Kelly Stafford addressed the fallout of her viral dating story from the early days of her relationship with husband Matthew Stafford, which centered on the backup quarterback at Georgia and ignited a “media storm.”
In a series of Instagram Stories posted Tuesday on her page, Kelly apologized to the family of Joe Cox, a former Bulldogs quarterback and Stafford’s teammate at Georgia, stating they “had ZERO involvement in what” she spoke about during a recent podcast appearance.
“To this beautiful fam…,” Kelly began. “I am sorry for the media storm that happened last week that made its way into your lives. You had ZERO involvement in what I spoke about and in fact, it was y’alls relationship in college that I looked up to and wanted for me and Matthew. You were the couple that everyone thinks Matthew and I was.. y’all were the UGA QB and cheerleader that met and never let go. I love y’all.”
Kelly, who met Stafford at Georgia before tying the knot in 2015, opened up about the couple’s relationship on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s “Off the Vine” podcast this month, sharing how she dated the team’s backup quarterback to get under Stafford’s skin.
“It wasn’t that cute of a relationship at first,” Kelly said. “I hated him, I loved him. I dated the backup to piss him off, which worked — he was the bad boy too. Matthew’s so sweet and a Southern gentleman and all that stuff. And the backup was the complete opposite, and it upset him.”
Internet detectives then speculated if Cox was the quarterback who Kelly was referring to given he and Stafford played three years together in Athens.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith was also publicly baffled by Kelly’s candor.
Stafford played at Georgia from 2006-08 before being selected first overall by the Lions in the 2009 NFL Draft.
Cox served as his backup and started the 2009 season.
In a separate post on Tuesday, Kelly explained if the matter “didn’t affect others, I wouldn’t even address it because it was so comical the way things were twisted.”
“It was 16 years ago and if you asked both Matthew and I if we would change anything we did back then…. nope. But we appreciate the laughs,” she posted.
The Staffords are parents to four daughters.
The two-time Pro Bowler is entering his fourth season with the Rams, with whom he won the Super Bowl during the 2021 season — his first year in Los Angeles following a blockbuster trade with Detroit.
