Inside Fox News’ latest love story

Succession– put fights aside, they like to keep it in the family at Fox News.

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

The couple “originally bonded over their deep faith,” Fox said in a excited statement about the association, a long-distance relationship that blossomed. “The two have put God first in their relationship,” it read. Their children from previous marriages are reportedly happy about it, and their ex-spouses were also told ahead of the announcement, they said.

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

Earhardt, 48, has worked at Fox News since 2007 and regularly emphasizes her Christian faith. Perhaps that is why she has become such a regular visitor to the marriage 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 turmoil due to “a long-ago affair he had with one of her best friends,” according to DailyMail.coma story that he denied furiously.

The couple, whose daughter Hayden is now 9, reportedly lived in separate apartments in New York City for months leading up to the split.

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

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

It seems the couple are now ready for another shot at marriage – guided by their unwavering faith once again, of course.

Hannity, 62, has had more success on the marriage front than his new fiancé. His marriage to Jill Rhodes lasted from 1993 to 2020, although the couple 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, with Hannity retaining the reigns over his long-running eponymous show and Earhardt vacillating between Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade on Fox & Friends sofa.

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

And President-elect Donald Trump has given his stamp of approval. “Great news Sean and Ainsley. They are officially engaged to be married!” he wrote on Truth Social on 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 lawmaker Matt Gaetz poured over X Thursday night and shared a New York Post article on the news, in a break from reports of 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 probably have some thoughts on that, as he’s also had his own cringeworthy moments that fly in the face of the good book.

Hegseth, Donald Trumps controversial pick for defense secretary 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 boring person” as their relationship crumbled amid his infidelity, Vanity Fair previously reported.

It emerged that Hegseth allegedly did the dirty with Samantha Deering, a woman who also worked at the charity Vets for Freedom, and whom he would later marry. Then he allegedly did the dirty on her too.

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

Proud Christians Hannity, Earhardt and Hegseth have five divorces between them. The Bible, of course, teaches that marriage is meant to last a lifetime—although it allows for divorce under certain circumstances, such as adultery.

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

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

Former network anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit accusing Ailes of sexual harassment, setting off a chain of events that saw other women speak out and ultimately resulted in the ouster of the head of empire. 21st Century Fox reached a $20 million settlement with Carlson.

Ailes faced accusations of groping, soliciting sex and promoting a general culture of misogyny during his leadership of Fox News, as well as other accusations that predated his time as the most powerful executive in the Murdoch empire. Ailes denied everything, walked away with a reported $40 million payout, and died not long after, in May 2017, aged 77.

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

This came just weeks after Fox ousted longtime host Eric Bolling and canceled the show he co-hosted following a report that he had sent indecent photographs to three female colleagues via text. 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 chief of human resources and encouraged employees to report misconduct.

For their part, God-fearing Hannity and Earhardt thought the church was the “perfect” place to get engaged and are looking forward to another go at a lifelong relationship. “We are overjoyed and so grateful to our families for all their love and support during this wonderful time in our lives,” Earhardt and Hannity said.

Fox has been contacted for further comment.