Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt stunned fans of the conservative network by getting engaged over Christmas.
The couple, dubbed “The First Couple of Fox,” said in an announcement Thursday that they “couldn’t be happier.”
For Earhardt, 48, it’s been a tough road to find 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 college sweetheart Kevin McKinney started off as a fairytale.
They met while attending the University of South Carolina and eventually married in 2005 in a lavish ceremony at the governor’s mansion with eleven bridesmaids and eleven groomsmen.
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 as co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend, but also with her own segment on future fiancée Hannity’s self-titled program.
In an interview with Elle, Earhardt admitted that she originally planned to become an orthodontist, but always longed 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 co-star Sean Hannity
“I remember asking God, ‘Why was I born into this family in South Carolina?’ That sounds awful,” people said.
‘I love my family. But the way I grew up, you might go to New York 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 to the Today show, where she held up a sign that read “Will you marry me, Matt Lauer?’
After she joined Fox in 2007 and her career exploded, Earhardt and McKinney quietly divorced in 2009.
Neither has said much about the split, and McKinney quickly disappeared from the spotlight after parting ways with the Fox News beauty.
Earhardt later admitted that during her first marriage she had no interest in starting a family, and was instead much more interested in climbing the corporate ladder.
“At the time, my focus was still on my career – I wanted to play a bigger role at work and settle down before I even thought about having a family,” she admitted. Women’s health in 2017.
Earhardt then 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 2005 in a lavish ceremony in South Carolina. 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 strengthened 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 eventually welcomed daughter Hayden in 2015.
Sadly, just three years after becoming parents, the couple split in 2018 amid rumors of infidelity.
Sources close to Earhardt told DailyMail.com at the time that the couple tried to get their marriage back on track for years after Proctor’s alleged affair with one of her friends.
“It was all the more devastating for Ainsley that he cheated on him with someone she considered one of her best friends,” the source claimed.
“The breakup of a marriage is hard, but this made it extra heartbreaking for her.”
“She has evidence that proves the affair,” the source added, although they did not elaborate on what that evidence was.
Proctor, the one who filed for divorce, steadfastly denied cheating 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 an iota of truth in the claim that I had an affair,” Proctor said in a statement to DailyMail.com at the time.
“I am devastated by this situation and did not envision this for the future of our family,” he added.
“I remain focused and committed to being the best dad and maintaining a friendship with my wife, even though she has decided to move on.”
Although Earhardt never addressed the rumors of infidelity, she did make 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 am grateful to Fox for their support and for allowing me to spend all day, every day after the morning show, with my child.
“I am fully committed to parenting and doing what is always best for my sweet little 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 eventually welcomed daughter Hayden in 2015.
The former couple split in 2018 amid rumors of infidelity, which Proctor has denied
It’s unclear exactly how long they had been dating at the time, 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 during Christmas earlier this week.
The newly engaged couple said in an announcement via Fox News on Thursday that they “couldn’t be happier.”
“We are overjoyed and so grateful to our families for all their love and support during this wonderful time in our lives,” said Earhardt and Hannity.
The couple informed their ex-spouses in advance of their announcement, stating that “everyone supports each other.”
“We made them aware in advance that this was happening,” the couple said of their exes.
They kept the details of the proposal private, except to say that he proposed in their “home church” and that it was the “perfect place” as they bonded over their deep faith and had “put God first in their relationship.’
Earhardt and Hannity are officially 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 getaways. This will remain the case for some time to come.
“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 his namesake star. show ‘Hannity’ from Florida,” according to Fox News.
Before Hannity started dating Earhardt, she also went through a divorce.
It was reported that he had divorced his wife Jill Rhodes in 2020; they broke up in 2015, but managed to keep things quiet until then.