Fox News Anchors With The Biggest Age Gap Relationships

Despite stressing the importance of traditional family values on air, many Fox News anchors have gone down unconventional routes in their personal lives, marrying people with whom they share a significant age gap. For instance, former Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly's first wife, Maureen E. McPhilmy, was 17 years his junior. Regardless, their marriage lasted for 15 years and they welcomed two children together during that time too. According to Gawker, the ugly side of the couple's marriage was unearthed during their acrimonious, years-long custody battle. The outlet's damning 2015 report detailed how McPhilmy had accused O'Reilly of domestic violence, further revealing, "A court-appointed forensic examiner testified at a closed hearing that O'Reilly's daughter claimed to have witnessed her father dragging McPhilmy down a staircase by her neck, apparently unaware that the daughter was watching," (via The Hollywood Reporter). 

In a statement shared with Politico, O'Reilly vehemently denied the domestic violence allegations. According to previous court documents, which were previously shared by Gawker in 2013, the former spouses had initially agreed to share joint custody of their kids. However, McPhilmy took O'Reilly to court after learning that he had pawned off his parental responsibilities to a child therapist that the controversial media personality had hired full-time. She also posited that O'Reilly had used his influence over the Catholic Church, of which she was a member, to get her a reprimand that urged her not to take communion on account of her remarriage. It also sought to deter her from telling her kids that her second marriage was still considered a holy union. The exes' bitter custody battle culminated in 2016 with McPhilmy receiving full custody of their children. 

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt have quite a noticeable age gap since she is 15 years his junior. In June 2020, a source disclosed to Page Six that the two Fox News anchors had started dating around 2018, after getting out of their respective marriages. While their union may not have started as an affair, an old pic of Hannity and Earhardt showed that they got cozy on set long before their romance began. In 2013, Earhardt took to Facebook to share a snap with her future partner after they discussed Obamacare on air. While most co-workers would have kept a respectful distance, the Fox News stars left no space between them whatsoever. Earhardt and Hannity similarly appeared to be in close harmony when they opened up about their religious beliefs on "Ainsley's Bible Study" in December 2019. 

Despite refusing to give a straight answer about their relationship in initial statements, Earhardt couldn't help but gush about Hannity during a 2021 appearance on "Fox & Friends," sharing, "He's the most generous person," (via the Daily Beast). She continued, "You're just a really good person, Sean, and you've helped all of our careers." Although the couple kept things under wraps for the most part, they were still happy to announce the news of their engagement on Fox News in December 2024. The report also revealed that Hannity's proposal to Earhardt featured one unconventional detail: It took place in a church they frequented. They believed there was no better place for a romantic gesture.

Fox News' Greg Gutfeld has a bigger age gap with his wife than most people realize — Elena Moussa is nearly 18 years younger than her hubby. During a 2023 appearance on the "Club Random with Bill Maher" podcast, the anchor thought back to his first meeting with his future wife, which happened when Gutfeld was 39 and Moussa was 21. On the first day of his job as an editor for Maxim UK, the reporter had to travel to Portugal for a meeting with the other Maxim editors from around the globe. There, he met Moussa, who was then the photo editor for the Russian edition of the magazine. It was only moments after their first meeting that Gutfeld realized he had met The One and started pursuing her. 

When Moussa turned down his advances numerous times, the media personality decided to end his pursuit and go out and enjoy a night out with his fellow editors. However, Gutfeld ran into her as he was about to head out and told her, "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." Moussa wasn't impressed with the clichéd compliment, and she replied, "I'd expect something better from Greg Gutfeld." In 2004, Gutfeld married his wife only three months after they first met. In December 2024, 60-year-old Gutfeld welcomed his first child, daughter Mira, with his wife. After returning from paternity leave in January 2025, the Fox News star proudly told his co-hosts on "The Five" that Moussa had urged him to let her tend to their newborn because he was completely inept at all parenting duties.

