Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is being mocked by his own staff, who have reportedly given his wife a brutal new nickname.
Hegseth, 46, met his third wife, Jennifer Rauchet, 49, when she was a producer on Fox & Friends, and he was co-hosting the show in 2017. The pair started an affair that year. At the time, Hegseth was married to his second wife, Samantha Deering, and they have three children, Gunner, 16, Peter Boone, 14, and Rex, 10.
Hegseth and Jennifer had a daughter, Gwendolyn, in 2017, the same year Deering filed for divorce. After marrying in 2019, Jennifer took Hegseth’s surname. She has three children from a previous marriage.
Jennifer Hegseth has inserted herself into her husband’s professional life, sitting in on high-stakes meetings at the Pentagon and even appearing with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office last month as he signed an executive order to establish a Military Spouse Commission, which she will chair.
Now, an explosive new report claims that Pentagon insiders are not only leaking about Hegseth’s faltering capabilities, but also reveal a telling nickname for his wife.
After allegedly rubbing them the wrong way, staffers are calling Jennifer “Yoko Ono” behind her back, a source told the Daily Mail.
“Now there’s a woman with an extremely tight leash on the man she married,” the source told the publication.
The nickname is a dated reference to Japanese artist and musician Ono, whose protective behavior and major personal influence over John Lennon saw her initially blamed for the breakup of his band the Beatles.
Jennifer Hegseth is now her husband’s most influential adviser, according to a report in The New York Times last month, which cited 20 current and former administration officials and sources close to her.
“It’s bonkers that a defense secretary would involve his wife in his sensitive official duties, including sharing details of an impending military operation, and face zero consequences,” John Ullyot, former Pentagon spokesperson told the Times.
He left after three months working under Hegseth, and said “Any president deserves better judgment from his national security leaders.”
Using her media background, Jennifer has prepared her husband for appearances, sat in on meetings, reportedly interviewed Pentagon job candidates and offered her content ideas for department videos, according to. In May, she hosted a lunch for military mothers at the Pentagon.
The publication also noted that Jennifer has shadowed her husband at work amid concerns over his drinking. “She’s like his parole officer and PR agent all at once,” one source told the Daily Mail.
Hegseth’s battles with alcohol nearly doomed his confirmation after being appointed by President Trump.
“Jennifer Hegseth is a very heavy hand and one of his closest advisers with access inside the building, which is very unusual for a secretary of war/secretary of defense,” one official told the Times of London last month.
This week, it was revealed that MAGA-curious CBS News boss Bari Weiss tapped Jennifer Hegseth to lock in an interview with an American airman rescued in Iran.
The airman, known only as Bravo, appeared on Sunday’s season premiere of 60 Minutes and spoke of being rescued after being in a jet that was shot down over Iran. He said he survived by living by the “warrior ethos” Hegseth demands of all service members.
The segment, branded “propaganda” one social media user, went ahead after Weiss personally spoke to Jennifer to arrange the interview, according to Status.
The Daily Beast has contacted the Pentagon for comment.
