Details About Former Fox News Anchor Pete Hegseth's Massive Blended Family

Pete Hesgeth rocketed to national fame when Donald Trump named him as his choice for Secretary of Defense. Previously, Hesgeth was perhaps best known to Fox News viewers as a former co-host on "Fox and Friends Weekend." In that role, Hesgeth once made a gross on-air confession that might horrify germaphobe Trump, but the two men do have one big thing in common: They've both been married three times and both have a lot of kids. In Hesgeth's case, he's dad to four biological kids and three stepkids. Hesgeth has had a messy love life, so breaking down how this Brady Bunch-esque family came together can get a bit tricky.

Hesgeth's currently married to Jennifer Rauchet; the two met and started dating while they were both at Fox. Both Hesgeth and Rauchet had children with other people before they got married in 2019 at the Trump National Golf Club Colts Neck in New Jersey. Hesgeth and his second wife Samantha Deering have three sons together: Gunnar, Boone, and Rex. Rauchet had three children from a previous marriage: Kenzie, Jackson, and Luke.

Pete Hesgeth and Jennifer Rauchet had an affair while he was still married to Samantha Deering, and in August 2017, Hesgeth and Rauchet's daughter Gwen was born. That brings us to kid number seven in the Hesgeth family. Deering and Hesgeth divorced not long after Gwen was born. Hesgeth has talked about being a dad and a stepdad, and it sounds like he's all in. We "are a family brought together by the grace of God," Hesgeth said. "There are no 'steps' or 'halves' in the Hegseth clan," per Birmingham Christian Family.

Hesgeth and Rauchet both frequently post photos of their big family on social media, and they definitely have a picture-perfect American family vibe going with many of their posts. In an Instagram post on Father's Day in 2022, Rauchet wrote: "He's just a dad that does it all. Basketball coach, magnatile designer, Trampoline mad bouncer, Steak master, army guy, RV repairman and best seller... no wonder he's tired!"

The blended family lived together in Middle Tennesse as of November 2024, but given his connection to Donald Trump, Washington D.C. has always been on the cards.