​​Who Is Megyn Kelly's Husband? All About Douglas Brunt

Megyn Kelly and her husband Douglas Brunt first met on a blind date in 2006

Megyn Kelly’s whirlwind romance with her husband, Douglas Brunt, has led to a long-lasting marriage.

The couple first met when they were set up on a blind date in 2006 and, just about 14 months later, Kelly and Brunt were engaged. Looking back, Kelly was initially “confused” by her relationship with Brunt because he was unlike the men she had previously dated.

“He was different from what I thought I wanted. More reserved, less cocky. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. He was kind, he was smart, he was strong but not in a domineering way and in no way intimidated by me or my strength,” she shared on The Megyn Kelly Show.

But things clicked for the pair, and in March 2008, the couple walked down the aisle at Oheka Castle on Long Island, New York. Since then, the couple have welcomed three children — Edward Yates, 13, Yardley Evans, 12, and Thatcher Bray, 9.

Through her career, Kelly says, Brunt has always bee her "No. 1 supporter” and any challenges they've faced have only brought them “closer together.”

“Nothing in my life has been as fulfilling to me as that relationship and the goodness that stems from it. The beauty and the love I see and feel toward my kids, it all started there,” Kelly shared on her SiriusXM show for their 15th wedding anniversary. “It started there. It started on this day all those years ago in something so good, it could only ever lead to more goodness and joy.”

So who is Megyn Kelly's husband? Here's everything to know about Douglas Brunt.

He grew up in Pennsylvania and attended Duke University

Brunt was born on Aug. 25, 1971, in Philadelphia. Growing up in the city’s suburbs, he attended The Haverford School before studying at Duke University. After receiving his undergraduate degree, he later enrolled at Georgetown University, where he earned his M.B.A.

He was formerly CEO of the internet security firm Authentium

After graduating from Georgetown, Brunt went on to work for a money market firm and was later hired as a consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton. Brunt also worked for a venture capital firm before working at the internet security firm Authentium, where he was president and CEO until 2011.

That year, he sold the company to Commtouch and stepped down from his position, per the New York Daily News.

He is a New York Times best-selling author

Brunt began writing during his time at Authentium, penning stories while commuting from New York to Florida, where the company was based. At the time, he was simply writing to “relax.” As time went on, Brunt became increasingly “disgruntled” dealing with a “dysfunctional board of directors and investors” and became interested in pursuing writing as a full-time profession.

“We were walking in the park, strolling our son, and Meg was observing, rightly, that I was snapping and short-tempered and not that happy. And it was related to work. So we talked about ways to change that,” Brunt said during a talk at Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C. “At that time, I had already been writing this draft of what became the first novel and not as a thing that I ever thought would be a career or anything I would pursue professionally. It was just really to relax on planes — I was writing instead of reading.”

Related: Megyn Kelly Welcomes Son Thatcher Bray

He continued: “[Kelly] had read it by this time because it was a completed first draft that I was just sort of monkeying around with and she thought it was pretty good. So the conversation strayed from, you know, 'Leave the company and go to that company' or maybe just leave this kind of career behind altogether and make the leap all the way to try this writing thing out.”

After careful consideration, Brunt helped to sell the company before resigning, and he began working on his book. He got an agent, and after the sale went through, he landed a book deal. Since then, Brunt has published three novels, including his New York Times best-seller, Ghosts of Manhattan. His first nonfiction book, The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel, will be published in September 2023.

He hosts the podcast Dedicated with Doug Brunt

In 2022, Brunt launched his own podcast, Dedicated with Doug Brunt, on which he interviews best-selling authors. The idea for the podcast came about before he had even published his first novel — back when he was simply a fan of other authors.

“The main moment was finishing The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille and putting that down and thinking, ‘What I wouldn't give to sit down in a bar with this guy who I don't know but just to get to know him,’ ” Brunt said on The Megyn Kelly Show.

He continued: “So that's really what the show is — these great writers come in … and we have a drink. They choose their favorite drink, which we make on the set, and we get to know the person, which is an experience that you really can't find anywhere else.”

Since the launch of the podcast, Brunt has talked to numerous award-winning authors, including DeMille, Lee Child, Jennifer Egan and Anna Quindlen.

They were set up on a blind date

Kelly and Brunt first met in 2006 when they were set up on a blind date in Washington, D.C. The pair met up at a tapas bar — but not before Kelly’s friends had scoped out the spot and made sure Brunt looked like a good match. After getting her pals’ approval, Kelly met him at the bar and Brunt won her over.

“He came across as sincere. While we were talking, he leaned forward, really listening to what I was saying. He’s also clever and has a great sense of humor,” Kelly later told the New York Times.

Security guards chaperoned them on their early dates

Early in their relationship, Kelly — who had already been working as a TV correspondent for several years — had a stalker, so she constantly traveled with security guards. Her bodyguards were by her side during her first few dates with Brunt.

