From devastating losses to challenges in starting a family, longtime Fox News anchor Ainsley Earhardt has faced more than her fair share of life's curveballs.
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00:00From devastating losses to challenges in starting a family,
00:04longtime Fox News anchor Ainsley Earhart has faced more than her fair share of life's curveballs.
00:09"...have a positive attitude, enjoy your life, even in the hard times."
00:13Ainsley Earhart and Sean Hannity's rumored romance may have sparked plenty of buzz,
00:18but what some fans might not know is that, much like Hannity, Earhart has been married
00:22twice before. Her first marriage was to her college sweetheart, Kevin McKinney,
00:25with whom she tied the knot in 2005. They eventually called it quits in 2009,
00:30with rumors claiming that it was because of a third party,
00:32though both parties kept quiet about the details. Earhart gave love another go just two years later,
00:37this time with former Clemson University star quarterback Will Proctor. The pair
00:41even welcomed a daughter in 2015, but once again, happily ever after wasn't in the cards.
00:46A source told People that Proctor had been unfaithful with one of Earhart's close friends,
00:51a claim he denied, telling the New York Post,
00:53"...there is not one ounce of truth to the allegations that I had an affair.
00:56I remain focused on and committed to being the best dad and maintaining a
01:00friendship with my wife, even though she has decided to move on."
01:03Earhart was all about career first, family later, throwing herself into the hustle to
01:07climb the professional ladder, only to find out that life doesn't always follow your meticulously
01:12laid plans. While she nailed her rise to the top, there was a price. By the time she was ready to
01:16start a family, things didn't go as smoothly as she'd hoped. She told Christian non-profit
01:21I Am Second,
01:22"...I was a planner. I had a whole life planned out — what I was going to do,
01:25how I was going to get to New York, what internships I was going to do,
01:29and what the stepping stones were going to be. But when I started trying to have children,
01:32I was not successful."
01:34In an essay she wrote for Women's Health, Earhart revealed she hadn't felt a strong
01:37urge to have kids until her late 30s, though the dream of a big family had always been in
01:42the background — four kids, to be exact. But by the time she was determined to make that happen,
01:46the idea of four biological kids wasn't on the table anymore. Still, she decided to go for one,
01:52except that didn't turn out to be so easy, either. She wrote,
01:55"...this time in my life was a season of patience. I wanted a baby so badly,
01:59but it wasn't working out. I began feeling really sad that we were having so much trouble conceiving."
02:04Earhart said that it was especially difficult because seemingly none of her peers had the
02:08same issues, adding,
02:09"...I continuously saw pregnant ladies on the sidewalks,
02:12children on park swings, and moms pushing strollers. My professional
02:16friends were getting pregnant, and I was not."
02:18It took eight months of trying before Earhart and her second husband, Will Proctor,
02:22finally got the news they'd been waiting for. Both were overjoyed, their prayers seemingly
02:26answered, and they were ecstatic when they heard the baby's heartbeat during one of their initial
02:30doctor's appointments. But by the next visit, that precious sound was gone.
02:35"...so that was really difficult because we were so close, you know."
02:38Earhart wrote in Women's Health,
02:39"...what happened next was unexpected and crushing. Was this really happening to us?
02:44God took my child home to heaven where I knew he or she would be happy and positively perfect.
02:49One day we will meet again."
02:51The aftermath was brutal, as Earhart endured multiple surgeries to remove the unborn child.
02:56During that time, they also discovered the baby had an extra chromosome. And after such a
03:01devastating loss, Earhart and Proctor decided to take a break from trying to conceive. But life
03:06had other plans. Just a few months later, she found herself unexpectedly pregnant again. In
03:10November 2015, they welcomed their daughter Hayden. Speaking with Yahoo! Life, Earhart shared
03:16how her miscarriage reshaped her perspective, teaching her that nothing in life is guaranteed,
03:20and that every moment counts.
03:21"...we just don't know what the future holds and, God willing, we'll all live long lives.
03:26But I just embrace every single second with Hayden. Embrace every single second and know
03:30that everything is a season. The good times go by quickly, but the bad times go by quickly too."
03:36Ainsley Earhart hasn't shied away from sharing the personal challenges she's faced,
03:40especially when it comes to her mom, Dale. In a Facebook post, she opened up about her mother's
03:44long health battles, revealing that Dale had been fighting various illnesses for decades.
03:48Earhart shared in March 2022,
03:51"...mom was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 39 years old,
03:54three shots a day and countless finger pricks. Then, four years ago, she suffered a stroke.
03:59Dad found her just in time and doctors rushed her into surgery. She is a fighter,
04:03a warrior and a woman of God."
04:05Though Dale initially survived the stroke,
04:07her health took a turn for the worse in the years that followed, and sadly,
04:11she passed away on October 22, 2022. Despite such a heartbreaking loss,
04:16Earhart still appeared on Fox & Friends just days later, telling viewers,
04:20"...you all probably are wondering how I can come to work today. The answer is,
04:23my mom would have wanted me to."
04:25"...she just let Ainsley be Ainsley."
04:27While losing her mother was undoubtedly painful,
04:30Earhart finds solace in her strong belief that Dale is now in a better place.
04:34"...we're just grateful that we know her faith was strong. We know where she is. She's with Jesus.
04:38She loved the Lord and taught us all about Jesus and took us to church every single Sunday."