America’s other sweetheart: How Kylie Kelce charmed her husband and Taylor Swift by not taking BS
Over Memorial Day in Margate City, NJ, a fan got irate after Kylie Kelce politely declined to take a photo with her.
“I don’t give a f–k who you are, you’ll never be allowed in this town again!” the woman screamed at Kylie, 32, who was on a date with her husband, retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, 36.
Kylie kept her cool but didn’t hesitate to stand up for herself, telling the woman, “I can smell the alcohol on your breath, you’re embarrassing yourself.”
The moment was captured on video and went viral after the Philadelphia-based “Word to the Wise” podcast obtained a copy.
It perfectly encapsulated what has made Kylie — a mom-of-three, field hockey coach and influencer — America’s newest sweetheart.
Whether she’s dealing with angry fans and inebriated husbands — or hanging out with Taylor Swift and brother-in-law Travis Kelce — Kylie seems to gracefully navigate any situation with quiet grace, strength, kindness and humor.
She’s remade the role of the WAG from high-maintenance hanger-on to chill girl co-pilot.
“These days you have so many wives of athletes who are so Hollywood — she’s the exact opposite of that,” Denise White, founder and CEO of EAG Sports Management, told The Post.
Insiders who have interacted with Kylie tell The Post she couldn’t be more humble and kind, while holding her own.
“That woman probably pushed her to the brink. She is probably the one that keeps her and Jason grounded,” a Pennsylvania-based source close to the field hockey team Kylie coaches told The Post of the New Jersey fracas. “She was probably trying to prevent this woman from royally embarrassing herself.”
Jana Benscoter, 47, the founder of FemaleAthleteNews.com, agrees.
“She holds herself with confidence. She seems like she’s equipped to handle most things her way. She’s all the things — tough and strong, but also graceful,” Bencoster, who worked with Kylie last fall when she was coaching at Lower Merion HS for the seventh year in a row, told The Post. “She was easy to talk to.”
Kylie certainly didn’t expect to have Taylor Swift thrown her way, but she’s navigated the attention that comes with being in the pop star’s orbit with apparent ease.
“If Trav is happy, we’re happy. We are always cheering on Uncle Trav. It’s such a treat to be able to do that on and off the field,” Kylie said on the “Today” show in April when asked about her brother-in-law dating the most famous woman in the world.
She’s even been understanding that the girls she coaches might want to talk Taylor.
“She gave them a 10- or 15-minute block saying, ‘hit me with as many questions as possible,’ ” Benscoter revealed.
Kylie Kelce, née McDevitt, grew up in the Philadelphia suburb of Ardmore.
She went to high school at Lower Merion, where she now works as a coach.
At Cabrini University, a Catholic school about an hour from Philly, she was a star Division-III field hockey player.
She also worked as a resident assistant, wrote for the college newspaper and hosted a radio show.
In 2014, while a student, Kylie matched with Jason on Tinder.
She thought the Philadelphia Eagle, then in his mid-20s, looked a bit familiar in his profile pics, but there was nothing to suggest who he was.
“None of his pictures showed Eagles football,” she says in the Prime Video documentary “Kelce.”
Their first date was at Buffalo Billiards, in Philly’s Old City neighborhood, after the Eagles’ Christmas party.
It didn’t quite go as planned.
“You fell asleep 45 minutes after I got there on the bar table because [you were] too drunk,” Kylie told her husband on the “New Heights” podcast he cohosts with brother Travis.
“I got a little bit too inebriated but I was sober enough to know [you were] the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life,” Jason said. “It was love at first sight, let me tell you.”
“He doesn’t even believe in love at first sight,” Kylie quipped.
“I didn’t until I met you — it was like fireworks exploded at the door the moment you walked through the door,” he responded.
By the end of 2015, their relationship was Instagram official.
Kylie graduated in 2017 with a degree in communications.
The couple, who share a love of the Drew Barrymore-Adam Sandler rom-com “50 First Dates,” married the following year at Philadelphia’s Logan Hotel.
They went on to have three daughters, welcoming Wyatt in 2019, Elliotte in 2021 and Bennett Llewellyn in February 2023.
While Jason has a Super Bowl ring, a hit podcast worth tens of millions — and a recently inked one-year, $1.8 million “Monday Night Countdown” deal with ESPN — he’s a team player when it comes to taking care of the house and kids.
“Our marriage is a partnership, we are equals who are figuring it out on the daily,” he said in a social media post earlier this week that responded to Kansas City Chief Harrison Butker’s controversial commencement speech at Benedictine College.
Butker drew ire after saying a woman’s most important role was that of a “homemaker.”
In the same post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Jason defended his wife when a troll called her a “homemaker whose home is a mess.”
“I don’t think of Kylie as a homemaker, I think of her as my wife,” he posted. “She has an occupation, as do I, and we keep our house the best we can.”
Marketing experts say Jason and Kylie’s unfiltered candor, and sometimes messy house, is exactly what’s made America — and brands — gravitate towards them.
The duo have teamed up with Papa John’s and the Container Store, while Kylie landed a paid-partnership with Dove for a commercial championing female athletes.
“[Kylie] is showing the public what it really is like to be a mom. She’s what America loves. She’s a good person. She’s smart, she stands up for her family. She’s not out there trying to be Kim Kardashian or Taylor Swift,” said White. “That’s why brands love to work with her.”
In May, Kylie delivered the commencement speech to the final graduating class at Cabrini University, which will close in June.
Her words were as relatable as ever.
“The truth is that no one has their lives completely figured out and if someone tells you otherwise, they are lying,” she told grads. “This is part of the beauty of growing older and wiser.”
Jason was reportedly asked to give the commencement speech at Villanova University this year but turned down the honor so his wife could shine — not that she’s after the spotlight.
“She’s very down to earth – she’s funny, just natural. You can tell she’s not trying to be someone she’s not. If you met her you’d be like, ‘Oh, I could be friends with her.’ She doesn’t seem like a celebrity. She’ll talk to anyone. She doesn’t come across as if she’s better than anyone,” Sarah Yates, 40, a manager at Longstreth, a field hockey company and retail store in Spring City, Pa., told The Post.
Yates recalled Kylie’s generosity when she purchased field hockey equipment for one of her players who didn’t seem to have the funds needed.
“It definitely seemed like she was there to help,” she said. “It’s like she’s just one of us . . . she’s very real what you see that’s exactly who she is. She’s just like any other mom.”
But she’s not like any coach.
Benscoter said it’s clear she has a passion for working with young athletes and going above and beyond.
“She lets these young girls know she believes in them and their future,” she said.
She witnessed a heated moment where Kylie yelled at an umpire, standing up for players and making sure they were OK.
“She was very into the game,” Benscoter said.
On and off the field, Kylie is clearly not afraid to protect herself and those she cares about.
“I am almost six feet tall, and I’m not thin,” she joked on the “New Heights” podcast last year. “I will hold my ground.”
