Who Is Pentatonix Singer Kirstin Maldonado's Husband Ben Hausdorff?

The a cappella band Pentatonix took the world by storm after winning reality competition show "The Sing-Off" in 2011. Since then, the band has been unstoppable, releasing covers and original songs and collecting three Grammys along the way. Pentanoix has transformed since their debut into a world-renowned group. They don't look quite the same as they did at the start of their career; one of the original members, Avi Kaplan, even left Pentatonix. But they're still loved by fans and creating great music.

While a cappella lovers may know all about the lives of Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola, Matt Hoying, and Mitch Grassi, you may know less about the real-life partners of the Pentatonix stars. In 2024, Maldonado married her partner, Ben Hausdorff. If you saw their beautiful wedding photos on her Instagram, you may be curious about their love story — and yes, the love story is adorable. 

Hausdorff is a filmmaker who worked with Maldonado before things took a romantic turn. Of course, that's only a piece of the Pentatonix singer's other half's story.

Growing up, Ben Hausdorff moved around a lot with his family, even spending time living abroad. So, from an early age, he had a rich background, growing accustomed to different areas and cultures. Hausdorff spent some of his high school years in Belgium at the International School of Brussels. It was in Belgium that he first started to learn about videography, a passion that would stick with him throughout his life. Though, he didn't think of it as a possible career at that time. 

His longest stint in one place was Rochester, New York, where his family lived for eight years of his childhood. Because that was the longest time he lived anywhere, Hausdorff said he felt the strongest ties to New York even while moving around the globe. "Rochester has always been the home base," Hausdorff said during a 2022 interview with Jacob Restituto. When it came time to pick a college to attend, Hausdorff was drawn back to that feeling of home. He attended Ithaca College to re-establish his New York roots. 

Although Ben Hausdorff discovered he enjoyed videography in high school, he thought of it as just a fun hobby and never considered it something he did as a career. So, when it was time to go to college, he decided to major in something more practical: athletic training. But, his time in that field was short-lived. He told Jacob Restituto that he lasted about three days in the athletic training major. "I took an anatomy class, and I was like, 'man, I do not want to do this at all. This is ridiculous,'" Hausdorff said. 

Fortunately, one of his dorm mates was a film student, which exposed Hausdorff to the possibilities of working in cinematography. "I was helping him with one of his projects, I kind of acted in it," he recalled. "It was just so much fun, and I was like, 'I could do this as a major?'" From there, Hausdorff switched his course of study to cinematography. He continued at Ithaca, learning about production, directing, working on set, and other skills that would become crucial in his career path. Through the process, Hausdorff said he realized working in film was his calling, and he was excited to move to California and get started as soon as he graduated. 

Ben Hausdorff has created an impressive career as a videographer and filmmaker, but it took him time to get there. He moved to Los Angeles in 2014 and got a job working at an Independent film company working post-production on a feature film. It was an exciting gig for him to land fresh out of college, but he quickly realized that was not what he wanted to do. "I learned what I didn't want to do, which was being in the office, producing, coordinating, things like that. I really wanted to be on set. I really wanted to hold the camera," he told Jacob Restituto. Due to that experience, he knew his goal was to be a more active part of film production and work towards becoming a director. So, he quit his job to work as a freelance videographer. 

"The road to becoming a working director is anything but easy. Honestly, I'm still on it," Hausdorff told Shoutout LA, "But I've had to improvise to get where I am today and push myself to never give up and love what I do. I started in LA in 2014 and by 2016 I was working as a freelance videographer part-time while bussing tables in my other time." He worked at the restaurant to make enough money and jumped at any opportunity he got to work on a film project, slowly building his resume.

During his early years in Los Angeles, Ben Hausdorff worked on several projects, including short films and documentaries. He gained some recognition for a documentary he made about the Salton Sea, California's largest lake, which is at an environmental risk due to the decrease in water supply over recent years. Hausdorff's documentary on the ecological impacts of the Salton Sea earned him his first award. The film won best in cinematography at the Awareness Festival in Los Angeles.

