How Fox News' Dana Perino Met Her Much Older Husband

Finding her soulmate was the last thing on Dana Perino's mind before meeting her husband, Peter McMahon, in a chance encounter. The two love birds crossed paths in the air. They had both boarded a flight headed from Denver to Chicago in 1997. However, Perino caught McMahon's eye before they even entered the plane. "I was walking down the jetway behind this cute little blonde with her ponytail swinging, and I thought, I hope I sit beside her," McMahon said in an interview with Yahoo Lifestyle.

As if McMahon willed their meeting into existence, that was exactly what happened. And fortunately for the England native, Perino found McMahon just as stunning as he found her. Within minutes of their meeting, the Colorado State University Pueblo graduate was already assessing her future husband. "Oh, he's cute, and he's not wearing a wedding ring, and he has a British accent," she recalled thinking to herself. And it seems after the two had a casual chat, McMahon lived up to her expectations. "I asked him about his book, he asked me how my trip was, but we ended up talking for two and a half hours," she told People. "We call it love at first flight."

Career-wise, Dana Perino's stunning transformation was already taking shape when she fell for Peter McMahon. She was working on Capitol Hill in the mid-1990s. As a press secretary at the time, "The Five" host was focused on her political aspirations. However, she wondered if McMahon would throw a wrench in her plans. In an interview with the American Enterprise Institute, she opened up about all the potential red flags she saw in her other half. "He's 18 years older than me. He's been married twice before. Did I mention he lives in England? This is not happening," she remembered. 

Still, Perino ignored all the warning signs and proceeded with caution by giving McMahon her contact information. The two managed to maintain a long-distance relationship without any turbulence. What you might not have known about Perino, however, was that she eventually moved to England to live with McMahon. The transition spoke volumes about their bond, since Perino was risking both her financial independence and her career by going all-in on their relationship. But in the end, the risk was worth it. She confided to Refinery29, "Despite all the practical reasons not to leave my promising career in political communications in Washington, D.C., I moved to England to live with Peter, even though he was 18 years older than me. I didn't have a visa to work, so I was totally financially dependent on him — and I was actually worry-free about it."