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Matthew Stafford, the quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, and his wife, podcaster Kelly Stafford, have been a couple since their marriage in 2015. Over the years, the duo has found themselves at the center of various rumors, some of which have been quite far-fetched.
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One of the more outlandish rumors emerged in 2025 when some fans speculated that Matthew had died and was replaced by a clone. The buzz started after he missed several team practices due to a back injury. Rather than letting the rumor cause distress, Kelly humorously engaged with the speculation. She quipped on Instagram, “I knew there was something different about him,” according to E! News.
While many rumors are baseless, some have carried more significance, particularly those suggesting that Kelly’s behavior might be impacting Matthew’s career and increasing the likelihood of his trade from the Rams. During an appearance on “Sunday Sports Club,” Kelly expressed her disbelief, saying, “I was like, ‘Because of me?’ I was, like, ‘What the f***?!’” as reported by E! News. Despite these claims, Matthew, who spent a significant 11-year stint with the Detroit Lions before joining the Rams in 2021, seems settled in Los Angeles for now.
Fan speculation about the Staffords isn’t new. Back in 2019, Kelly experienced unexplained dizziness during routine activities. Subsequent MRI tests uncovered a benign brain tumor. “The medical term was an acoustic neuroma or vestibular schwannoma,” Kelly disclosed in an article for ESPN. “There was a tumor sitting on some of my cranial nerves. I was told I needed to have surgery to remove it.”
But that’s not the only time that fans have gotten ahead of themselves.
Kelly Stafford shut down cancer rumors
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In 2019, Kelly Stafford started feeling dizzy while completing normal, everyday tasks. A MRI eventually revealed that she had a benign brain tumor. “The medical term was an acoustic neuroma or vestibular schwannoma,” Stafford wrote for ESPN. “There was a tumor sitting on some of my cranial nerves. I was told I needed to have surgery to remove it.”
Although the tumor was noncancerous, any surgery can be dangerous. Not to mention, the surgery risked damaging hearing in one of her ears. However, those fears proved to be unfounded, as Kelly’s doctor was able to save her hearing. And though she experienced a slow recovery, which included an ER setback, she’s since made great health strides.
Despite her resilience, the media pinned a scary cancer diagnosis on her after she detailed the troubling abdominal symptoms she’d been experiencing. “There is a bunch circulating right now and want to reiterate that I DO NOT HAVE CANCER,” Kelly posted to Instagram in July 2023. “If journalists actually took time to check facts these days, they would know this. … Most the time I wouldn’t care what people wrote because it didn’t matter. THIS MATTERS.” She continued, “It takes away from the people who are fighting this horrible disease.. fighting to live another day, fighting to be there with the ones they love, fighting 24/7.”