Tragic Details About Republican Politician Nikki Haley

Since she first ventured into politics in 2004, Nikki Haley has undergone a stunning transformation. She started her political career as a state House representative, and in 2010, she made history when she won South Carolina's gubernatorial race, becoming the first woman and Indian-American to hold the position. But with politics comes plenty of digging into your personal life, and Haley experienced firsthand what it's like when your adversaries and the press unearth the skeletons in your closet.

As Haley was making headway in the polls, a blogger named Will Folks took to his website, FITSNews, to reveal he had an affair with the politician. He claimed that details about their clandestine relationship were slowly being leaked to the media, seemingly by Haley's political adversaries. Folks said he would not stand for it and wanted to rip off the band-aid and be done with it. "The truth in this case is what it is. Several years ago, prior to my marriage, I had an inappropriate physical relationship with Nikki. That's it," Folks wrote. He added that the affair took place before he was married. Haley, however, had been. Folks added that he supported Haley's campaign.

Naturally, this was a bad look for Haley, and the timing couldn't have been worse. But she denied the affair, telling the press, "I have been 100% faithful to my husband throughout our 13 years of marriage. This claim against me is categorically and totally false" (via The Atlantic). She ended up winning the gubernatorial race despite the controversy, but her time as governor was challenging, and her popularity dwindled during her first term. Despite the challenges she faced, however, Haley managed to secure a second term. She continued climbing the political ladder, but it has hardly been smooth sailing.

Donald Trump's shady nicknames for everyone are often riddled with insecurity, and this was the case with a name he gave Nikki Haley when she dared challenge him for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Although she goes by Nikki, Haley's first name is Nimarata, and Trump took to referring to her as "Nimrada" and "Nimbra" interchangeably. It made headlines, especially after Trump asserted that Haley wasn't qualified to run for the presidency because her parents were illegal immigrants when she was born. Trump was accused of resorting to racist tropes to demean Haley, but he made it clear that he wasn't sorry for the nickname.

"I do that with a lot of people," he told Fox News (via The Hill). "With her, it's just something that came. It's a little bit of a takeoff on her name. You know, her name, wherever she may come from." Trump added that making up nicknames for his opponents is somewhat of a hobby and something he found to be "a very effective tool." Haley, meanwhile, took the vitriol with her head held high. "I'll let people decide what he means by his attacks," she told the press (via AP News). "What we know is, look, he's clearly insecure if he goes and does these temper tantrums, if he's spending millions of dollars on TV. He's insecure, he knows that something's wrong." This name-calling from Trump was just one example of the criticism Haley has endured.

In the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, swatting — false emergency calls placed to lure police to certain politicians' houses — became increasingly common. Unfortunately, Nikki Haley was the victim of two such calls.

In January 2024, police received a call from someone who claimed to have shot his wife and threatened to harm himself. The address he gave was that of Haley's Kiawah Island home. Police descended on her house, only to realize there was no emergency. Instead, they found Haley's elderly parents and their caregiver. "I will tell you that the last thing you want is to see multiple law enforcement officials with guns drawn pointing at my parents and thinking that something happened," Haley told NBC News in the aftermath. "It was an awful situation." She added that it wasn't the first time it had happened either, citing the swatting incident as more evidence that the country was in "chaos."

Swatting incidents can turn dangerous, and the FBI condemned what happened at Haley's residence. "When the threats are made as a hoax, it puts innocent people at risk, is a waste of law enforcement's limited resources, and costs taxpayers," the bureau said in a statement to Reuters.

The truth about Nikki Haley and Donald Trump's relationship is that it's complicated. When Trump made his first bid for the White House, Haley didn't support him — she thought Marco Rubio (now secretary of state) was a better fit. Still, she was happy to work as Trump's ambassador to the United Nations during his first term. When the president threw his hat in the ring once more in 2024, Haley announced she would be doing the same, even though she once said she wouldn't challenge Trump if he decided to run again.

Haley doled out plenty of criticism towards her former boss, calling him out for his "temper tantrums," describing him as "unhinged," and labeling him as a "bully" (via Politico). She also questioned his cognitive health and asserted that "chaos follows" him wherever he goes. Trump, in turn, called her "Birdbrain" and "a bad candidate." Haley didn't waver, and she vowed to stay in the race until the American people said otherwise. In the end, they did just that.

Haley dropped out of the race as it became clear defeating Trump would be an impossible task. She subsequently endorsed the divisive politician during the 2024 Republican National Convention, something that couldn't exactly have been easy, given what she'd already said about him. "I'll start by making one thing perfectly clear: Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period," she told audience members (via CNN). Still, her speech hinted that she wanted to see new faces enter the Republican Party. "We must not only be a unified party, we must also expand our party," she said (via Politico). "We are so much better when we are bigger. We are stronger when we welcome people into our party who have different backgrounds and experiences."

After her failed bid for the White House and the sharp criticism she's faced, Nikki Haley had to endure some personal tragedies as well. In June 2024, she took to X on Father's Day to share the news of her own father's death. "This morning I had to say goodbye to the smartest, sweetest, kindest, most decent man I have ever known," Haley wrote. She added a snap of her and her father hugging, adding, "We will miss you dearly." She didn't share any details on the cause of her father's death.

Sadly, Haley had to share a similar message barely a year later, when her mother died. She took to Instagram in July 2025 to share the news, posting a picture of the two of them wearing matching outfits. "We said goodbye to my sweet mom today," she wrote, thanking the public for their support and condolences. "My mom would be so touched. I walk away forever proud to be my mother's daughter," she added. Losing a parent is always a tragedy, and losing her's so close together must have been particularly difficult.