Tragic Details About CNN Anchor Alisyn Camerota

Alisyn Camerota is perhaps best known for her controversial switch from Fox News to CNN in 2014 after she endured years of harassment at the hands of former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes. But if there's one thing Camerota has proven over the years, it's that she's resilient. Unfortunately, this resilience has been tested on more than one occasion, most recently when her husband of almost 23 years, Tim Lewis, died in September 2024.

Camerota took to Instagram to share the devastating news, telling her followers that Lewis had been battling pancreatic cancer for two years. "This month would have been our 23rd wedding anniversary," Camerota wrote. "I feel incredibly lucky to have had such a deep, committed, loving partnership for the time we had." She added that she and her kids were still trying to come to terms with their loss but were trying their best to navigate this difficult time. "Tim imbued us with a lot of strength and stability and we're determined to try to emulate those qualities of his," Camerota added. Lewis was only 58 years old and died "peacefully" with Camerota and his kids by his side, according to his obituary.

Camerota's husband was no doubt her rock during some of the most trying times of her life, and the former Fox News anchor has had to face plenty of challenges throughout her long career, many of which took place behind the scenes.

Alisyn Camerota might have put on a brave face whenever the cameras were rolling at Fox News, but behind the scenes, she was dealing with unwanted advances from the network's former CEO, Robert Ailes. After leaving Fox in 2014, Camerota revealed the real reason she resigned from the network. "Yes, Roger Ailes did sexually harass me," Camerota said during an interview with CNN.

Camerota recalled how the harassment ensued shortly after she began her 16-year career at the network. She told Ailes she'd like to gain more experience in her field and wanted to be given more opportunities. His response was unexpected. "He said, 'Well, I would have to work with you. ... I would have to work with you really closely, and it may require us getting to know each other better, and that might have to happen away from here, and it might have to happen at a hotel. Do you know what I'm saying?'" Camerota recalled Ailes telling her. "And I said, 'Yeah, I think I do know what you're saying." She never took Ailes up on the offer, and being too shell-shocked and ashamed after the encounter, she kept it to herself. Ailes, offended by her lack of cooperation, opted to harass her emotionally instead.

"It was very hard to stand up to him," Camerota told Buzzfeed News. "He kept everyone sort of silent and secretive." She added that Ailes knew all too well that he had all the power — he could make or break her career. This is one of the reasons she initially remained quiet about the abuse, that is until she left Fox News and decided to tell the world.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

When Alisyn Camerota tied the knot with Tim Lewis in 2001, she couldn't wait to start a family, but things didn't exactly turn out the way she'd hoped. "I immediately started trying to conceive and couldn't," she told CNN's "Represented" segment. "For the next three years, I really suffered in silence as so many women do and certainly did back then. There still was a lot of stigma around it," she said.

When Camerota opened up about her journey with infertility in an interview with Self, she detailed the challenges that followed after doctors told her she wasn't ovulating. The CNN anchor admitted that she'd always had an irregular cycle but never took the time to do something about it until it affected her ability to become pregnant. Over the span of three years, Camerota tried and failed to get pregnant despite treatments like intrauterine insemination and in vitro fertilization. "That led to two pregnancies and two miscarriages, which were emotionally devastating," she shared. "I thought, This will never work, we will never have a child, I will be deprived of this thing that is so important to me — a family."

She almost gave up, deciding that her fourth IVF treatment would be the final round. "It was too much of a strain on my husband and I, our lives and our relationship," she admitted. But then a miracle happened, and she got pregnant with twins and a son not long after.

Like so many celebrities who suffer from anxiety, all the challenges Alisyn Camerota has faced throughout her life took their toll, and in a 2020 Facebook post, she admitted that she used to deal with debilitating anxiety. After speaking with the cast of HBO's "I Know This Much Is True" for a mental health roundtable, Camerota took to Facebook to reflect on the conversation and share a bit about her own experiences. "At times in my 20s and 30s, I wrestled with depression and anxiety attacks," she wrote. "Talking openly about this is the best way to lift the stigma and isolation that come with mental illness. Know you're not alone."

Speaking to Forbes in 2021, Camerota shared that she was a teenager when she first dealt with depression. "I know I can present as somebody who has had an easy life or who doesn't struggle with these things. But it's just not true," she told the outlet, adding that it's so important to remember that people's appearances and behaviors don't tell the whole story. "Everybody has had some struggle or another," Camerota continued, adding that it's very important to remove the stigma surrounding mental health issues, especially because she found sharing her experiences and going to therapy so helpful. "The fact that people feel like they're the only ones who have certain feelings, that they're alone, is a problem. That ends up enhancing the feeling of isolation," she warned.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.