Meet Don Lemon's Husband, Tim Malone

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After independent journalist and former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested on federal charges on January 30, 2026 due to accusations that he violated the FACE Act, his husband, Tim Malone, was seen holding his hand and standing by Lemon's side at a press conference. Lemon has been openly gay since coming out in his 2011 book, "Transparent," and in several interviews around the book's release, such as when he spoke to NPR in May of that year. "Do I want to be 'the gay anchor'? ... And I'd have to say, at this point, why the hell not?" Lemon had a boyfriend for over four years at the time, and people close to him already knew of his sexuality. However, Malone wouldn't enter his life until 2015.

Malone, who was born in 1984, is 18 years younger than Lemon. After graduating from Boston College, he worked his way up through the ranks of NBC, staring off as a production assistant before holding sales positions. In 2013, he left the company to take a job in the brand partnerships department at Billboard, where he stayed until 2016. That same year, he started officially dating Lemon after meeting him at a restaurant the year before.

On Malone's birthday in 2019, he proposed to Lemon. On the same date five years later, Lemon and Malone got married in New York City. Before their wedding day, Malone spoke of the importance of the moment to People, telling the outlet why the couple chose a church instead of city hall for the big day. "But I think this is also a message. For I don't know what percent of our guests, on both sides, but for a lot of them it's going to be their first gay wedding."

A few years after Tim Malone began dating the sometimes controversial Don Lemon, he transferred to a life focused on real estate, holding positions at a variety of companies. Malone eventually joined Compass and formed The Malone Team.

Days after Lemon was released from jail, he appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" to speak about the ordeal, where he mentioned his spouse multiple times. After his arrest, Lemon first sneakily tried to call Malone by using Siri on his Apple Watch, but, "He was asleep. It went to his voicemail." Unable to get through to his spouse or his lawyer in the middle of the night, Lemon got to speak to an FBI agent and asked him to take his bracelet to Malone, who had given it to him as a wedding gift. "And that's how my husband found out. Otherwise, no one would have known where I was." 

In a February 2026 chat with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for "The Don Lemon Show," AOC spoke directly to Malone, telling him, "For you to stand up there, and to be in this situation, I just want to commend the bravery of both of you. ... Kudos, and the envy of everyone. Everybody wants a moment like that." When it mattered most, Malone stood by his man.