What Fox News' Pete Hegseth Was Like Before Becoming Secretary Of Defense

Since his swearing in as secretary of defense in January 2025, a long list of controversial things have come out about Pete Hegseth. Just a few of the wildest headline-making revelations included Hegseth being sued for accidentally hitting a man with an axe, as well as his speaking out against frequent hand washing. Hegseth has also experienced his share of embarrassing moments in the Trump administration, not least of which was SignalGate.

Given such a lengthy list of eyebrow-raising moments, many have been left wondering if Pete Hegseth was always such a polarizing personality. Speaking with The Daily Princetonian in 2025, Brad Simmons, a former classmate who worked as editor-in-chief at The Princeton Tory while Hegseth was his boss and publisher, recalled, "He aggressively got things done, but he was a very kind person." Meanwhile, Phil O'Beirne, Hegseth's cadet battalion commander at the university, mused, "He carried himself with confidence and a natural charisma." Those descriptions don't seem too far off from a modern-day Hegseth but what has his evolution really been like? Here's what Hegseth was like before becoming secretary Of defense.

Long before he was a household name, Peter Brian Hegseth was your average American teen growing up in Forest Lake, Minnesota. He was born in Minneapolis on June 6, 1980, to Brian and Penelope "Penny'" Hegseth and spent his entire childhood in the state. While attending Forest Lake Area High School, he played both football and basketball while also enrolling in speech and choir. Despite taking part in so many extracurricular activities, Pete also excelled academically and graduated as class valedictorian in 1999.

Indeed, when Forest Lake Area High School inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2012, it praised, "Pete was an outstanding student, athlete, and leader." Focusing on his impressive skills on the basketball court as a starting point guard, the school noted that, upon graduation, Pete had made the most three-point shots ever, both in his career and in a single season. His talents even earned him two all-conference recognitions, but his time playing football was nothing to scoff at either. As a wide receiver, Pete earned two varsity letters.

Pete's mom, Penny, opened up about her son's childhood in an interview with Fox News in 2019, sharing, "Pete was a spitfire — in a good way." Noting that he always did well in school, she added, "He was a talented kid, well liked, hard worker, ambitious, and a little stubborn."

After graduating from Forest Lake Area High School, Pete Hegseth left Minnesota for New Jersey to attend Princeton University. From the moment he began classes in 1999 to when he graduated with a bachelor's in politics in 2003, Hegseth made a name for himself as one of the school's most outspoken conservatives. As The Daily Princetonian reported, he was elected to class senator in his first semester, then worked his way up to the role of publisher at The Princeton Tory, the university's conservative newspaper.

While at Princeton, Hegseth also continued to play varsity basketball, joined ROTC military training as a sophomore in 2000, and participated in Athletes in Action, a group focused on teaching college athletes about faith. However, it was his gig at The Princeton Tory that really left a mark — but not always in a good way. During his time at the paper, Hegseth and his editors proclaimed, "The reality that the homosexual lifestyle is abnormal and immoral." In another issue, Hegseth used his editorial letter to argue, "This University represents my only experience with gratuitous glorification of diversity." He was also an outspoken critic of Princeton's Organization of Women Leaders (OWL), taking down their posters around campus and even publishing a cartoon of an owl being shot, presumably trying to send a message to the feminist group.

Pete Hegseth looks unrecognizable in throwback pics from his military days, which began in 2003. Following his graduation from Princeton University, Hegseth enlisted in the National Guard, starting as an infantry officer in the Minnesota National Guard before moving to the U.S. Army National Guard where he eventually became a major. During his lengthy service, Hegseth was deployed overseas several times and witnessed active-duty combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He was honored with a slew of medals, including two Bronze Stars, which recognize "heroic or meritorious achievement or service."

Despite his impressive achievements, Hegseth appeared to become disenchanted with his role and ultimately left the National Guard in 2021. The decision came several months after he was barred from working at President Joe Biden's inauguration because he was flagged as being a possible threat. While Hegseth claimed it was the Jerusalem cross tattoo on his chest that got him flagged, a redacted email sent by a fellow Guard member to Major General William Walker shows that it was actually the "Deus Vult" on his bicep that caused concern. The text, which means "God wills it" in Latin, has often been associated with white supremacist groups.

