Kylie McDevitt Kelce, the wife of former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, received criticism on X about her role as a "homemaker" this May. Her husband responded shortly after: “I don’t think of Kylie as a homemaker."
She doesn't think of herself as a homemaker, either.
"I honestly don't think about those terms very much at all. I do my best not to define myself by any one term," Kylie Kelce says in a conversation with TODAY.com.
A mom of three little girls, Kelce is busier than ever, both in supporting her husband in his new career as a football analyst and continuing her advocacy work for the neurodivergent population.
"I will always give any of my free time to the neurodiverse community," Kelce says. "I have a special place in my heart for individuals on the spectrum."
What she learned from Uncle Tim
Kelce has previously shared stories about growing up with her neighbor, Tim, who happened to be autistic.
When she visited Studio 1A earlier this year, she said that being friends with Tim “was a learning experience I didn’t even know I was having. I’m so fortunate to have had him in my life, to have learned about the autism community through him.”
This neighbor, who her children know and refer to as "Uncle Tim," has been a constant "light in our lives," she says. "He is what encouraged me to have passion for the autism community and supporting the neurodiverse community."
Getting to know Tim has "helped Jason better understand the neurodiverse community," Kelce says. Tim's family is thrilled that his friendship with her has driven her "passion" for advocacy. Tim, however, "could care less that I talked about him," Kelce jokes. "He's he's too cool to worry about things like that."
In meeting people who happen to be neurodiverse, Kelce says that she encourages her girls to be open and accepting, especially because neurodiversity can manifest in so many different ways.
"I want to make sure that my girls are sort of desensitized to chaos, which they are at home. So when we go out in public, I always make sure that they feel comfortable asking me questions because that's how they learn," she says. "But then also just knowing that everyone around us deserves our love and respect. And so neurodiverse or not, I hope to teach them that everyone deserves that."
Screen-free fun
Through her work with the Eagles Autism Foundation,Kelce is partnering with HP to celebrate Neurodiversity Pride Day on June 16.
Because children with autism can improve social engagement through playing with puppets, HP is offering free "Print Pals" to keep all types of kids engaged and off of screens this summer. Parents can download and print a series of cartoonish body parts for kids to color, cut and assemble.
"One of the things that a lot of people on the spectrum struggle with is communication, specifically emotions or feelings," Kelce explains. "So you can have the puppet speak to their emotions or feelings. You can do a little role play."
Kelce thinks her girls will have a ball with the activity: "I can imagine we will have a full menagerie of puppets by the end of the summer."
Summer days
Wyatt, 4, Elliotte, 3, and Bennett, 15 months, will be trading more structured school days for time at the beach this summer.
"That's our happy place over the summer," Kelce says. "The girls absolutely love the freedom of just being down there playing in the sand and then also ... 9 o'clock at night getting ice cream." After laughing about the difficulty of post-ice cream bedtimes, Kelce says, "It's memories that we will have for a lifetime."
There will be some changes this summer, however. For one, the Kelces will now be chasing three kids instead of two. But also, the family has a new level of celebrity, even when camouflaged by beach gear.
"We're at a crucial learning point in life of the idea of 'stranger danger,' which becomes a little bit strange when people approach them and know their names already or speak to Mom and Dad as if they know them," Kelce says. "I just always remind them before we go into any public space that if they don't want to say hi to anyone, they don't have to, but they must remain with Mom, Dad or one of our other trusted adults."
For the most part, fans who have approached the Kelces have been friendly, Kelce adds. "We love that, and I want our girls to see that kindness and feel that love, but we are toeing a fine line of making sure that they understand safety measures, as well as being friendly individuals."
A "chaotic" fall
Looking ahead to the fall, Kelce says that her husband "is busier in retirement than he was playing football! He's so excited about this opportunity and we're so excited to get to cheer him on in a different capacity now."
In addition to her advocacy work, Kylie Kelce will continue coaching field hockey. Plus, her two older daughters will return to school.
Even though the fall will be a bit "chaotic," there will still be "some familiarity to our fall," Kelce says. "It will include football and field hockey and that's what we like best."
Rosie Colosi
Rosie Colosi lives in New Jersey and is a reporter for TODAY Parents. She has bylines in The Atlantic, The Week, MSNBC, and PureWow, and she has written 33 nonfiction children's books for Scholastic, Klutz, and Nat Geo Kids. Once upon a time, she played Mrs. Claus in "The Rockettes' Radio City Christmas Spectacular," but now she mostly sings songs from "Annie" to her two daughters … while they beg her to play Kidz Bop.
