Donna Kelce says she and her ex-husband, Ed Kelce, agreed to stay together 'til after their sons, Travis and Jason, got out of college ... in an effort to give the boys as good of an upbringing as possible.
Momma Kelce opened about her relationship with her former hubby on the Mother's Day edition of iHeartMedia's The Martha Stewart Podcast this week ... and at one point during the talk, she admitted she and Ed made a pact to stay together through their sons' time at the Univ. of Cincinnati.
She told Stewart that raising two boys -- specifically ones who were athletic -- would have been just too tough to do on their own ... so, "Ed and I, we worked together as a team."
"It's very, very difficult to raise children on your own," she said. "And with as active as they were, how do you do that on your own?"
Ed had previously made reference to the couple's agreement on Amazon Prime Video's "Kelce" documentary ... when he said breaking up "would have been a nightmare with the logistics, getting kids where they had to be and providing all the support."
As you know, Donna and Ed raised the future Pro Football Hall of Famers in Cleveland Heights, Ohio ... before taking care of them while they played football for the Bearcats.
Jason went on to be drafted by the Eagles in 2011 following his time at UC, while Travis got picked by the Chiefs in 2013 after his run with the Bearcats ended. A short time later, Ed and Donna split.
The two, though, have remained cordial ... as they've been seen supporting their kids numerous times over the years -- including just recently, when they were all together for the brothers' live "New Heights" show at UC.
The boys, meanwhile, have had nothing but kind words to say about both of their parents throughout their careers ... glowing about Mom and Dad regularly.