lose his cool.
Reporters at the scene tweeted about the events that followed, which involved Jason completely knocking down Franklin. “Jason Kelce lays out Colts defender Zaire Franklin at the end of the play, leading to a sideline-clearing fight,” tweeted Tim McManus. “Franklin gave Kenny Gainwell an extra pop on [the] previous play, and when he did it to Gainwell again, Kelce reacted,” he elaborated. The move led to multiple Colts players getting involved and practice being called. “Like five Colts players got on Kelce immediately [and] created a huge scrum,” wrote reporter EJ Smith on X, formerly Twitter.
It wasn’t the first incident that led to the practice being called off. A separate altercation occurred earlier that involved Eagles defensive end Derek Barnett trying to fumble Indianapolis quarterback Anthony Richardson. “Barnett gets into a fight, tons of #Eagles run over, including Jalen Carter, who had to be held back,” Eliot Shorr-Parks tweeted, adding, “Practice getting feisty.” Jason owned up to his part following the practice, admitting in a press conference, “That was not okay. That was unacceptable from me.”
Kylie revealed that Travis fell asleep on their first date
Jason and Kylie Kelce’s love story didn’t exactly start very romantically. The couple shared how they first met during the “Kelce” documentary, and it involved a bit of swiping.
“He won’t let me lie about this,” Kylie mentioned (via Skydance Sports), adding, “We met on Tinder.” Kylie had no idea what she was getting into, especially because she revealed that none of Jason’s photos included anything to do with his bustling NFL career at the time. After looking him up and finding out he played for the Eagles at the time, Kylie admitted that she was wary of a potential catfishing scheme. Still, she agreed to meet up with him at a bar, not knowing that their date would be cut short due to Jason’s sleeping schedule.
“Forty-five minutes later, he fell asleep at the bar, like just, out, like asleep, asleep,” she exclaimed. “The next day, he called and was like, ‘Can we try that again?'” While Kylie jokingly admitted, “he did much better that time,” it still took her a while to get accustomed to dating a famous football player. “Now that we’ve been together for so long, it’s entertaining that there was any hesitation at all,” she reflected after the fact.
Kylie stood up to an unruly fan after declining a photo-op
Kylie Kelce was forced to stand up to a disgruntled fan who badgered her and Jason for a photo while they were enjoying a date night together. According to the Philadelphia-based podcast “Word to the Wise,” the couple was dining at Steve & Cookie’s restaurant and oyster bar in South Jersey when a woman came up and asked for a photo. When Kylie and Jason politely declined to oblige, the fan completely lost it and ended up screaming in Kylie’s face, telling her, “You’ll never be allowed in this town.”
Kylie clapped back, quipping, “I can smell the alcohol on your breath. You’re embarrassing yourself,” while Jason looked on not far behind. According to sources at the scene, Kylie wasn’t the one in the wrong during the debacle. “MULTIPLE WITNESSES have messaged us and said the Kelce’s did nothing wrong and were so polite,” wrote “Word to the Wise” on their Instagram post that featured a video from the argument. Another onlooker confirmed the account, tweeting (via Crossing Broad), “Would like to back this up. I was there and Kelces were 10,000% in the right. The woman was rude as hell and banging on their car door.” Neither Kylie nor Jason has addressed the incident publicly.
Jason threw some serious shade at Harrison Butker
Jason Kelce had a few choice words for Kansas City Chiefs player Harrison Butker. The latter delivered a controversial commencement speech in May of 2024 at the private Catholic liberal arts school Benedictine College, in which he made assumptions about women and their desire to be homemakers.
“I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you,” Butker addressed the crowd (per Associated Press). “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world,” he assumed. He then used his wife Isabelle as an example, stating, “her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”
Jason addressed the speech in an episode of “New Heights,” and he wasn’t exactly aligned with Butker’s perspective. “I’ve had so many people ask me, ‘What would you do if your daughters had to sit there and listen to somebody tell them after they just earned a degree that they should just go to align to be homemakers?'” Jason said, adding, “And I would say if my daughters listen to anybody tell them what to do — that they should be homemakers — then I failed as a dad.”
Kylie had her own opinions about the debacle as well, although a bit less pointed than her husband. When asked about Butker’s comments in an interview with Cheddar News, she responded by saying, “I hope that if anyone if anyone does not align with those views in that graduating class, that they know that they have just achieved something … that no one can take away from them.”
