Megyn Kelly expressed strong opinions regarding her ex-Fox News associate Pete Hegseth and his “marital background,” as he confronts accusations of having sexually assaulted a woman in 2017.
During her guest appearance on the Charlie Kirk Show on Saturday, Kelly, 54, discussed the controversial history of Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense and shared her thoughts on Hegseth, a colleague of hers from 2014 to 2017. She advised the right-wing commentator against marrying Hegseth but downplayed the sexual assault allegations against him.
“To be frank, when you look at his marital track record, it doesn’t exemplify loyalty,” Kelly stated. “I’m just being upfront about that.”
Hegseth has gone through three marriages, starting with Meredith Schwarz in 2004, from whom he parted ways five years later. He subsequently married Samantha Deering. However, during his marriage to Deering, Hegseth fathered a child with Jennifer Rauchet, a producer at Fox at the time. The couple later divorced in 2017, and in 2020, Hegseth married Rauchet.
Kelly suggested that Hegseth’s issues with fidelity could be partly attributed to his service in the National Guard, as he completed two deployments—one in Iraq and another in Afghanistan.
“It’s not unusual for these combat veterans to struggle with their personal relationships upon returning home,” she remarked.
Despite her remarks about Hegseth, Kelly stood up for her former colleague concerning the sexual violence allegations directed at him.
“Facing challenges in one’s personal life…” Kelly contended, “is vastly different from being a rapist.”
Just two months after his split with Deering in 2017, Hegseth was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Monterey, California. The police report stated that the alleged victim claimed he took her phone and confined her to a hotel room before the assault occurred.
Kelly asserted that the “woman’s account raises a lot of red flags.”
Hegseth has continuously denied any wrongdoing, asserting that the encounter was consensual. No charges were filed against him in connection with the incident, but he reportedly compensated the woman as part of a non-disclosure agreement.
The settlement, according to Hegseth, was made out of concern for potential termination from Fox News due to the allegation.
“He is completely and utterly innocent. There was a thorough investigation. She was the one being aggressive,” Hegseth’s attorney, Tim Parlatore, stated to Breitbart.
