Patrick Mahomes  Surprises Single Mom Struggling to Pay for Kids’ Lunches.

Patrick Mahomes had always been known for his quiet generosity, but no one in the small town of Maplewood, Oregon, expected him to show up in their local diner on a chilly afternoon in December 2023. Most of all, Emma Brooks, a 34-year-old single mom working double shifts as a waitress, could never have imagined that the football star would walk into her life at a moment when she was barely holding things together.

That day, she was secretly counting tips, wondering how she would pay for her seven-year-old twins’ overdue school lunch bills. Patrick had come into town under the radar, seeking solitude after wrapping up a grueling football season. He sat at a corner booth, dressed down in a simple black hoodie and jeans, blending in almost effortlessly.

Emma, juggling plates of pancakes and coffee refills, didn’t recognize him at first. But as she approached his table, there was a flicker of familiarity—those kind eyes, the unmistakable jawline. Her heart skipped a beat when he smiled and said, “Hi, what’s good here?”

Overwhelmed by the day’s stress, she barely had the energy to reply. “Everything’s good,” she mumbled, avoiding eye contact. Patrick noticed the exhaustion etched on her face, the way her hands trembled as she poured his coffee.

“What’s your name?” he asked gently.

“Emma,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. As he enjoyed his meal, Patrick observed the diner’s lively yet strained atmosphere. Parents came in with their children, counting coins to pay for a simple meal. The staff seemed overworked but cheerful, masking their fatigue with forced smiles. It reminded him of his own humble beginnings when his mother worked tirelessly to provide for him and his siblings.

When Emma returned to refill his coffee, he struck up a conversation. “You seem like you’ve got a lot on your plate. How long have you worked here?”

“Five years,” she said, brushing a strand of her auburn hair from her face. “It’s not easy, but it’s what I’ve got. My kids need me.”

Patrick’s heart softened. He didn’t pry further, but her words stayed with him. As he finished his meal, he left a generous tip—$500 cash tucked under his plate. Emma only noticed it after he had walked out the door, her hands shaking as she counted the money.

But Patrick wasn’t done. Later that evening, he called the diner’s owner and asked for Emma’s full name, explaining he wanted to thank her properly. At first hesitant, the owner eventually relented when Patrick assured him it wasn’t for publicity.

A few days later, Emma received an anonymous letter at her home. Inside was a handwritten note that read, “To someone who works harder than most, here’s a little help for the holidays.” Along with the note was a check for $25,000. Emma couldn’t believe her eyes. She clutched the letter to her chest, tears streaming down her face as her twins, Lily and Ethan, hugged her legs, asking why she was crying.

“Just happy tears,” she whispered. But what Emma didn’t know was that this was just the beginning. Patrick had something bigger in mind—something that would change her life forever.

Emma couldn’t stop thinking about the mysterious gift. She tried to piece together who could have sent it, but her heart kept circling back to the quiet man at the diner—the one with the kind eyes who tipped more than her weekly paycheck. She told herself it couldn’t be him; why would someone like Patrick Mahomes care about someone like her?

As the days passed, Emma resolved to keep the money safe, using only enough to clear her kids’ school lunch debt and buy some necessities. The rest she decided would stay untouched until she figured out a plan. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something larger was at play.

A week later, Emma was working a late shift when a black SUV pulled into the diner’s parking lot. It wasn’t unusual for travelers to stop by at odd hours, but something about the vehicle made her pause. The door opened, and out stepped Patrick Mahomes, carrying a bouquet of sunflowers in one hand and a small unassuming box in the other.

Emma’s heart raced as he walked through the door, his presence commanding yet unassuming. The diner went silent for a moment, the clatter of plates and hum of conversation halting as everyone turned to look. Patrick approached her with the same warm smile she remembered.

“Hi, Emma. I hope I’m not interrupting,” he said.

She stammered, “No, not at all. I just… what are you doing here?”

He set the bouquet and box on the counter, his gaze gentle but serious. “I wanted to thank you properly, and I thought maybe we could talk.”

Patrick Mahomes’ Mom Says Family’s Fame Has Been ‘Super Difficult’: ‘Hardest 7 Years of My Adult Life’

“I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy,” Randi Martin said, of the social media negativity that comes with fame

Patrick Mahomes with his Mom Randi Martin. Photo: AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann

Patrick Mahomes’ mom wants a normal life for her kids.

While she was a guest on The Mom Game Podcast in June, Randi Martin, and event planner and mom of three, admitted that there are downsides to the fame that comes with having a son who is a three-time Super Bowl champion.

“As much as I say that we’re blessed and Patrick’s living his dream, it has been the hardest seven years of my adult life,” Randi, 48, said of her eldest son’s NFL career and rise to fame.

Fame comes with criticism and “hate” from people online — sometimes directed at her kids — that she said makes her cry at night.

Pat Mahomes stands with his sons Patrick and Jackson, an ex-wife Randi.ASSOCIATED PRESS

“I look at some of my friends on social media….and I’m jealous that they have this normal [life],” she continued. “Their kids are the same age as Patrick and Jackson and they have this normal situation and we don’t,” she continued. “It’s super difficult.”

Along with Patrick, 28, Randi is mom to Jackson, 24, with her ex-husband Pat Mahomes. She also has a 12-year-old daughter, Mia, from another relationship.

Randi lives with her daughter in Texas, and said even day-to-day life when Patrick and his wife Brittany Mahomes aren’t visiting, can be overwhelming.

Patrick Mahomes mother, Randi Martin, in 2020.Tom Pennington/Getty

“We just want to be normal and go and have dinner and we don’t do that,” she said, admitting that she doesn’t take Mia out much.

Plus, at her event planning business, she said that most of the calls have nothing to do with the job.

“I still go to work and I still want to live normal, but it’s like a new normal I guess,” Randi said, adding that the attention is hard as a human being.

Randi mentioned her younger son Jackson, an influencer, saying that he’s been “through the ringer” in the media since the news of his May 2023 arrest came out. He was charged with battery after a February 2023 incident at Aspens Restaurant and Lounge in Overland Park, Kansas, that was caught on security cameras. Jackson pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor battery and was given six months of probation.

From left: Patrick Mahomes, Sterling Skye, Bronze Lavon, Brittany Mahomes and Randi Martin.Ethan Miller/Getty

“It’s one day at a time, it’s a lot of prayer,” Randi said, of how she deals with having her family, which now includes Britany and her two grandkids, Sterling Skye, 3 and Patrick “Bronze” Levon III, 19 months, in the spotlight.

“I’ve cried myself to sleep reading some of the things that I know that my kids see,” Randi admitted, adding that she keeps a close circle of friends around her for support.

She added that she’s a big fan of the block button, and has blocked “thousands” of people, trying to protect her two youngest kids.

Randi said she doesn’t blame Patrick for the downsides of fame, and that he has worked hard for his success and is living his dream. “But I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”

Jackson Mahomes and Randi Martin watch Chiefs game with Taylor Swift and Brittany Mahomes in October 2023.AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann

She said that she and Brittany tell Patrick the truth and keep him grounded, and elsewhere in the podcast admitted that she’s most proud of the kind of dad he is.

“They take priority over everything else,” she said of Sterling and Bronze for Patrick. Randi said he visited her in Texas for Mother’s Day and had to go back to Kansas City the next day, but made it clear he was staying until he put his kids to sleep.

“I hear him say things like, ‘If the game takes away from my kids I may not play as long as Tom Brady,’ ” she said, adding that comments like that make her “proud.”