There’s one thing that former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce will never say to his wife, Kylie Kelce.
“I have never ever, and I will never ever, tell Kylie to do something around the house, because, I don’t know, she does enough,” Kelce said on the Wednesday episode of the “New Heights” podcast, which he cohosts with his brother, Travis Kelce.
“If something doesn’t get done, it’s like, yeah, well, I should be helping out on this. Tell me what I can do because I am worthless unless you tell me that,” Kelce said.
Kelce has been married to his wife since 2018, and they share four daughters: Wyatt, Elliotte, Bennett, and Finnley, who was born in March.
While he will never tell his wife what to do, he doesn’t mind if the roles are reversed. In fact, the retired NFL player says he responds to being nagged at “really well.”
“Tell me to get my lazy ass up, and take the goddamn trash out. If you tell me to take the trash out, I’m not going to be like, ‘Oh, I can’t believe she’s telling me to take the trash out.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, you’re right. I should be doing that. OK, I’m sorry,'” he said.
Kelce says he “likes the nagging” and needs it because he can be forgetful sometimes.
“She’s like, ‘Jason, I don’t want to tell you to do these things.’ And I’m like, ‘I get that. I’m just like, you know, it’s not going to get done unless you tell me to do it,'” Kelce said.
“I am pro-nagging. I think nagging is a great thing to do,” he added.
After all, Kelce says he’s used to being told what to do after years of playing on the field.
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“I like coaching. I’ve been coached my whole life. I want people to tell me. I need that,” Kelce said.
Kelce’s comments highlight a common relationship challenge: dividing responsibilities without resentment.
Splitting household chores 50/50 with a partner might not be the most effective, per couples therapist Lori Gottlieb.
“You can’t treat a relationship like a spreadsheet. It has to be more organic than that. Each couple needs to find their own rhythm, where each person is participating in a way that makes you both feel like you’re getting a good deal,” Gottlieb told Jo Piazza, author of “How to Be Married.”
In a personal essay for Business Insider, Melissa Petro wrote that she and her husband struggled with an uneven division of household chores until the pandemic prompted them to ditch traditional gender roles and switch to a shared family to-do list.
In another personal essay for BI, Maria Polansky wrote that she and her husband divide household chores based on the tasks they both enjoy and care about most — a method that’s worked well for them.
A representative for Kelce did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by BI outside regular hours.
