Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt surprised fans of the conservative network by getting engaged over Christmas.
The couple, who have been dubbed ‘Fox’s First Couple,’ gushed that they ‘couldn’t be happier’ in an announcement on Thursday.
For Earhardt, 48, it’s been a difficult road to finding her happy ending, as she endured two failed marriages before meeting Hannity, including one that was plagued by rumors of infidelity.
Her first marriage to her college sweetheart Kevin McKinney started out like a fairy tale.
They met while attending the University of South Carolina together and eventually married in a lavish ceremony at the governor’s mansion with 11 bridesmaids and 11 groomsmen in 2005.
They later moved to San Antonio, Texas, so Earhardt could work as a morning news anchor for KENS-TV, before moving to New York City in 2007, when she joined Fox News.
She quickly became a rising star at the network, not only co-hosting Fox & Friends Weekend, but also landing her own segment on her future fiancé Hannity’s show of the same name.
In an interview with Elle, Earhardt admitted that she had originally planned to be an orthodontist, but had always wanted to live in a big city like New York or Los Angeles and be in front of the camera.
Ainsley Earhardt will walk down the aisle for the third time after getting engaged to her Fox News colleague Sean Hannity.
‘I remember asking God, “Why was I born into this family in South Carolina?” “Which sounds horrible,” he said.
‘I love my family. But the way I grew up, you go to visit New York maybe once in your life.
Earhardt first visited the Big Apple with a church group during her sophomore year in college and woke up at 3 a.m. one morning to go on the Today show, where she held a sign that read, “Will you marry me, Matt Lauer?”
After joining Fox in 2007 and with her career skyrocketing, Earhardt and McKinney quietly divorced in 2009.
Neither of them have said much about the split, and McKinney quickly disappeared from the spotlight after splitting from the Fox News beauty.
Earhardt later admitted that she had no interest in starting a family during her first marriage and was instead much more interested in moving up the corporate ladder.
“At the time, I was still focused on my career; I wanted to have a bigger role at work and establish myself before I even thought about starting a family,” she told Women’s Health in 2017.
Earhardt found love with former Clemson Tigers quarterback Will Proctor, who was eight years her junior, and they married in 2012.
Eargardt married her college sweetheart Kevin McKinney in a lavish ceremony in South Carolina in 2005. She is seen as a teenager.
While still a sophomore at the University of South Carolina, Earhardt traveled to New York with a church group and jokingly proposed to Matt Lauer.
With her position at Fox News solidified thanks to a co-hosting role on Fox & Friends, Earhardt was finally ready to become a mother.
They tried for a baby for about a year and suffered a tragic miscarriage along the way, but finally welcomed their daughter Hayden in 2015.
Unfortunately, just three years after becoming parents, the couple separated in 2018 amid rumors of infidelity.
Sources close to Earhardt told DailyMail.com at the time that the couple tried for years to rebuild their marriage following Proctor’s alleged affair with one of his friends.
“It was even more devastating for Ainsley that he cheated on her with someone she considered one of her closest friends,” the source claimed.
“Any marriage breakup is difficult, but this made it even more heartbreaking for her.”
“She has evidence to prove the matter,” the source added, although they did not go into detail about what that evidence was.
Proctor, who was the one who filed for divorce, flatly denied having cheated on the blonde presenter.
Earhardt found love with former Clemson Tigers quarterback Will Proctor, who was eight years her junior, and they married in 2012.
Earhardt was initially more focused on building her career than starting a family.
“There is not a shred of truth in the allegation that I had an affair,” Proctor said in a statement to DailyMail.com at the time.
“I am devastated by this situation and I did not imagine this for the future of our family,” he added.
“I remain focused and committed to being the best father and maintaining a friendship with my wife even though she has decided to move on.”
While Earhardt never addressed the infidelity rumors, she did release a statement about the end of her marriage.
“After much prayer and careful consideration, Will and I have parted ways,” she said at the time.
‘I thank Fox for their support and for allowing me to spend all day, every day after the morning show with my son.
“I am totally committed to parenting and always doing what is best for my darling girl and would appreciate privacy and prayers during this difficult time.”
vanity fair revealed in 2020 that Earhardt had found love again with Fox News royalty Hannity.
They tried for a baby for about a year and suffered a tragic miscarriage along the way, but finally welcomed their daughter Hayden in 2015.
The former couple separated in 2018 amid rumors of infidelity, which Proctor has denied
It’s unclear exactly how long they had been dating at that point, but multiple sources told Vanity Fair that they had been together “for quite some time.”
DailyMail.com then exclusively shared the first photos of the couple in April 2023.
They officially got engaged after Hannity popped the question at church over Christmas earlier this week.
The newly engaged couple gushed that they “couldn’t be happier” in an announcement Thursday via Fox News.
“We are very happy and very grateful to our families for all their love and support during this wonderful time in our lives,” Earhardt and Hannity said.
The couple notified their ex-spouses ahead of their announcement and stated that “they all support each other.”
“We actually informed them beforehand that this was happening,” the couple said of their exes.
They kept the details of the proposal private, other than to say that he proposed at their ‘local church’ and that this was the ‘perfect place’, given that they had been brought together by their deep faith and ‘put God first’. in their relationship.
Earhardt and Hannity officially got engaged after Hannity popped the question over Christmas earlier this week.
Hannity, who turns 63 on Monday, lives in Florida while Earhardt, 48, remains in New York, but the couple has made their long-distance relationship work with weekend trips. This will continue for the foreseeable future.
“With mutual respect for each other’s careers, both Hannity and Earhardt have long-term agreements to remain at Fox News Media, where Earhardt will continue to co-host Fox & Friends from New York, while the primetime star will continue to host her show of the same name. Florida’s ‘Hannity’ show,” Fox News said.
Before dating Earhardt, Hannity was also divorced.
He was reported to have separated from his wife Jill Rhodes in 2020; They broke up in 2015, but managed to keep it a secret until then.