Sex, Lies and Jesus: Inside Fox News’ Latest Love Story

Succession-style battles aside, they like to keep it in the family at Fox News.

Hence the joy in right-wing circles at the news that Fox legend Sean Hannity and his colleague Ainsley Earhardt are to tie the knot after the veteran host popped the question at a church over Christmas.

The pair “originally bonded over their deep faith,” Fox said in an excited statement about the union, a long-distance relationship that blossomed. “The two have placed God first in their relationship,” it went on. Their children from previous marriages are reportedly happy about it, and their former spouses were told ahead of the announcement, too, they said.

It is a picture-book, picket fence, all-American love story that comes after a string of personal missteps and scandals at the lucrative Murdoch-owned cable news network.

Earhardt, 48, has worked at Fox News since 2007 and regularly stresses her Christian faith. Which is maybe why she’s become such a regular visitor to the matrimonial altar—this will be her third wedding.

The 48-year-old was married to former Clemson Tigers quarterback Will Proctor from 2012 to 2019. That relationship ended in ungodly tumult, because of “a long-ago affair he had with one of her best friends,” according to DailyMail.com, a story that he furiously denied.

The pair, whose daughter Hayden is now 9, were reportedly living in separate apartments in New York City for months in the lead-up to the split.

“After much prayer and careful consideration, Will and I have separated,” she said in a statement at the time. That came after Earhardt had her first taste of divorce in 2009, when she split from her college sweetheart Kevin McKinney, whom she had married in 2005 in South Carolina.

Both Earhardt and Hannity “still get along well” with their ex-spouses, however, and “everyone is supportive of each other,” according to the Fox News power couple.

The pair are now ready, it seems, for another try at marriage—of course guided by their unshakable faith once more.

Hannity, 62, has been more successful on the marriage front than his new fiancée. His marriage to Jill Rhodes lasted from 1993 to 2020, although the pair were separated for some time before publicly announcing the split. They share a 26-year-old son named Patrick and a 23-year-old daughter, Merri.

Fox said the presenting pair will continue in their current roles, Hannity keeping the reigns of his long-running eponymous show and Earhardt plonked between Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade on the Fox & Friends sofa.

Their relationship started out away from the public gaze, only coming to light in 2020. Florida-based Hannity would visit Earhardt on weekends at her New York home, and then they would alternate, Fox said.

And President-elect Donald Trump has given his seal of approval. “Great news about Sean and Ainsley. They are officially engaged to be married!” he wrote on Truth Social Friday morning. “There are no finer people than these, and there will be no finer couple. Congratulations to both - A deal made in HEAVEN!!! DJT.”

“Two wonderful people!” embattled former Florida law-maker Matt Gaetz gushed over on X Thursday evening, sharing a New York Post article about the news, in a break from reports about his own alleged sexual misconduct. Similarly-under-fire Pete Hegseth is yet to publicly comment on the news, but the former Fox & Friends co-host will likely have some thoughts on it as he too has had his own shaky moments that fly in the face of the Good Book.

Hegseth, Donald Trump’s controversial pick for secretary of defense and a proud man of God, reportedly admitted to his first wife Meredith Schwarz that he had cheated on her five times, calling himself “a f--ked-up individual,” as their relationship crumbled amid his infidelity, Vanity Fair previously reported.

It transpired that Hegseth was reportedly doing the dirty with Samantha Deering, a woman who also worked at the charity Vets for Freedom, and whom he would later marry. He then, allegedly, did the dirty on her, too.

In 2017 he had a baby with Fox News producer Jennifer Rauchet, whom he began dating while still married to Deering. When she found out, she too divorced Hegseth. He and Rauchet married in 2019, remaining together today.

Proud Christians Hannity, Earhardt and Hegseth have five divorces between them. The Bible, of course, teaches that marriage is intended to be lifelong—although it does allow for divorce in certain circumstances, such as adultery.

Less than two months before that the child was born, Hegseth allegedly committed sexual assault against another woman, although he has denied this accusation, saying it was consensual sex. Hegseth was also reportedly quite drunk for much of his time at the network, per sources.

But his alleged shortcomings aren’t even the worst to come out of Fox, with the network having to dig deep to protect its reputation after a scandal surrounding late chairman and CEO, Roger Ailes.

Former network anchor Gretchen Carlson brought a lawsuit charging Ailes with sexual harassment, kicking off a string of events that saw other women speak out and which ultimately resulted in the head of the empire being ousted. 21st Century Fox reached a $20 million settlement with Carlson.

Ailes faced allegations of groping, demands for sex, and fostering an overall culture of misogyny during his leadership of Fox News, as well as other allegations predating his time as the most powerful executive in the Murdoch empire. Ailes denied everything, walked away with a reported $40million payoff, and died not long after, in May 2017, aged 77.

That same year, Fox was in the mire again after political commentator Scottie Nell Hughes filed suit, alleging that anchor Charles Payne raped her and then forced her into a years-long sexual relationship in exchange for promises of favors, according to the New York Times. She said she was smeared by Fox after she reported her claims to the network. Payne and Fox denied the claims and a judge threw some out before the parties settled, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

This came just weeks after Fox ousted long-time host Eric Bolling and canceled the show he co-hosted after a report that he had sent lewd photographs to three female colleagues via text message. Payne was the fifth high-profile man at Fox to be accused of sexual harassment or assault in a two-year period.

Since Carlson sued Ailes in 2016, Fox has hired a new head of human resources and urged employees to report misconduct.

For their part, God-fearing Hannity and Earhardt thought the church the “perfect” spot to get engaged and they’re looking forward to another go at a life-long relationship. “We are overjoyed and so thankful to our families for all of their love and support during this wonderful time in our lives,” Earhardt and Hannity said.

Fox has been approached for further comment.