Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense, seemingly has a tainted track record when it comes to his love life. He often credits his third wife, Jennifer Rauchet, for making it work. However, his past relationships have some interesting overlaps, which raises questions about his commitment.
According to a report by Vanity Fair, Hegseth’s first wife, Meredith Schwarz, was his high school sweetheart. In school, their classmates used to tease them that they were “most likely to marry”, as they appeared completely in love with each other. And five years later, they really tied the knot, succeeding in achieving what many would say is a fairytale ending. However, there was more to come.
It’s easy to understand why Pete Hegseth is against working with women when you realize both of his marriages ended after an affair with a coworker pic.twitter.com/s25cQaEkrZ
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) November 15, 2024
They split, reportedly because Hegseth failed to uphold his commitments, as seen in the divorce papers, cited by APM Reports. Mutual acquaintances claimed that Hegseth’s first wife “was gaslighted by [Hegseth] heavily throughout their relationship.”
According to Daily Beast, Pete Hegseth even confessed to his extramarital affairs to Schwarz, and it was not one, but five! One of these affairs involved Samantha Deering, who later became his second wife. The outlet also reports that the Trump employee even admitted that he used his first wife’s credit card to book a hotel room for him and Deering.
However, while one would assume otherwise, Hegseth and Deering didn’t work out either, as the DOJ secretary would soon cheat on her as well. This is particularly ironic because he wrote in an essay for the Center of the American Experiment that he married Deering because he’d been raised to respect “fidelity.”
Tim Kaine shows no mercy grilling Pete Hegseth about past cheating and accusations. pic.twitter.com/GFskCxHmeF
— New York Post (@nypost) January 14, 2025
However, he didn’t keep his word, and his next affair drew further controversy. In 2017, while still legally married to his second wife, Pete Hegseth welcomed a child with Jennifer Rauchet. In 2019, the pair walked the aisle, but the previous two years were quite difficult for Hegseth’s would-be third wife at that time. During the period Rauchet faced criticism for her pregnancy, Hegseth faced sexual assault allegations from another woman..
Hegseth’s track record is indeed ‘impressive,’ especially considering he was once against divorce. In his 2016 book, In the Arena, he wrote that U.S. family policy should focus on “strengthening families and creating good citizens by preventing divorce of parents and kids.” Interestingly, in his first marriage, he did not have a child, hence his statement did not apply to his own divorce. However, when he split from Deering, with whom he actually has a child, he attempted to justify his behavior through minor revisions in a subsequent edition of his book. In the revised version of his earlier book, Hegseth wrote that families could be kept together “by preventing wanton divorce.”
