Harris Faulkner explains Fox News absence as she steps away for important family commitment
Harris Faulkner explains Fox News absence as she steps away for important family commitment
Harris Faulkner has given viewers a personal update while taking some time away from her regular daytime duties at Fox News, explaining that family commitments are behind her temporary absence.
The 60-year-old anchor, who normally leads The Faulkner Focus before joining Outnumbered, revealed that her break includes family time and helping with a move back into the college dorms.
Faulkner’s update offered reassurance about why she has been away from her usual television schedule, while also giving followers a glimpse into an important moment for her family.
“While I take a break for family and fun… And a college move back into the dorms… some summer moments to put some smiles and love into your algorithms,” she wrote.
“Joy to you!”
Faulkner shares her ‘life toolkit’ for parents
While away from her daytime show, Faulkner also shared a lighthearted video directed at fathers dealing with challenges at home.
“Hey dad, you may have tools for everything you need to repair, but what happens when something comes up for your family, you don’t know you have the right tool for?” she asked.
Harris Faulkner / X
The Fox News anchor then introduced what she called her “life toolkit,” holding up three separate pieces of paper to reveal what she believes parents can turn to when facing difficult situations.
“You gonna need faith, you gonna need scripture and you definitely gonna need prayer,” Faulkner said before offering some encouragement: “Go dads.”
Harris Faulkner / X
The message reflected the importance Faulkner has long placed on faith and family, two subjects she has occasionally discussed despite generally keeping her home life private.
A major chapter for the Faulkner family
Faulkner shares two daughters, Bella and Danika, with her husband, media consultant Tony Berlin. Their eldest daughter began college in the fall of 2025.
Months before that milestone, Faulkner spoke publicly about some of the concerns she had as her daughter prepared for college.
The Faulkner family during Arianna Grande’s concert / Instagram
In a February 2025 interview with the Daily Mail, Faulkner discussed worries connected to both race and religion.
“Am I more worried about them standing out for their hair texture and their skin color or their faith?” she said. “I’m worried about all of it. And not just for my kids.”
Faulkner also expressed support for Jewish students facing hatred on college campuses, saying they should know that they have people standing alongside them.
Her concerns reflected the family environment in which she and Berlin raised their daughters. Faulkner is a Baptist Christian, while Berlin is Jewish, and their children have been exposed to traditions from both faiths.
Raising their daughters with different traditions
Faulkner previously discussed that aspect of family life during a 2020 interview with PEOPLE.
“We’re raising our girls predominantly Christian but they’re exposed to everything,” she explained, noting that the family also observes Passover and reads the Haggadah.
Faulkner has described her biracial daughters as an example of how people from different backgrounds can come together.
Harris Faulkner / Instagram
She also said she did not shield Bella and Danika from difficult conversations about events happening around them, even when they were younger.
During the same interview, Faulkner recalled her then-13-year-old daughter asking when the problems she was seeing would end.
“It will end when people decide that resilience and surviving this is more important than being right,” Faulkner recalled telling her.
Family comes first during her Fox News break
Faulkner has been a familiar presence at Fox News for more than two decades, having joined the network as a correspondent in 2005.
She currently anchors The Faulkner Focus at 11 a.m. ET before appearing as a co-host of Outnumbered at noon.
Harris Faulkner / Fox News
Her decision to temporarily step away comes during an important period at home as her family handles another college move.
Rather than leaving viewers wondering about her absence, Faulkner has made clear that she is taking time for “family and fun” while helping with the return to college.
And even while away from her usual Fox News chair, she has continued sharing the values she turns to in her own family life — faith, scripture and prayer.
Lisa Kennedy recently married Fred in Hawaii: Who is the Fox News star’s new husband?
Lisa Kennedy recently married Fred in Hawaii: Who is the Fox News star’s new husband?
Fox News personality Lisa “Kennedy” Montgomery has entered a new chapter in her personal life after marrying Fred in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Hawaii.
Kennedy shared photographs from the celebration at the Four Seasons Resort Lanai, giving followers a glimpse of the man she now calls her husband and the friends who joined them for the occasion.
