Pete Hegseth moved to Middle Tennessee to escape the feverish lifestyle of New York City. But, in a house that’s jam-packed with seven children, sometimes he has to wonder.
“I concede that it’s more chaotic, but it’s much more joyful, too,” he says.
Since joining Fox News Channel (FNC) as a contributor in 2014, Hegseth’s role has steadily expanded. He’s co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend and provides analysis and commentary across FNC’s programming. He has a growing presence on Fox Nation, the network’s streaming platform, where he conducts in-depth reporting and hosts The Patriot Awards which celebrates ordinary Americans who do extraordinary things.
Two years ago, Hegseth and his wife, Jenny, decided to move their blended family to a place that aligned better with their spiritual and familial values.
“We were living in New Jersey,” he says. “We looked for a school that focused on classical Christian education in a city that offered convenient flights to my work in Manhattan. We prayed, and God led us here. It’s amazing to live in a place where people are so warm and kind, faith-filled and industrious.”
Hegseth commutes to New York every weekend. “I leave on Friday, do the show on Saturday morning and work in the office the rest of the day. Then, I fly out right after the show on Sunday morning. I can be back in Nashville by the end of the first quarter of a Titans game.”
The Hegseths have a house on a small farm where they raise crops and chickens (“I’ve never eaten so many eggs in my life!” he says) and have a horse to ride and care for.
“I have a studio in the house so I can do my Fox live hits during the week, so the work never stops,” he says. “We enjoy exploring Nashville and the surrounding areas but, more than anything, I’m a homebody. Having some land and being home with the kids during the week is a blessing.”
Hegseth recognizes that there are a growing number of families like his, that include children who are not biologically related. And he has some words of encouragement for parents who are about to embark on that journey.
“Embrace everything as a family,” he says. “We put Christ and God at the center of our orbit. We’re just brothers and sisters and fathers and mothers. That’s how we treat it within our four walls. It’s the only life our children know, and they know it together. Love and embrace them and be there for them in every capacity.”
Prior to FNC, Hegseth was an infantry captain in the Army National Guard and received two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman Badge for his service in Iraq and Afghanistan. His military service inspired his ongoing advocacy for America’s veterans which includes his most recent book, The War on Warriors, where he confronts hardships that he sees imposed on soldiers by their own brass.
The War on Warriors, which spent nine consecutive weeks on The New York Times bestseller list,and other books by Pete Hegseth are available at PeteHegseth.com and wherever books are sold.