Then, in 2016, Hausdorff had his first chance to direct a feature film. The opportunity came when an old high school friend approached him about directing his passion project. The friend had raised a seemingly too small amount of money to make the feature, but Hausdorff felt compelled to take on the project anyway. "He said something I'll never forget, 'This is the time that all the great directors direct their first movie, what do we have to lose?' I was 24 at the time, and he was right," Hausdorff told Shoutout LA. "Granted that movie didn't propel me into the stratosphere but that was never really the goal. It was an incredible experience, producing and directing (and editing) a feature that we shot in 11 days and I learned an incredible amount from the experience."

In 2018, Ben Hausdorff started working with Pentatonix, a wildly popular a cappella band with viral covers that we're still listening to. Hausdorff first came in contact with a member of the band, Scott Hoying, when he was hired to film behind-the-scenes footage for "Ghost," a song by Hoying and Frankie. "So, I do that video, good rapport on set, nothing crazy ... both artists were really nice. We made a good video," Hausdorff told Jacob Restituto. But, at the time, he did not think anything else would come of that project. But, a few months later, he got a call from Pentatonix management asking if he'd be interested in being the band's tour videographer. He was put in the running for the position, and since he'd already worked with one of the band members, he landed the coveted position. 

Hausdorff was very grateful and excited for the opportunity to work with the band. It was a steady job that allowed him to do what he was passionate about. "This was life-changing in more ways than one, but it was finally a videography gig I had always dreamed of. Touring the country (and later the world), making mini-docs along the way," he told Shoutout LA. Little did he know at the time that working with Pentatonix was not only a big career step but also how he would meet his future wife. 

Although touring with Pentatonix was a dream job for Ben Hausdorff, it was also a lot of work. He traveled with the group, filming the shows and behind-the-scenes footage to make YouTube videos and social media posts for the band. "The amount of work you're getting, the amount of footage you're getting every day, and the time constraints ... that felt like a lot of work," he told Jacob Restituto. But the longer he toured with them, the more he settled in and was able to find a system that worked for him.

Through his time touring, he also became close to the band members. "I was lucky enough to be with a group that was awesome, and all are very friendly, and we became friends," he said. By traveling with them, filming, and hanging out on off time, Hausdorff naturally bonded with all the Pentatonix band members, forming a particularly close relationship with Kirstin Maldonado. 

Maldonado has been with Pentatonix since 2011 and she is the only female member of the band. It's no stretch to say Maldonado has gone through a stunning transformation over her time with the group. As Hausdorff and Maldonado got to know each other, they eventually formed a romantic relationship, but according to the Pentatonix singer, it all started platonically. "[We] started off as friends and really got to know each other," she told People. 

After getting to know each other on tour, Kirstin Maldonado and Ben Hausdorff began dating. The pair have a strong connection and seem very happy together, even sharing three dogs. In late June 2022, they took their relationship even further and started a family together. Maldonado gave birth to their daughter, Elliana Violet. 

The new parents were overjoyed to welcome their baby girl into the world, and Hausdorff shared an Instagram post with photos of the baby about a week after she arrived. In the caption, he wrote, "Welcome to the world and to our fur family, Elliana Violet. You are already so loved and so tiny! Kirstin, you are incredible and an absolute warrior. Thank you for giving life to our gorgeous, precious, sweet baby Evie. Cheers to this new forever journey."

Their daughter was soon introduced to her parents' rockstar lifestyle as they took Elliana on the next Pentatonix tour. Since both parents are involved in the tour, it made more sense to bring their daughter with them. Maldonado spoke to People about how traveling as a young parent was going. "We're in different places all the time which makes those memories stronger in a way," she said. "Her first train was in Japan, the bullet train, and first crawls in Fiji. It feels like she is the most well-traveled baby at this age, maybe ever."

