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Pete Hegseth and Jennifer Rauchet. | Source: instagram.com/jennycdot
Pete Hegseth and Jennifer Rauchet. | Source: instagram.com/jennycdot

Jennifer Rauchet Loves to Show Off Close Bond with Stepkids on Social Media

Jana Stevens
Jan 18, 2023
09:15 A.M.

Jennifer Rauchet is the third woman to say "I do" to Pete Hegseth. Though their relationship began secretly, they celebrated their love on a sunny New Jersey day in 2019, surrounded by their combined seven children.

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When Jennifer Rauchet fell in love with Pete Hegseth, she knew he was a package deal with his three kids from a previous relationship, and vice versa.

The family-oriented pair spend much time with their extended brood doing activities like camping and attending sporting events. The family uprooted their lives on the east coast in favor of the Volunteer State in 2022.

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Jennifer Rauchet Found the Love of Her Life at Work While Married to Someone Else

As an executive producer of "Fox & Friends," Rauchet spent many hours with the then-rising star and war veteran, Pete. While both were still married, their professional relationship turned romantic.

Rauchet, an alum of Towson University in Maryland, worked at "Fox & Friends" for two months shy of eleven years before becoming the executive producer of Jesse Watters' show "Watters' World," in January 2017.

According to a news report, Fox executives moved her to another show on the network when whispers of the affair reached the top floor. Ironically, Watters' first marriage also fell apart after an extramarital affair with a former colleague.

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The producer gave birth to her fourth child, her first with Pete, in August 2017, Gwen Hegseth. While finalizing their respective divorces, the couple attended a dinner at the White House a month later. They were rumored to be living together in an apartment at the time.

Little Gwen's first Easter in April 2018 was spent at the White House Egg Roll wearing a matching maroon dress with her big sister, Kenzie, her parents, and half-brothers on her mom's side, the eldest whose name is Jackson.

The following Easter, Ratchet shared a carousel of all seven children dressed in bunny shirts before they attended the church service. A few months prior, in August 2018, she posted the first snaps of her blended family while on a beach vacation.

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The couple announced their engagement in twin social media postings on June 15, 2019. In the image, Ratchet cups her new fiancé's face as they kiss, showing off a large solitaire diamond engagement ring.

The wedding party was made out of their shared brood.

The show-runner was promoted to the Vice-President of Fox Nation in July 2018. She began her career as a producer at a local news station in New York, WPIX-TV, in 2001, where she stayed for five years.

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Jennifer Rauchet Revels in the Bliss of Having a Big, Blended Family

The New Jersey-based power couple tied the knot on August 16, 2019, their youngest daughter's second birthday. The outdoor ceremony occurred at Trump National Golf Club Colts Neck in New Jersey.

The decorated army captain had been married twice before to Meredith Schwarz, between 2005 and 2009, and seven years to Samantha Hegseth, with the divorce finalizing in late 2017. He shares three sons with Hegseth; Boone Hegseth, Gunner Hegseth, and Rex Hegseth.

A day before the nuptials, the bridal pair wearing "Make Weddings Great Again" caps and their kids descended on the golf course for the rehearsal. The groom conceded that the day was slightly chaotic, but the kids were all smiling, lined up in falling height like the Von Trap kids in "The Sound of Music."

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Rauchet, who took her husband's last name, wore a light cream lace dress, while her new husband donned a lightweight suit with an open-neck white shirt. The wedding party was made out of their shared brood.

Their boys looked adorable in bowties and baby-blue knee-high slacks, and Gwen and Kenzie wore ballerina pink tulle dresses with petals on the bodice. The producer later shared images of their wedding under the caption, "Feeling perfectly and happily blended (officially)! #belief."

Even the stricter logistics of having a blended family seems to phase the VP, as demonstrated in a September 2019 post where she broke down the children's schooling by numbers, "6 students, 5 grades, 4 schools, 2 states, ALL adorable!"

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Jennifer Rauchet & Pete Hegseth Solidify Their Loving Relationship with Sweet Dates & Trips

For his June 7 birthday in 2022, the producers of "Fox & Friends" put together a tribute for the host from his wife and children. Standing poolside with sundried hair, Rauchet said:

"My handsome husband, you are so smart and fun and strong and wonderful and passionate, and I only want to do life with you(sic)."

That evening she said on Insta that it might have been Pete's birthday, but she got the "amazing gift" of him. For her January birthday earlier that year, he had also celebrated his Jenny live on air.

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While most of the couple's celebrations are a shared experience with their children, it is evident from their social media that the couple, who once met in secret, have regular date nights and breakaways with just them.

The VP of Fox Nation appeared as a guest on her husband's program, "Fox Files," which he co-hosted with Bret Baier and Brian Kilmeade. She also returned twice as a guest during Pete's tenure at "Fox and Friends."

The Hegseths packed up their lives in New Jersey in mid-2022 and relocated to Tennessee. The New York Times bestselling author first posted about the move in August and confirmed the move on a podcast in October.

The whole Hegseths clan was on hand to ring in 2023 on "All-American New Year Live from Nashville," that was co-host Pete Hegseth.

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