Inside Ainsley Earhardt’s dating history and past divorces as Fox News star gets engaged to Sean Hannity
Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt stunned fans of the conservative network by getting engaged over Christmas.
The pair, who have been dubbed ‘The First Couple of Fox,’ gushed that they ‘couldn’t be happier’ in an announcement Thursday.
For Earhardt, 48, it’s been a rough road to finding her happy ending, as she endured two failed marriages before meeting Hannity – including one that was plagued by infidelity rumors.
Her first marriage to college sweetheart Kevin McKinney started off like a fairytale.
They met while attending the University of South Carolina together, and eventually tied the knot 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 the relocated 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 future fiancé Hannity’s self-titled program.
In an Elle interview, Earhardt admitted that she had originally planned to be an orthodontist, but had always longed to live in a big city such as New York or Los Angeles and be in front of the camera.
Ainsley Earhardt is set to 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 awful,’ the said.
Earhardt first visited the Big Apple with a church group during her sophomore year at university and woke at 3 am one morning to go to the Today show, where she held up a sign saying ‘Will you marry me, Matt Lauer?’
After joining Fox in 2007 and with her career skyrocketing, Earhardt and McKinney quietly divorced in 2009.
Neither have said much about the split, and McKinney quickly faded from the spotlight after parting ways with the Fox News beauty.
Earhardt later admitted that she had no interest in starting a family during her first marriage, and was instead far more interested in climbing the corporate ladder.
‘At the time, my focus was still on my career – I wanted to have a bigger role at work and get established before even considering a family,’ she confessed to Women’s Health in 2017.
Earhardt went on to find love with former Clemson Tigers quarterback Will Proctor, who was eight years her junior, and they wed in 2012.
Eargardt married her college sweetheart Kevin McKinney in a lavish ceremony in South Carolina in 2005. She’s seen as a teen
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 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 said to DailyMail.com at the time that the couple tried for years to piece their marriage back together following Proctor’s alleged affair with one of her pals.
‘It was all the more devastating for Ainsley that he cheated with someone who she considered one of her closest friends,’ the source claimed.
‘Any marriage break-up is difficult but this made it extra heart wrenching for her.’
‘She has evidence that proves the affair,’ the source added, although they did not go into what that evidence was.
Proctor, who is the one that filed for divorce, steadfastly denied that he cheated on the blonde anchor.
Earhardt went on to find love with former Clemson Tigers quarterback Will Proctor, who was eight years her junior, and they wed in 2012
Earhardt was initially more focused on building her career than starting a family
‘There is not one ounce of truth to the allegation that I had an affair,’ Proctor said in a statement to DailyMail.com at the time.
‘I remain focused on and committed to being the best dad, and maintaining a friendship with my wife even though she has decided to move on.’
While Earhardt never addressed the rumored infidelity, she did put out a statement about the end of her marriage.
‘After much prayer and careful consideration, Will and I have separated,’ she said at the time.
‘I am grateful to Fox for their support and 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 darling 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 for at that 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 in church over Christmas earlier this week.
The newly engaged couple gushed that they ‘couldn’t be happier’ in an announcement on Thursday through Fox News.
‘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 stated.
The couple notified their ex-spouses ahead of their announcement and declared that ‘everyone is supportive of each other.’
‘We actually made them aware this was happening ahead of time,’ the couple said of their exes.
They kept details of the proposal private, other than to say he proposed in their ‘home church’ and that this was the ‘perfect place,’ given they’ve bonded over their deep faith and ‘have placed God first in their relationship.’
Earhardt and Hannity officially got engaged after Hannity popped the question over Christmas earlier this week
Hannity, who will turn 63 on Monday, lives in Florida while Earhardt, 48, stays in New York, but the couple have made their long-distance relationship work with weekend trips. This will continue for the foreseeable future.
‘With a mutual respect for each other’s careers, both Hannity and Earhardt have long-term deals 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 eponymous show ‘Hannity’ from Florida,’ Fox News stated.
Before dating Earhardt, Hannity also went through a divorce.
It was reported that he had split from wife Jill Rhodes in 2020; they separated in 2015, but managed to keep it quiet until then.
