Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth continues to make headlines with his fiery comments about Iran, lighting a match that set social media on fire.
After doubling down on tough talk that many critics say edges closer to escalation, the defense secretary found himself at the center of a different kind of battlefield, as social media users online demand that President Donald Trump’s five adult children enlist in the Iran War if they’re truly aligned with the administration’s hard-line posture.
As the backlash snowballed, attention quickly shifted to Hegseth’s own home life as internet sleuths discovered that he, much like his boss, shares children with multiple women and a history of overlapping relationships — a detail critics seized on to question the optics of pounding the war drum while other families brace for the real-world consequences.
Hegseth is currently married to his third wife, former “Fox and Friends” producer Jennifer Rauchet. They met during his second marriage to Samantha Deering.
But two decades ago, he was married to his high school sweetheart, Meredith Schwarz. The two dated long-distance before getting married in 2004. But Schwarz ended up divorcing Hegseth in 2009 following his admission of five affairs, including an affair with a journalist he introduced her to.
The secretary was still married to his first wife when he began seeing Deering, whom he met while both worked in Washington, D.C., at Vets for Freedom, an advocacy organization that lobbied for military strategies in Iraq and Afghanistan. They got married in 2010 and went on to welcome three sons in 2010, 2012, and 2015.
In a 2012 Senate campaign video Samantha, Pete Hegseth’s second and current wife at the time, praised Pete as a father.
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) January 14, 2025
However, Pete continued his infidelity and ended up having a child with a Fox News producer who he later married as his third wife. pic.twitter.com/qutSYMhHuj
Deering found herself facing Hegseth’s infidelity issues when he welcomed a daughter with Rauchet in August 2017, prompting her to file for divorce a month later.
In the midst of their difficult divorce, as the New York Times first reported, his mother, Penelope Hegseth, sent Pete an e-mail detailing his history as “an abuser of women” who “belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego.” Penelope advised her son, “Get some help and take an honest look at yourself,” and we see how that turned out.
Hegseth began his affair with his now wife, Rauchet, who, unbeknownst to many, was married at the time and had three children. Upon divorcing her ex-husband, Rauchet married Hegseth in 2019 at the Trump National Golf Club in Colts Neck, N.J.
So when a photo of his children and current wife circulated on social media, eagle-eyed X users noticed that several of the seven children appear to be the same age.
Reactions to the post had folks asking about the large family. One user wrote in shock, “Does he have 7 children?”
Another wondered how the five boys appeared to all be so close in age. “Are these all his sons? How come they are all so close in age?”
🚨BREAKING: Do you support Pete Hegseth’s performance as President Trump’s Secretary of Defense ?
— Red Eagle Updates 🦅🇺🇸 (@RedEagleUpdates) March 8, 2026
YES or NO ? pic.twitter.com/4fV2R6sJhD
After the picture was shared on Threads, one user replied, “Where are all their different mothers?”
“Damn! ” Pete is a regular Elon Musk,” added another, prompting the response, “Yes, multiple children by multiple women. Just like Musk.”
Three-time divorce Musk has 14 children with 4 women, while his former right-hand, Trump, has five children between his two ex-wives, one of whom is deceased, and his current wife, first lady Melania.
2017 was a big year for Hegseth, following the birth of his first daughter from his affair with his now-wife, as he was accused of sexual assault by a woman he previously admitted to having sexual relations with in Monterey, California, at a Republican women’s conference that same year.
The woman alleged that he drugged and sexually assaulted her at the Hyatt Regency Hotel while her two young children and husband were asleep in the same hotel. She claimed her memory was hazy, but two days later, she remembered Hegseth taking her cellphone and blocking the door to the hotel room. She also told the police that she recalled saying no a lot as he climbed on top of her.
Hegseth’s lawyer insisted the woman aggressively pursued him, even though she was paid off with a hefty settlement to prevent a bigger lawsuit that would have derailed his career at Fox News at the time. He stayed on as a contributor and ultimately left the position in 2024, after he was announced as Trump’s secretary of defense.
Trump has had his share of affairs, from the Stormy Daniels scandal to other unsavory allegations that resurfaced in the Jeffrey Epstein files. For critics, it’s starting to look less like a coincidence and more like company culture—an administration where the personal headlines seem to echo those at the top.
