Jason Kelce broke down in tears when recalling the first time he laid eyes on his wife Kylie Kelce.
The Philadelphia Eagles center tearfully announced his retirement from the NFL Monday, bringing an end to his glittering 13-year career on the field.
And the Super Bowl champ made sure to give credit to his wife for being by his side through it all, as he remembered the moment the pair met and kickstarted their love story.
“I won’t forget the Eagles’ Christmas party in 2014 and heading out afterwards with a bunch of my teammates to Buffalo Billiards where my life would change forever,” Jason, 36, said during his press conference.
“That night, I’d meet my future wife. I still remember the moment she walked through the door.”
Jason wiped away tears as he recalled the “first instance” of Kylie walking into the bar, which he admits is “burned in my retina.”
“It was like she glided through the opening, an aura around her. Then she started talking and I thought, ‘Man, is this what love feels like?’” he said of Kylie, 31. “She was beautiful and smart, serious yet playful. I knew it right away.”
In their Prime Video documentary “Kelce,” released in September 2023, the pair revealed that they initially met on a dating app.
“Jason won’t let me lie about this,” Kylie said before sharing, “We met on Tinder.”
When they first matched on the app, Kylie had no idea who he was because Jason didn’t include any photos of himself playing football, but she eventually realized he looked “kind of familiar.”
Taking to Google, the college athlete made the match and believed she was being catfished, but she decided to meet Jason, 36, and his friends at a bar for a few drinks regardless.
“Right away when she walks in the door, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” Jason recalled, adding that it felt “very much like love at first sight.”
Elsewhere in his press conference, Jason explained that his wife has played a key part in his career.
“I think it’s no coincidence that I have enjoyed my best years of my career with Kylie by my side. Every accolade I have ever received has come with her in my life,” he said of Kylie.
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“She has brought the best out of me through love, devotion, support, honesty, intelligence, and of course, a swift kick in the ass from time to time.”
Jason praised Kylie for giving him “three beautiful girls and a life that increasingly brings me more fulfillment off the field than it does on.”
Kylie and Jason married in Philadelphia in April 2018 and welcomed their first child, daughter Wyatt Elizabeth, 3, on Oct. 2, 2019.
Their second daughter, Elliotte Ray, followed closely behind on March 4, 2021. The couple’s third daughter, Bennett Llewellyn, was born on Feb. 23, 2023.
