Tucker Carlson is one of Fox News Channel’s most popular and provocative primetime hosts. But no matter how controversial he is on live TV, the consensus among his peers (even liberals!) is that he’s a funny, whip-smart, and dedicated family man. Someone who’d agree with this assessment is Tucker Carlson’s wife, Susan Andrews. She’s been wed to the cable news personality for ages, and it makes us curious to know more about her. Who stays loyal to a man who believes women “just need to be quiet,” called white supremacy “a hoax,” and said immigrants make the country “poorer and dirtier”? Let’s find out.
Tucker Carlson Has Been Married To His Wife For Over 30 Years
Carlson, 52, married his wife Susan Andrews in 1991. The two first met when they were both enrolled at St. George’s, a Rhode Island boarding school where Andrews’ father, Rev. George E. Andrews II, was the headmaster.
“She was the cutest 10th grader in America,” Carlson told People in 2000.
Andrews replied, “There was a bounce in his walk. He was in his khaki pants and ribbon belt and I thought, even then, he seemed so optimistic and positive.”
Six months before he graduated from Trinity College, Carlson asked his former headmaster for permission to marry Andrews. Today, the couple has four children together: Lillie, Buckley, Hopie, and Dorothy.
By all accounts, Carlson is an old-fashioned dad. In a 2017 New Yorker profile, he spent a Saturday afternoon making pancakes for his wife and kids. Perhaps his obsession with family values has to do with the fact that he had an unfortunate childhood himself. His father, Richard Carlson, was a journalist and the U.S. Ambassador to Seychelles; his mother, Lisa McNear, left the family when Carlson was just six and never returned.
“Totally bizarre situation—which I never talk about, because it was actually not really part of my life at all,” he said.
Who Is Susan Andrews?
Talk about a case of opposites attracting. For someone who has known Carlson—an unapologetic loudmouth—since she was 15, Andrews has done a great job at maintaining her privacy. She has no known social media accounts and Carlson rarely talks about her.
The two once made a rare appearance as a couple on Fox News in honor of Mother’s Day. Things got off to an awkward start when Andrews showed affection for Carlson by putting her hand on his knee.
“You know what? It’s too much,” Carlson said with a laugh. “I just need some space. You’re always on me, touching me, pulling at my clothes.”
But Andrews maintained poised and reserved. When she was asked what she wanted for Mother’s Day, she replied, “There are some things between a husband and a wife we keep to ourselves.” Check out the entire segment below:
Susan Andrews Helped Tucker Carlson Advance His Career
One thing we know about Andrews is that she’s made plenty of sacrifices to be with Carlson. According to the New Yorker, she gave up her job teaching at an Episcopal school to become a stay-at-home mom. (Carlson told the outlet they identify with the Protestant denomination, but he “abhors the liberals who run [it.]”)
And being the wife of Tucker Carlson doesn’t come without risks. The children attended boarding school and summer camp, often leaving Andrews home alone. In November 2018, a group of protestors gathered outside of the Carlsons residence in Northwest D.C.; one man went as far as to slam himself against the front door until it was cracked.
Andrews, fearing a home invasion, locked herself in the pantry and called 911. Meanwhile, rabble-rousers outside shouted, “Tucker Carlson, we will fight! We know where you sleep at night!”
Even Carlson’s own supporters pose a threat to the family. In the early 2000s, when Carlson was working for CNN, he was accused of rape by Kimberly Carter, a fan from Indiana. She later recanted her story, blaming her schizophrenia and bipolar disorder for making the false claim.
Andrews stood by Carlson’s side through that turbulent period, but her husband remains characteristically (and rightfully) outraged by the situation.
“Carter’s craziness may have cost me thousands of dollars and jeopardized my career, my reputation, and my freedom,” he wrote in his 2003 book Politicians, Partisans, and Parasites. “But it was still wrong of me – “ignorant” – to suggest that her mental illness might not be such a good thing.
“Nuts or not, Kimberly Carter had a lot of chutzpah.”
It seems it would take a lot to make Andrews questions her loyalty to her high-school sweetheart. We congratulate them on reaching over three decades of marriage, and hope there are future milestones to come.