Jesse Watters' wife, Emma Watters, is 14 years younger than him. Jesse and his wife had a messy relationship timeline, to say the least. Their paths first crossed when Emma started working as a producer on the conservative journalist's show. In a March 2018 statement shared with the Philadelphia Inquirer, a Fox News rep confirmed that then-39-year-old Jesse had entered into a "consensual relationship" with the 25-year-old producer, who had been moved to the "The Ingraham Angle" production team accordingly. 

Then, in April 2018, the New York Daily News revealed that Jesse's wife, Noelle Watters, whom he had been married to since 2009, had filed for divorce in October 2017 after learning of his alleged infidelity. In December 2019, 27-year-old Emma walked down the aisle to the 41-year-old news anchor, and they welcomed two children in the following years. In April 2022, the Fox News commentator shared the story about how he met his wife and totally creeped Twitter out in the process. 

During an episode of "The Five," Jesse proudly declared that he had deflated Emma's car tires and then offered her a ride to get her to speak to him. After the backlash poured in, the conservative commentator clarified that he was only messing around. As time went by, Jesse adopted a surprising sense of style that didn't do anything to hide his age gap with his wife. When the couple stepped out to attend a Zach Bryan concert in July 2025, Emma showed off a lot of skin in a denim top and a tightly-fitted blouse. And although Jesse tried to keep up by donning a casual outfit, it only made their age gap more obvious.

Dana Perino's huge age gap relationship with her husband, Peter McMahon, seems like more of a retirement plan than a romance. Although the Fox News anchor is 18 years younger than her husband, she still felt an instantaneous attraction to him when Perino first laid eyes on McMahon. Speaking to Yahoo! Lifestyle in 2018, Perino shared that she had met McMahon on a flight to Chicago all the way back in 1997. The then 43-year-old Brit was immediately impressed with the then-25-year-old's good looks, as he recalled, "I was walking down the jetway behind this cute little blonde with her ponytail swinging, and I thought, I hope I sit beside her." And as fate would have it, they did indeed become seatmates. Perino detailed her stellar first impression of her future husband, saying, "Oh, he's cute, and he's not wearing a wedding ring, and he has a British accent." 

During a 2015 interview with AEI, the former White House press secretary admitted that although she gradually grew more attracted to McMahon after their first conversation, she didn't initially see herself getting into a relationship with him because of their massive age gap and the fact that he was a twice-divorced man who lived across the pond. However, Perino eventually realized that she had fallen for him too deeply after that first conversation to ever look back. And, after less than a year of courtship, McMahon popped the question, and the happy couple tied the knot in 1998. In the following years, Perino and her husband went on to share several pics that only made their age gap glaringly obvious. 

In July 2025, Jacqui Heinrich took to Instagram to announce that her partner of four years, Brian Fitzpatrick, had popped the question. However, the news didn't exactly sit well with many netizens since the snap from their happy moment made the happy couple's age gap unavoidably obvious. While one commentator on X, formerly known as Twitter, quipped, "Looks like her Dad," another sniped, "He looks about 50. Weird." In fact, the second commentator's guess was accurate because the Republican politician was 51 when he proposed to his 36-year-old partner. 

However, it doesn't seem like the Fox News anchor lost any sleep over the criticisms about their relationship, as she went on to gush about her fiancé in an interview with People. In addition to dubbing Fitzpatrick one of the smartest people she had ever come across, Heinrich listed, "He's strong and a man of faith, who brings me closer to God. He's sweet and gentle and kind — all of the easy qualities in a person that just make him a joy to be around and life brighter." She also patted Fitzpatrick on the back for his decision to pop the question in a lavender field in France, noting that the sweet smell of the flowers would forever remain ingrained in her brain. 

The choice of destination seems even sweeter considering that the journalist had publicly expressed her desire to explore France during a 2024 chat with the Boston Globe. The couple, who share a 15-year age gap, have been busy planning their future together for some time, as Heinrich reportedly purchased a $1.5 million home in Washington, D.C., just a few months before the proposal, per Realtor.