During his time in the National Guard, Pete Hegseth became involved with a military nonprofit called Vets for Freedom, which hoped to push lawmakers to continue (and win) the war on terror. As CBS News discovered by looking through the organization's tax filings, Hegseth served as its director in 2006, was promoted to executive director in 2007, then demoted to officer in 2011. That's because, as The New Yorker learned, Hegseth burned through the nonprofit's assets so quickly that, by 2009, it had less than $1,000 in cash and $434,833 in debt. There were also allegations of partying, sexual misconduct, and misappropriation of funds, leading to Hegseth's departure in 2012.

Not wasting time, Hegseth started work with Concerned Veterans for America in 2011, another nonprofit pushing for policies to help vets. As reported by CBS News, he worked his way up to CEO but was again plagued by drama when whistleblowers accused him of hitting on female employees and excessive drinking. This was 2015 and, per The New Yorker, numerous colleagues alleged they had witnessed Hegseth becoming intoxicated while on the job, once trying to get on stage at a strip club while his team looked on. Ultimately, Hegseth was forced to resign in January 2016. Hegseth has denied many of the allegations made against him regarding alcohol misuse and sexual misconduct. He also has claimed he was not ousted from either of the nonprofits. 

As if one Ivy League degree wasn't enough, Pete Hegseth chose to pursue his master's at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. A decade after graduating from Princeton University, Hegseth completed his public policy degree in 2013. He's since expressed that he regrets ever attending Harvard. During a 2022 segment on Fox News, Hegseth made headlines as he pulled out his diploma and wrote "Return to sender" across the front. He also scratched out the word "Harvard" and replaced it with "Critical Theory University." Explaining his eyebrow-raising decision, Hegseth told viewers he believes the school is doing a disservice to America by teaching critical race theory. "I hope this is a statement that as conservatives and patriots, if we love this country, we can't keep sending our kids and elevating them to universities that are poisoning their mind," he slammed.

It seems Hegseth's hatred of Harvard has only grown over time, as he again slammed the institution in a 2024 appearance on the "Danger Close" podcast. "Harvard was horrible," he told host Jack Carr. "I got dumber." Adding that he enjoyed none of his time as a grad student, Hegseth said he actually sent his diploma back. "It was the school of government so it was all government, all climate change, all nonsense," he concluded.

Pete Hegseth first joined Fox News in 2014 as a contributor, but he gained such a fanbase that in 2017 he was promoted to co-host of "Fox & Friends Weekend." "It was accidental for me," he admitted to The Daily Princetonian that year. "It was not something I necessarily set out to do, but I love it." Hegseth went on to say that the best part of his new gig was that he got to report the news but also share his own opinions on various subjects. "There's a lot of editorial involved, which I enjoy as someone who, as you can imagine, has been fairly opinionated for a long time," he mused.

Hegseth remained in his newfound role until November 2024 when Donald Trump officially named him as his pick for secretary of defense. However, his final year at the network was marred by controversy. Hegseth's behavior reportedly concerned his Fox News coworkers, namely his drinking. Speaking with NBC News anonymously, 10 current and former Fox employees alleged that Hegseth would come to work hungover and that they would sometimes smell alcohol on him. "He's such a charming guy, but he just acted like the rules didn't apply to him," one former employee claimed. Before Hegseth was confirmed, he stated that he would not drink at all once he was made secretary of defense and maintained he does not struggle with alcohol misuse.

Pete Hegseth has had a messy love life, to say the least. He first tied the knot in 2004 with his high school girlfriend, Meredith Schwarz, but the union fell apart in 2008. As The New Yorker reported, Schwarz filed for divorce after her husband admitted to being unfaithful with various women, including a journalist he'd once introduced her to. The couple divorced in 2009 and it was later revealed that Pete's marital indiscretions had also included having a child with Samantha Deering, a Vets for Freedom coworker.

Pete and Deering eventually married in 2010 and have three children together: Gunner, Bonne, and Rex. However, it seems old habits die hard as, in 2017, while married to Deering, Pete had a daughter named Gwendolyn with Fox producer Jennifer Rauchet. The pair eventually married in 2019 and Pete Hegseth now has a large blended family that also includes three of Rauchet's children from previous relationships.

Evidently, Pete's indiscretions really irked his own mother. In 2018, while he was divorcing Deering, Pete received a scathing email from his mom, Penelope Hegseth. "You are an abuser of women — that is the ugly truth," she slammed, per The New York Times. "I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego." When asked about this email on a 2024 episode of "Fox & Friends," Penelope insisted there was more to the story. "I wrote that out of love," she said. "And about two hours later, I retracted it with an apology email, but nobody's seen that."