DUFFY'S IN LOVE
Who is Rachel Campos-Duffy’s husband Sean Duffy? Meet the secretary of transportation in Donald Trump’s administration
See what Rachel said about meeting her future husband on camera — but it 'wasn't love at first sight'
TELEVISION personality Rachel Campos-Duffy met her husband Sean Duffy on MTV's Road Rules: All Stars.
He's come a long way from the world of reality TV — President Donald Trump picked the former Wisconsin Representative and Fox News host as his administration's transportation secretary.
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Who is Rachel Campos-Duffy's husband Sean Duffy?
Sean Duffy was born in Hayward, Wisconsin on October 3, 1972.
He is a politician, television personality, attorney — and President Donald Trump's pick for secretary of transportation.
Sean pursued higher education at St Mary’s University, Minneapolis, where he earned a degree in marketing.
He later obtained a law degree from William Mitchell College of Law.
Sean rose to fame as a cast member on The Real World: Boston in 1997.
It was when he appeared on spin-off Road Rules: All Stars in 1998 that Sean first met his future wife Rachel Campos-Duffy.
Rachel told Fox News: "Sean and I met in the most 90s way possible — through an MTV reality show called The Real World, where we had our lives taped for six months and packaged into 23 heavily edited episodes set to the soundtrack of The Smashing Pumpkins and The Counting Crows.
"I was on the third season filmed in San Francisco and Sean was on the sixth season shot in a Boston firehouse.
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"Following Sean’s season, MTV decided to send one cast member from each of the first five seasons on a spin-off travel adventure show called Road Rules All-Stars.
"Both Sean and I were cast and the very first moment we laid eyes on each other was captured on tape. Sounds romantic enough, except it wasn’t love at first sight.
Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy shares heartwarming moment with daughter live on air
"For the next month, while Sean and I traveled together with other castmates throughout the US and New Zealand, Sean invested a lot of his time flirting with me.
"Even after the show, when we parted ways, he continued to pursue me, racking up his long-distance phone bills and finding excuses to come to LA where he knew he would see me."
During a breakfast date, Rachel surprisingly declared she was going to marry Sean, which came as quite a shock.
She explained: "After five months, when he thought he was still stuck in the friend zone, we went out to breakfast.
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"We spent three hours laughing and thoroughly enjoying each other’s company and at some point during that breakfast I realized that this conversation and Sean’s company was exactly what I wanted for the rest of my life.
"When the waitress poured our last cup of coffee, I suddenly, and to Sean’s total shock, declared to Sean that I was going to marry him.
"The way he tells it, that was definitely way more than he was looking for, but we’ve been together ever since."
Soon afterwards, they tied the knot on April 4, 1999.
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Sean left the reality TV scene and became the district attorney of Ashland County, Wisconsin in 2002.
He held the position until 2010, when he successfully ran for Congress, becoming the representative for Wisconsin's 7th district.
During his time in the US House of Representatives between 2011 and 2019, Sean gained a reputation as a strong conservative voice, advocating for limited government, tax reform and deregulation.
He was also a member of the House Financial Services Committee, where he helped shaped economic policies, such as championing the needs of families, farmers and small businesses.
In September 2019, Sean resigned from Congress to focus on his family, as he and his wife were expecting their ninth child, who faced health complications.
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After leaving office, he worked as a political commentator, frequently appearing on Fox News.
On January 28, 2025, Sean made his return to politics when the US Senate confirmed him as the secretary of transportation by a vote of 77 to 22.
Trump said he believes Sean will use his relationships and experience from his time in Congress to improve travel safety and rebuild infrastructure.
The president posted on his Truth Social platform: "He will prioritize excellence, competitiveness and beaty when rebuilding America's highways, tunnels, bridges and airports.
"He will ensure our ports and dams serve out economy without compromising out national security, and he will make our skies safe again by eliminating DEI for pilots and air traffic controllers."
DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion.
Donald Trump's Cabinet Picks
In the days following his dominant Election Day victory, President-elect Donald Trump has begun carving out his future administation.
Here's a list of Trump's confirmed cabinet picks:
- Susie Wiles - White House Chief of Staff
- Dr. Mehmet Oz - Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- Stephen Miller - Deputy Chief of Staff
- Bill McGinley - White House counsel
- Tom Homan - "Border Czar"
- Elise Stefanik - Ambassador to the United Nations
- Lee Zeldin - Environmental Protection Agency administrator
- Marco Rubio - Secretary of State
- Kristi Noem - Homeland Security Secretary
- Mike Huckabee - Ambassador to Israel
- John Ratcliffe - CIA director
- Pete Hegseth - Secretary of Defense
- Mike Waltz - National Security Advisor
- Steven Witkoff - Middle East envoy
- Elon Musk - Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)
- Tim Scott - Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee
- Tulsi Gabbard - Director of National Intelligence
- Pam Bondi - nominated for Attorney general just hours after Gaetz's withdrawal
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Jay Clayton - US Attorney for the Southern District of New York
- Doug Burgum - Department of Interior
- Todd Blanche - Deputy Attorney General
- Karoline Leavitt - White House Press Secretary
- Chris Wright - Energy Secretary
- Doug Collins - Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs
- William McGinley - White House Counsel
- Steven Cheung - White House Communications Director
- William Owen Scharf - Assistant to the President and White House Staff Secretary
- Dean John Sauer - Solicitor General of the US
- Commissioner Brendan Carr - Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
- Linda McMahon: Education Secretary
- Matthew Whitaker - NATO ambassador
- Scott Bessent - Treasury Secretary
- Keith Kellogg - Special envoy to Russia, Ukraine
- Warren Stephens - Ambassador to the UK
Do Rachel Campos-Duffy and Sean Duffy have children?
Rachel and Sean have nine children: Evita Pilar, Xavier Jack, Paloma Pilar, Patrick Miguel, Lucia-Belen, MariaVictoria Margarita, John-Paul, Valentina StellaMaris and Margarita Duffy.
They welcomed their ninth baby in 2019 after Rachel had suffered two miscarriages.
She opened up on about the birth of Valentina, saying: “She was born last week, one month before her due date.
“She is doing great, though still in the NICU until she learns to eat on her own.
She continued: “I’m home now, trying to recover from my first C-section (hats off to all the c-section moms out there — I had no idea!) and working hard with my breast pump to keep up with her growing appetite.
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“When we visit with her at the hospital, the kids fight over who can hold her — I don’t blame them! She’s the sweetest, most perfect angel we have ever seen.”
Valentina was reportedly born with health complications, which prompted Sean to resign from Congress and help care for her.
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