Five years after meeting her in 2018, Ben Hausdorff proposed to Kirstin Maldonado. He planned the engagement while Pentatonix was on a tour stop in Tokyo, Japan. Maldonado made three Instagram posts showing off her ring and gushing over the exciting news. The first photo shared was a blurry selfie with her hand up to show her new bling. To sum up her overwhelming emotions in the moment, she simply put "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH" in the caption. 

It seems Hausdorff planned the perfect proposal, fitting a romantic day into their busy tour schedule, and he chose to pop the question in Japan, one of Maldonado's favorite places. Maldonado wrote in the caption of another Instagram post, "Somehow now Japan is even more so my favorite place in the world than it was before. I love you forever and always."

In a behind-the-scenes video shared by PTX Weekly News, Maldonado surprised her fellow bandmates with the exciting news and even told a crowd of fans gathered for a special event that she'd just gotten engaged. It was clear the couple could not wait to share their news and happiness with everyone. A year later, Hausdorff shared photos from the proposal on his Instagram, writing that proposing to Maldonado was the best decision of his life. 

While working as a videographer for Pentatonix,  Ben Hausdorff never gave up his dream of becoming a director. In 2021, he released a short film, "Fran," which he'd written and directed. On his Instagram, Hausdorff shared a poster for the film and talked about what a challenging but rewarding journey it was to get made. The project took him several years. He wrote the film for his senior thesis when he was in college, but he wasn't able to bring the script to life until much later. 

Hausdorff started producing "Fran" while on tour and working for Pentatonix. "It is not an easy thing to hire crew, rent equipment, and do casting calls from time zones 15+ hours ahead...When I returned from Australia, there was only 1 week left before the shoot date. I still had to cast the title character, as well as run rehearsals, finalize crew and all the other duties of a director and producer," the filmmaker wrote in his Instagram caption. But, despite the time constraints and other obstacles he was up against, Hausdorff and his team finished the project, filming the entire script in one day. "What we accomplished with 'Fran' is nothing short of incredible and something I'm ridiculously proud of," he wrote. The short earned Hausdorff Best Dark Comedy at the Bare Bones International Film and Music Festival.

After years of dating, living together, and having a child, it was clear that Ben Hausdorff and the Pentatonix singer Kirstin Maldonado were committed to each other, but they wanted to make things official and put a ring on it. On April 21, 2024, the beautiful couple got married at D'Vine Grace Vineyard in McKinney, Texas. The large Texas wedding was a special occasion for the couple, their family, and friends. Maldonado's Pentatonix bandmates, who Hausdorff is also close to, were all in attendance. "I just think a wedding is so special because when are all those people going to be in the same room and celebrating [again]? It's all your favorite people all together," the singer told People. 

The couple had already built a life together, so Hausdorff considered their marriage the formalization of how they already felt. "I think we've finally caught up to our relationship or our relationship has finally caught up to where we are," the groom said. "And I think there's something special about that. Just being like, yes, 'My wife!' and this is our life, and this is our daughter, and that's it." 

Their adorable daughter was an honored member of the wedding party. She wore a dress that had design elements similar to her mother's wedding dress and looked adorable as her parents' flower girl. 

After their wedding and a brief intermission for their honeymoon, Ben Hausdorff and Kirstin Maldonado have continued their busy, fast-paced lifestyle. Maldonado is back on tour with Pentatonix, and Hausdorff has been working on many projects to propel him forward in his filmmaking career. He recently released a feature horror film, "Killer Rental," which screened at the Chicago Horror Film Festival. 

But even with their jam-packed schedule, Hausdorff and Maldonado appreciate the quiet moments they have at home with just them and their daughter. Maldonado recently shared an Instagram post with snapshots of her husband, her daughter, and herself during some quiet moments in their home. "Loving all my special family spaces so much! They've truly made my home a dream come true. From cozying up for movie night, to family picnics by the grill, to sharing Halloween festivities with my baby angel and the special rainbow light fractures that hit our wall at breakfast time," she wrote in the caption. Sounds like family life hits all the right notes.