Ed Kelce, the father of Travis and Jason, has announced the death of his partner, Maureen Maguire.
Kelce posted an obituary on his Facebook page on Saturday afternoon, announcing that she had died on August 1 at the age of 74, with loved ones by her side.
The obituary describes Kelce as Maguire’s ‘beloved friend’, although she has often been called Ed’s girlfriend during the family’s rapid ascent to fame over the past three years.
Once, in an interview Ed gave to the LA Times, she humorously said to Taylor Swift ‘hey, that’s my boyfriend’ when the singer took a selfie with Travis and Jason’s father at an NFL game.
‘She also developed an unexpected passion for football later in life, enjoying many laughs and adventures with her beloved friend Ed Kelce and her faithful dog Butch,’ the obituary mentioned.
‘Together, they traveled often and attended football games and concerts, and embraced every opportunity to enjoy life to the fullest.’
Ed Kelce announced on Facebook that his partner Maureen Maguire has passed away
Ed pictured alongside his youngest son Travis, wearing his Kansas City Chiefs jersey
Ed pictured celebrating with Taylor Swift when the Chiefs made the Super Bowl earlier this year
Ed and Donna Kelce, parents of Travis and Jason, parted ways after nearly 25 years of marriage but have remained friends as their sons have risen to become two of the most prominent figures in the NFL.
‘I don’t hate him. We’re friends to this day. We get along great,’ Donna once said of Ed.
‘We were like a tag team with you two. We got to do all sorts of fun things. When one of you had to travel, the other would assist with the other child. It was perfect.’
In a 2023 documentary about the family, Ed explained that he and Donna stayed together to be better parents.
‘If we had split as we probably both would have preferred, that would have been a nightmare with the logistics, getting kids where they had to be and providing all the support,’ he said,
In 2023, the Super Bowl was renamed ‘the Kelce Bowl’ due to the brothers facing each other on opposing teams when the Travis and the Kansas City Chiefs beat Jason’s Philadelphia Eagles.
Later that year, the family were propeled into unprecedented levels of fame when Travis and Taylor went public with their romance.
Ed, who is also 74, recently told the Daily Mail in an exclusive interview how Maureen was with him when he met the Eras Tour star for the first time.
Ed and Maureen pictured together at an NFL game, supporting Travis and the Chiefs
Kelce is currently in Chiefs camp, preparing for the beginning of the 2025 season
Jason Kelce works as an NFL analyst for ESPN after retiring from the NFL back in 2024
Since then, he has forged a close bond with one of music’s biggest ever stars. Swift even seemingly refers to Ed in her song ‘So High School’.
‘I feel like laughing in the middle of practice / To that impression you did of your dad again,’ Swift sings – Travis has repeatedly performed an impersonation of his dad on his New Heights podcast, which he hosts with his brother Jason.
Ed has always spoken glowingly about Swift and her influence on his son – who affectionatelty calls him ‘Papa’. He described her as ‘a very smart, young lady’ and ‘a joy to be around’ before February’s Super Bowl.
Donna was at Kansas City Chiefs traning camp on Saturday, watching Travis preparing for the new season.
The Chiefs tight end, 35, nearly retired after Kansas City lost this year’s Super Bowl against the Eagles in New Orleans.
At one stage, Kelce looked finished but eventually decided that he did not want to end his career on such a low note.
The Chiefs start the new season in Brazil on September 5 against the Los Angeles Chargers before a Super Bowl rematch against the Eagles at Arrowhead on Week 2.
