Donna Kelce 'had to stand still' in her marriage

Donna Kelce had to "stand still" in order to raise her sons Travis and Jason amid her crumbling marriage.

The 71-year-old matriarch wanted to set a good example to the NFL stars when they were growing up by going out to work, but admitted she put some of her own ambitions on hold in order to do her best for the kids before she and Ed Kelce eventually divorced.

She told Us Glamour's Women of the Year: The Moms issue: “I was a commercial banker for a bank in several different states. I wanted to get ahead. I worked really, really hard. I was a major breadwinner in the family.

“And I think it’s important for kids to see that a woman can do whatever she wants, but I did stand still, too.

“My husband and I knew that our marriage was not working, but we stayed together for the kids.

“Ours was a very friendly relationship. So, we could do that and make sure that their life was normal as possible. But in that one respect, I did stand still for several years until I could move on on my own.”

Donna admitted being a parent was the "most daunting" role she's ever undertook.

She said: "Being a mom is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.

“It’s so much easier to just go to work, but raising children, when they’re totally dependent on you and you’re trying to do the best you can with the limited resources that you have, it’s the most daunting task I’ve ever had to do."

The whole Kelce family's lives have changed because of the spotlight being on Travis - who is dating Taylor Swift - and Jason, and they can't do ordinary things any more.

Donna said: "We can’t go anywhere, really. If we want to do something, you have to rent out the restaurant or the movie theater or whatever. I do get to sneak away every once in a while, and we go to places that nobody knows where they are."

But with fame has come more opportunities and Donna is aware she wouldn't have landed her role in upcoming Hallmark holiday movie 'Christmas on Call' without it.

She said: "It’s kind of fun to see people that have been in the industry and to try to learn from them, because I’m such a novice. I just started.

"I just have been fortunate because people know who I am.

"I know where this is coming from. I know they’re interested because of who my children are and who they know, and I just take it with a grain of salt. But it was really fun."