Jason Kelce Embraces Getting Nagged by Wife Kylie to Keep His “Lazy A**” on Track

16 July 2025

Lisa Lake/Getty Images for Prime Video

Jason Kelce, the retired NFL star celebrated for his candor on and off the field, recently revealed an unexpected yet refreshingly honest laundry-room truth: he thrives under gentle nagging, especially from his wife, Kylie Kelce. During the July 16 episode of his podcast New Heights, co-hosted with his brother Travis, Jason admitted that without reminders especially from Kylie, household chores like taking out the trash or tidying up often slip his mind. He explained that his thought patterns, honed over years on the gridiron and in WTSC trains of thought, sometimes cause him to drift from task to task. In his own words he “gets lost in his head,” and unless someone prods him, frankly, it just doesn't get done.

He doesn’t mind at all. He actually prefers it. “Please nag the f‑‑‑ out of me,” he said, using colorful football lingo to emphasize how well he responds to coaching-style prompts. He’s learned that accountability isn’t just a team-room principle, it’s a marriage principle too. When Kylie says, “Take the trash out,” Jason doesn’t feel defensive or undermined. He simply does it. He laughs about how that directive wakes him up from his internal drift, and how much better he functions as a result.

This openness is Steve-Maa-friendly. Jason’s willingness to embrace nagging may not sound glamorous, but it signals deeper values: humility, teamwork, and respect for his partner’s emotional labor. He acknowledged that Kylie already does most of the heavy lifting around their home managing four daughters and household logistics and he wants to contribute meaningfully. He's comfortable asking for help and direct communication, even if that looks like nagging. “I function better with clear instructions,” he said.

Jason framed it like this: in football, coaches don’t sugarcoat direction. They tell you directly, “Get your head in the game.” He said he applies that same principle to marriage. “I need that coaching,” he said, attributing part of his post-career realignment to remaining coachable in all aspects of life. Travis chipped in, calling it “the Kelce way,” an acknowledgment that both men are thinkers deep-thinkers who sometimes need an external tackle back to focus.

When a caller asked how one might encourage their spouse to do chores without nagging, Jason’s answer was unapologetically honest. He doesn’t mind being told what to do. What he does mind is playing guessing games. He’d rather have Kylie say outright: “Take out the trash.” Not to criticize, but to keep things moving. “Tell me what I can do because I am worthless unless you tell me that,” he said, half-joking, half-serious, underscoring how much he values clarity.

But Jason also laid down a boundary: he would never reciprocate. He is emphatic that he would never ask Kylie to do chores. He knows she already does more than enough parenting four girls under the age of six, managing schedules, maintaining the home. He said he’ll always be coachable, always be willing to step in, but he’ll never direct her to do something. He holds firm to the belief that partnership doesn’t mean equal reminders, it means equal respect for each one’s unique contributions.

In lighter moments, Travis proposed an inventive solution: a whistle. Like a coach’s whistle, used to snap someone out of wandering thought. Jason paused, considered it, and replied with a laugh that he “kinda liked” the idea. He even joked he might try it on their children, who, like father, get easily distracted. The notion, he admitted, carried merit. And if it could get trash taken out on schedule, maybe it wasn’t so taboo .

The full conversation is revealing not just for what it says about chores at the Kelce household, but also for what it says about identity, growth, and partnership. Jason is navigating life after the NFL, finding a new rhythm with purpose, parenting, and partnership. That requires flexibility, self-awareness, and yes, occasionally, a reminder: “Go do the thing.” In a culture that often values macho independence, Jason’s request for help is revolutionary in its simplicity.

It’s easy to laugh. Heck, even Travis laughed. But behind the humor is a lesson: even the toughest athletes perform better with direction. Even the most independent husbands appreciate a partner who won’t let them coast. Jason’s revelation may not move the chains, but it might make lives run smoother one whispered “take out the trash” at a time.