“Married the love of my life at the Four Seasons Lanai in a Heidi Merrick dress drenched in sunshine and aloha,” Kennedy wrote. “I love you forever, Fred!!”
While Kennedy has been open about how much Fred means to her, she has kept many details about her new husband firmly outside the public spotlight.
Kennedy and Fred celebrate their marriage in Hawaii
The couple exchanged vows during an outdoor ceremony overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Kennedy wore a sparkling white Heidi Merrick gown with a fitted silhouette, completing her bridal look with a veil and colorful tropical bouquet. Fred wore a light-blue suit with a white shirt, light-colored tie and brown shoes. The newlyweds also wore traditional Hawaiian leis.
Photographs showed Kennedy and Fred walking hand in hand as guests applauded, with the bride raising her bouquet in celebration. Another captured them cutting their multi-tiered wedding cake against a backdrop of palm trees, ocean views and the evening sky.
The wedding announcement became a major moment among Kennedy’s followers, receiving more than 154,000 likes and nearly 2,000 comments.
Several familiar Fox News personalities were also part of the celebration. Emily Compagno, Abby Hornacek and Alexis McAdams were among the recognizable guests photographed in Hawaii.
Emily later wrote that they had the “best time celebrating Kennedy and Fred’s marriage,” adding, “The Fox family showed up for our favorite girl.”
Who is Kennedy’s husband, Fred?
Despite the attention surrounding their wedding, Fred remains largely a private figure.
Based on what Kennedy has publicly shared, his surname, profession and detailed background have not been revealed. Even when announcing her marriage, Kennedy continued referring to her husband simply as Fred.
What she has shared, however, offers some insight into how unexpectedly their relationship entered her life.
Lisa Kennedy and her new husband Fred / Youtube
Kennedy discussed Fred publicly when announcing their engagement on The Five in December 2025. She revealed that he had proposed on December 10 and said the two had met recently and “unexpectedly.”
During the emotional on-air conversation, Kennedy described the impact their meeting had on her life.
“He is the most beautiful, wonderful human being,” she said. “And I had totally given up until those elevator doors opened and I met him out of the blue — he changed my life.”
Kennedy has not provided additional details about exactly where that first meeting occurred or the circumstances surrounding it.
Their relationship began before the public announcement
Although viewers did not learn about the engagement until December 2025, Kennedy revealed another detail suggesting Fred had quietly been part of her life for some time.
She told her The Five colleagues that she had secretly brought him to the Fox Christmas party the previous year.
“I snuck him in. Don’t tell security,” Kennedy joked during the conversation.
That revelation indicated the couple had already been seeing each other by at least December 2024, even though Kennedy had kept the relationship away from public attention.
Dana Perino was among those particularly moved by the engagement news.
Perino recalled learning about it while Kennedy was appearing on America’s Newsroom, telling her colleague that the announcement had made her cry.
“And Fred is such a wonderful guy,” Perino said before telling Kennedy, “I cried because I’m so happy for you.”
From a private romance to a Hawaiian wedding
Kennedy continued keeping Fred’s personal details private even as she became more open about their relationship.
That approach remained evident at their wedding. While she shared numerous photographs of their special day and publicly expressed her love for her new husband, she did not use the occasion to reveal his surname, career or other biographical information.
Instead, Kennedy kept the attention on their marriage and the happiness surrounding it.
The couple received congratulations from numerous familiar names, including Kat Timpf, Janice Dean, Sandra Smith, Griff Jenkins, Abby Hornacek and Meghan McCain.
For followers who had watched Kennedy announce her engagement months earlier, the Hawaiian ceremony provided the next chapter in a relationship that had largely developed outside the public eye.
What is publicly known about Fred remains limited, but Kennedy has made one thing unmistakably clear: she considers him the man who unexpectedly entered her life, changed it and ultimately became her husband.
From secretly attending a Fox Christmas party together to an emotional engagement announcement and finally exchanging vows beside the Pacific Ocean, Kennedy and Fred have now made their commitment official — while continuing to keep much of their story between themselves.
