Aurora Starchild
Media personality Megyn Kelly has been rocking the airwaves and small screen for decades. The fierce, conservative babe may be known for her outspoken ways and rough-around-the-edges honesty, but she’s actually quite the romantic. The story of her marriage to Douglas Brunt is almost straight out of a movie. Meet Megyn Kelly’s husband and the father to her three kids.
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Megyn Kelly Studied Political Science and Law Before Her Career in TV and Media
Megyn Kelly was born November 18, 1970, in Champaign, Illinois. Her father was a professor at the State University of New York and her mother was a homemaker. Kelly and her two older siblings were raised as Catholics in Syracuse and Delmar, New York. Megyn’s father passed away suddenly of a heart attack only 10 days before Christmas in 1985, when he was 45 and she was 15. Her mom then picked up work as a nurse at a Veteran’s Hospital and continued to raise Megyn and her siblings on her own.
In 1992, Kelly graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor’s degree in political science. She went on to graduate from Albany Law School three years later. She worked with law firms until 2003, picking up a journalism internship with NBC in Chicago. Then she moved to Washington, D.C. to work as a part-time reporter for the ABC affiliate WJLA. In 2004, Kelly was hired full-time as a legal pundit for Fox News. She appeared on Special Report with Brit Hume, The O’Reilly Factor, and other shows, gaining recognition for her reporting on a 2006 Duke University scandal.
Kelly First Rose to Fame on Fox Before NBC and Her Own Podcast
By 2007, Kelly was a co-host on America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer. She then got her own 2-hour America Live daytime program in 2010. In 2013, she hosted her own evening program, The Kelly File. Although she presented conservative views, making her a favorite among many Republicans, she identified as an independent. She received widespread recognition for her reporting on child abuse in 2016 and has also spoken out about industry sexism.
In 2017, Kelly ended her work with Fox and switched to NBC to host Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly. The short-lived program was eventually switched to the daytime show Megyn Kelly Today. However, after she was criticized for making what was perceived to be a racist comment, NBC canceled her show. Since then, she has been hosting her own podcast, The Megyn Kelly Show. The Sirius XM podcast has been incredibly successful over the years and has published over 522 episodes to-date.
She’s Been Married Twice
It almost unfathomable that anyone with Megyn Kelly’s busy schedule could squeeze in time for love, but indeed she has. In 2001, she married her long-time boyfriend Daniel Kendall, an esteemed anesthesiologist. However, the two divorced in 2006, which Kelly later hinted was at least partially due to unfaithfulness. Despite the rumors, Kendall adamantly denies that he ever cheated on Kelly.
Douglas Brunt Was a CEO Before Becoming a Bestselling Author
Douglas Brunt was born on August 25, 1971, making him very close to Megyn Kelly in age. The Pennsylvania native graduated from Duke University. He then became the CEO of a successful internet security company, Authentium, in 2001. Brunt sold his company in 2011 for $8 million.
Leaving the executive life behind, Brunt decided to become an author instead. His first book, Ghosts of Manhattan, became an instant New York Times bestseller in 2013. He’s since published three more books and currently hosts a podcast Dedicated with Doug Brunt.
Douglas Brunt and Megyn Kelly Met on a Guard-Chaperoned Blind-Date
Shortly after her divorce from Kendall, Kelly found love again in a handsome former CEO named Douglas Brunt. But it wasn’t easy, and they almost didn’t think they’d become life partners.
According to The New York Times, Kelly and Brunt met while she was in the midst of dealing with a stalker. As a world-famous political commentator, Kelly needed around-the-clock bodyguards. The two met on a blind date, and “her advance team” scoped Brunt out before they met face-to-face. But initially, her team thought the mystery date was a different guy. They called him “cute” before he rendezvoused with another woman. However, luckily for Megyn, Douglas was “even cuter.”
“He came across as sincere,” Kelly told the Times. “While we were talking, he leaned forward, really listening to what I was saying. He’s also clever and has a great sense of humor.”
When Brunt and Kelly first met at the bar that day in 2006, he was still a CEO, and she was working with Fox. Due to the security team’s presence, that first date was quite awkward. The couple discussed their early relationship on Kelly’s podcast. “We were chaperoned like a couple of high school sophomores going to the prom,” Brunt joked. “These were guys who clearly had experience with weapons and taking people down, and I did not want to be taken down by anyone.”
Douglas Brunt and Megyn Kelly Dated Long-Distance and Almost Didn’t Work Out
Brunt would have to undergo security screenings and was escorted home by a security guard after every date. Their first kiss was also in front of a guard, which Kelly said was “awkward AF.”
Megyn Kelly and Douglas Brunt continued to date long-distance for months. However, despite their chemistry, the lack of privacy and their schedules left the future of their relationship up in the air. “It took Megyn a while to realize that Doug was exactly what she wanted,” her friend Laura Osborne told The Times.
On New Year’s Eve of 2007, a traumatizing accident almost ended their relationship. Brunt was walking Kelly’s two Shih Tzus in the city and one of the dog’s retractable leashes went too far. Her dog Bailey was almost killed by a car, leading to a big argument where Kelly accused Brunt of trying to kill her dog. They broke up — but for less than a day. That same night, Brunt had a realization about how much he loved Kelly.
“He did what every woman hopes a guy will do. He let down all of his defenses. We both realized that something important was happening,” Kelly told The Times.
Megyn Kelly’s New Job in NYC Prompted Douglas Brunt to Propose With a Fake Gem Ring
Ten days later, Kelly was informed that she’d be moving to New York City to host America’s Newsroom. The thought of losing Kelly made Brunt realize what he needed to do. So, short on time, he purchased a fake gem ring from a costume store and got down on his knee. He had initially intended on proposing in a couple months with a real ring, but this needed to happen fast.
“I was so stunned that I just sat there staring at him, thinking, ‘What is he doing?’” Kelly told The Times.
“She took so long to answer that I thought I had just made a total fool of myself,” Brunt added.
Kelly and Brunt Were Married in 2008
The two wed on March 1, 2008, at Oheka Castle in Huntington, New York. “Everything about the two of us just clicked our interests, our sense of humor, what we want in life,” Kelly said after they married. “I just know in my heart that I love the man I’m with, and he loves me.”
Megyn Kelly and Her Husband Have Three Children Together
Megyn Kelly and Douglas Brunt welcomed their first child, Edward “Yates,” in September 2009. Daughter Yardley Evans was born in April 2011. Their second son and third child, Thatcher Bray, was born in July 2013.
Megyn Kelly, her husband, and their children currently reside in Rye, New York. And their family life is anything but boring. The entire brood has been spotted ziplining and attending a rodeo in Big Sky, Montana, vacationing in the Bahamas, and going on snowy walks together.
Brunt Supports Kelly’s Career and Is a Devoted Father
Douglas also helps with the kids while his wife is away working.
“Neither Doug nor I came in with any strong biases about gender roles. When we got together, he made more money than I did. Now I make more, and probably that will cycle around many more times over the rest of our lives,” Kelly said of their family life. She also said that her husband is a “supportive spouse” and that she hopes their kids will find value in seeing how much time their father puts in for them. “Our kids see that Doug and I support each other’s goals,” she added.
This was a very.nice article. I don’t think she’d approve of the conservative comment but the rest was nice. It’s rare to see a fair article written about MK.