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Kylie Kelce is in the middle of her second trimester of pregnancy. So far, she’s been candid about how miserable she is during pregnancy, the annoying intrusive questions that she gets from people, and the inevitability of a minivan in her future. She’s also pretty open about parenting in general. While appearing on a recent episode of the Sunday Sports Club podcast, Kylie spoke candidly about her experience with postpartum depression after her oldest daughter, Wyatt, five, was born. After she brought Wyatt home, she felt detached from her and struggled to make a connection early on.
The 32-year-old, who is expecting her fourth baby with husband Jason Kelce, revealed that she had an early experience with postpartum depression after welcoming her and Jason’s eldest daughter Wyatt, now 5.
“I have had periods of my life where I truly believe I was experiencing postpartum,” Kylie told Allison Kuch on the Sunday Sports Club podcast Jan. 12. “I know with Wyatt that I had severe baby blues. We left the hospital, and I was like, “So you’re telling me this is mine?’”
The Not Gonna Lie host, who also shares daughters Elliotte, 3, and Bennett, 22 months with the former Philadelphia Eagles player, admitted that it took her baby girl reaching a particular milestone before she felt a sense of ease in motherhood.
“The biggest milestone for me with Wyatt was when she could smile on purpose,” she added. “Because it showed me there was a connection. Most people will take their baby home, and it’s sensationalized social media of, ‘Look at how cute my baby is.’ No my baby cried from bewitching hour at 8 p.m. until 4 a.m. if I wasn’t holding her or if she wasn’t on my boob.”
Quipping about her then-newborn, Kylie added, “We were not cool.”
It’s great that Kylie is speaking out about this, especially because she has such a big platform and following now. I also appreciate that she was specific in how she experienced it in the form of not feeling connected with Wyatt. There are so many women out there who feel the same and are beating themselves up over it. According to the National Institute of Health, 1 in 7 women will experience postpartum depression. The more public awareness about these more taboo subjects, the better, so that more women and men understand that PPD is real and shouldn’t just be dismissed as “hormones” or “baby blues.” If anyone out there is experiencing or has experienced it, please know that what you’re experiencing is real and you are not alone. Please talk to your doctor or a health professional about what resources are available in your area.
I hope she has a large support network. The only information I’ve retained about her and her husband is that she said on a podcast(?) that she has to hire a babysitter when she leaves the house, even if her husband is home. It completely flabbergasted me.
😬I’d forgotten that.
It sounds like her entire family is nearby and all very involved (she’s referenced only taking her kids places if her sister or cousin and their kids are going too). I think it’s more she doesn’t want to rely on him being correct about his schedule, or knowing he gets pulled into last minute/unscheduled things a lot. I think it also means she doesn’t have to coordinate with him about every little thing and she emphasized it’s for her peace of mind.
My father in law, who just turned 80, used to proudly tell me how he’s never changed a diaper in his life. He has three kids and was the oldest of five, I will never understand why he thinks that’s something to brag about. Both of his sons (including my husband) are basically the opposite of that mentality, he doesn’t notice. My mother in law had to schedule a babysitter if she was doing something in the evening, and he was always there, I don’t know wtf he was doing. Also the story he’s told me about being the proudest of his kids was he took all three of them to a city meeting of some kind, and ppl were impressed by how they were silent the whole time. All of them have accomplished a lot of things, them sitting quietly one time is what he’s proudest of.
It sounds like Jason may still be working when he’s home. Hopefully it’s not because he’s irresponsible.
I listened to the podcast episode. The context is being blown out of proportion. I didn’t think anything was wrong with what she actually said. They seem to have a great partnership.
exactly. The way people project and twist is astounding.
Given her husband’s income level I am surprised that , as a mom with 3 little ones and another pending, she doesn’t have a live in mother’s helper.
She explained that she hires a babysitter because Jason is hustling to put together his post-playing career and is often on work-related calls.
She has a very significant support network of family members and friends. And Jason seems very involved as a dad and partner.
Um, yikes? My oldest child is about two decades now and one of the things that the midwives brought up was post partum depression. It can impact on the bond with your kid, but it also makes you more susceptible to a recurrence and possibly developing (regular or chronic) depression or burnout. This should have been part of her check ups?! Big families can be wonderful, but four kids in six years is a lot and she’s increasing her risk. If you develop gestational diabetes or thyroid issues your risk goes up, too. I feel like she should mention that part and what she’s done to help herself after having gone through this with Wyatt.
She doesn’t owe people a full explanation of her medical care. Sheesh. She’s not a taxpayer-funded royal.
I just appreciate her helping to normalize postpartum depression.
I was still living in the States when Princess Diana’s interview about PPD hit the newspapers. That’s where I first learned about it. By the time I gave birth in the NLs both I and my US friends were informed about looking out for the signs and symptoms. I gave birth to my first kid almost 20 years ago. They want you to bond with your kid and they want to make sure you’re supported.
I like Kylie’s politics. I think it’s good that she’s sharing that she experienced PPD. My issue is that the talking around PPD has changed from “this can happen” (I don’t think any future parents are being kept in the dark about this decades later) to “if this happens, this is the support you need.” Normally, you’re being asked about your support system afterwards. It doesn’t prepare you for the actual experience, but does give you the heads up. Frankly, it helps to have a great partner, friends and family around, health professionals without waiting lists, and money.
Shoot, I’d written a comment and mentioned that Princess Diana was the one who introduced me to post partum depression in her interview: https://www.history.com/news/princess-diana-bbc-interview-martin-bashir
By the time I gave birth almost 20 years ago, this was something me and my friends (including in the US) were informed about. It’s great that Kylie’s mentioning it, but it has been normalized–it’s the whole discussion about partner care and what to look out for. And when they tell you to schedule time for yourself and do non mother stuff. I feel like she should emphasize tips to get mentally healthy because that’s not yet part of the conversation.
I really appreciate it when parents talk about PPD. It was something I was aware of with my baby, but not so much the postpartum anxiety. It caught me off guard and I didn’t know it was a thing that could be different than PPD. Always great to check in with a doctor or friend, especially in those blurry first weeks and months.
Thank you so much, Kylie, for talking about this. PPD I think is stigmatized because new moms are just expected to be completely in love and overjoyed at the arrival of our babies and many moms are, and I am so happy for them. My story was different. I was completely terrified and shell shocked and couldn’t stop crying and that was before the severe PPD that landed me in the hospital for a week kicked in. Unfortunately my OBGYN’s office didn’t give a flying f–ck when I called them and told them I was suffering. The nurse coldly said, “Call your insurance.” And that was it. Thankfully I was able to speak up and tell my husband that he needed to drive me to the ER when the thoughts got really scary. I was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for a week where I fortunately had a good experience and they figured out the right meds for me to be on.
It is great that she is talking about it. People who need to hear it will get some benefit from knowing her experience, I think. My daughter is a nurse now but she started as a birth coach and she always talked to her patients about it before they went home. My doctor didn’t say anything to me. Come to think of it, neither did my mother, mother-in-law or really even sister (though my sister did warn me how sleep deprivation might impact me).
I’m not a mother so maybe, I don’t know what I’m talking about, but I don’t really understand how someone will have a less than pleasant experience with their first kid and then continue to pop out even more. Anyways, never been happier to be childfree.