Jason admitted to punching his brother amid a heated basketball game
Travis and Jason Kelce have been competitive since childhood, and their father has even had to fake injury to split them up. Jason recalled one infamous brawl between him and Travis when they were teenagers on “The Big Podcast,” saying it all started during an intense basketball game.
“We were out in the backyard, and he started doing this stupid little hook shot over his shoulder, and he was making it every single time, and I can’t do anything to stop him,” Jason remembered. The father of three decided to start fouling all his brother’s plays, which only upset Travis more. “[Travis] says, ‘That’s bulls–t, that’s a foul,'” Jason recalled. But with no one to call his bluff, the boys were at an impasse. Travis resorted to quitting, throwing the ball at him and retreating to the house. But the fight didn’t end there — and continued in the kitchen. “So, I go in there, I grab him on the shoulder, and I punched him,” Jason expressed. “He took this punch, scooped me up off my feet, and slammed me on the kitchen floor so hard that the oven got knocked off … what it was sitting on.”
Travis and Kelce’s father, Ed, talked about the incident with ESPN, revealing that he had to feign a back injury to get his two boys off of each other. “They’re tangled up, so I just grabbed them together, and just go down, and they fall down on top of me,” he stated. “I screamed, ‘Oh my god, my back!’ There was nothing wrong with me, it just hit me: What a great idea. Let’s change the whole dynamic here.” Eventually, Travis and Jason came to their senses to help their father, and it was the end of sibling brawls as they knew it. “I think that’s when both of them finally realized they were equals and that they couldn’t do this anymore,” Travis and Jason’s mother Donna told the outlet.
Jason’s beef with the 76ers
Jason Kelce was less than pleased to find out that the Philadelphia 76ers were threatening to move to New Jersey. The “New Heights” host spoke his mind amidst speculation that the basketball team would be ditching their home state for a nicer arena to compete in. The move came in September of 2024 after the 76ers put pressure on the city to build a new arena for them in Philadelphia’s Center City, announcing that they would relocate to Camden, New Jersey if officials didn’t concede to their demands. “We have worked tirelessly for the past five years to build an arena in Philadelphia and negotiations remain ongoing with city leadership regarding our proposal at Market East,” they wrote in a statement (via CBS News).
The Philadelphia 76ers eventually got what they had asked for with a new arena in Center City in the works, but Jason wasn’t impressed with the pressure put on their loyal fanbase. “I just hate the strong-arming of the city to force an inevitable move into an area that the local residents, and [the] vast majority of Philadelphians don’t prefer [to] be in center city,” he expressed on X. “Again though, at the end of the day, we will all love it in 5-10 years when we have a beautiful new stadium in the heart of the city. It just pisses me off now, with the way it’s happening, and I’m gonna be pissed for the foreseeable future at how this is being forced currently,” he acknowledged.
Jason mentioned his own trauma from his childhood growing up as a Cleveland Browns fan, in which the team was suspended for four years in the 90s after owner Art Modell tried moving the team’s base to Baltimore. “I have a strong disdain for owners making these threats with zero care for what the fans or residents who support the team want,” he elaborated.
Jason said ‘nerds are losers’
Don’t expect Jason Kelce to get interested in statistics anytime soon. The former NFL star made his opinion on stats very clear when it comes to football, admitting he’s a points guy on an episode of “New Heights.”
The debate was sparked after Travis brought up Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris’ thoughts about tight end Kyle Pitts not having a catch in the game against the New Orleans Saints in September of 2024. “Really, for me, man, stats are for losers, man. I don’t get involved in that stuff,” Raheem commented after the game (via CBS Sports). Jason agreed with Raheem, telling his brother during the podcast segment that he had way more important things on his mind. “Stats are numbers. What I care about is the football,” he explained. “Where does it go? Does it go in the end zone? Do we get points?” While Jason acknowledged that points and statistics are similar, he made it clear there’s a divisive difference in his eyes. “Points are also numbers, but points determine games and wins and losses. Stats are numbers, numbers are nerds, nerds are losers, therefore stats are losers,” he inferred.
Despite his attitude towards statistics, Jason still pushed for the Falcons to put Pitts in more games. “In all seriousness, they should probably get his stats up because he is a pretty good weapon to utilize,” he suggested.