“We were chaperoned like a couple of high school sophomores going to the prom,” Brunt shared on The Megyn Kelly Show. “These were guys who clearly had experience with weapons and taking people down and I did not want to be taken down by anyone.”

Kelly’s bodyguards were there when the couple shared their first kiss, which she says was “hard” for both of them and pretty “embarrassing.” In fact, Kelly felt so awkward about the kiss that she went back to Brunt’s hotel without her guards the next day to see him privately.

He was unsure about becoming a public figure

When Kelly and Brunt met, he was unsure about living his life in the public eye. Kelly knew Brunt was “not so interested” in entering the spotlight and that he was much more private.

“This is one of the things you had to wrestle with when you decided to propose to me, right?” Kelly said to Brunt on The Megyn Kelly Show. “I mean, you understood I was on Fox. … By the time I got married, I had America's Newsroom with [Bill] Hemmer so my star was kind of rising a little. So you had to make a decision on whether you wanted to put a toe into public life that way and it really did require a thoughtful reflection by you.”

Related: Megyn Kelly's Husband Wanted to Defend Her During Donald Trump's Attacks: 'You See This Person That You Love Getting Attacked and You Want to Protect Them'

Brunt agreed, noting that it was “all worthwhile” and that he would do it again, even with some of the scrutiny they'd endured throughout Kelly's career ups and downs as well as interactions with fans or criticsin public.

“No one can know exactly what they're getting into with that,” he shared. “There is a lot of good with the bad, but good far outweighs the bad. I mean, when we go places, almost 99% of the interactions are positive. … There have been moments where we're really peaking on intensity and focus on you that's unpleasant, but for the most part, it brings far more good into our lives than bad.”

They realized they were meant to be together after a big fight

After beginning their romance, much of Kelly and Brunt’s relationship was long distance. Over the holidays one year, Brunt visited Kelly and they got into a massive fight. On New Year’s Eve, the couple were walking Kelly’s dogs when Brunt accidentally lost control of one leash; the dog, Bailey, was almost hit by a car. The incident led to an argument, and Kelly accused Brunt of trying to kill her dog. “We hadn’t really been fighting about Bailey, but about our future,” she said, per the New York Times.

That night, the couple called it quits — but in the morning, they had a heart-to-heart and realized how much they cared for each other. The realization prompted Brunt to propose earlier than he had planned, and after purchasing a costume ring, he popped the question in September 2007.

“I was so stunned that I just sat there staring at him, thinking, ‘What is he doing?’ ” Kelly told the outlet. After their wedding, she said: “It didn’t come down to a moment. But everything about the two of us just clicked — our interests, our sense of humor, what we want in life. I just know in my heart that I love the man I’m with, and he loves me.”

They married in 2008 and share three children

On March 1, 2008, Kelly and Brunt officially tied the knot at Oheka Castle in Huntington, New York. The couple said “I do” in front of 130 of their closest friends and family during a ceremony officiated by Kelly’s Fox News colleague Kelly Wright.

A year later, the pair announced they were expecting their first child. They welcomed their son Edward Yates in September 2009 and have gone on to welcome two more kids: daughter Yardley Evans, born on April 14, 2011, and son Thatcher Bray, born on July 23, 2013.

Related: Megyn Kelly's Husband Shares Throwback Wedding Day Photo: 'I Love This Amazing Woman'

After more than 15 years together, the two are still going strong, a sentiment Brunt shared on Twitter in 2019.

“I love this amazing woman more every day. Years later, lots of laughs and blessed w/three beautiful kids. Can’t imagine living this life with anyone else - wish I could slow it down,” he wrote.

He feels very protective of Kelly because she’s in the spotlight

Brunt is one of Kelly’s biggest supporters, and he has said it’s difficult to see negative things about her in the press. After she moderated the first Republican debate in 2016 and faced verbal attacks from Donald Trump, Brunt said he felt they were “in the bunker together.”

“You see this person that you love getting attacked, and you want to protect them and help them, and we just sought each other’s counsel a lot,” Brunt told PEOPLE. “It was so relentless. So, you want to hit back, and ‘God, this is driving me nuts,’ but the smart thing, the right thing, is not to do anything.”

He says Kelly is the “secret sauce” to their lasting marriage

Brunt has said Kelly is the “secret sauce” to the longevity of their marriage. He explained that Kelly was the most “self-aware person” he knew.

“I know that you just see yourself so clearly and then you do things about it when you find something you think needs work — whether it's a relationship with me or your mom or a sibling or a friend. You are very proactive about putting in the work,” Brunt said on The Megyn Kelly Show.

Brunt added that the couple have “frank and honest” conversations when something is bothering them and they don’t let issues “fester.”

“We just put it on the table and talk it through,” he added. “And I think we're both honest with ourselves and with each other about it.”

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