Ainsley Earhardt Is Central to 'Fox and Friends,' but Is She Going to Leave?

There's no denying that Fox News has created a lineup of TV hosts and anchors that its audience loves. That may be especially true of the hosts of Fox and Friends, who are beloved by the audience that tunes in every morning to watch them. Ainsley Earhardt, one of the show's hosts, has used the platform to boost her public profile and turn herself into a celebrity. Now, though, some are worried that she may be getting ready to leave Fox and Friends. 

Although many of fans of Fox and Friends are concerned that Ainsley may be leaving the show soon, there's been no indication that she's planning her departure. She has posted several updates from the set of Fox and Friends and doesn't seem to be moving to a new job, either at FOX or with a different company. 

She did appear on a recent episode of The Five, and has been absent from a few episodes of Fox and Friends, but again, that's no reason to panic or assume Ainsley will be leaving the show permanently. It's probably safe to assume that if she does ever decide to leave, there will be an announcement of some sort.

A number of hosts on Fox News or Fox Business have left the network to work at competitors like One America News or Newsmax. As one of the hosts of the network's valuable morning show, which former President Trump was known to watch regularly, Ainsley is likely someone that FOX wants to keep on its staff for as long as possible. 

Ainsley also has a relationship tying her to FOX. She's been dating Sean Hannity, one of the network's leading primetime anchors, since 2019. The two have tended to keep their relationship private, although it was reported that Ainsley filmed Fox and Friends from a room in Sean's basement for much of the coronavirus lockdown. 

Ainsley has even denied dating Sean in interviews, although it's clear from reports that the two of them are in a relationship. “Right now I am focused on raising my daughter," she told Vanity Fair. "As anyone at Fox News will tell you, Sean is a wonderful person and whomever he chooses to date will be extremely fortunate.” In a followup statement, she said: “I am not dating anyone.” 

Both Sean and Ainsley are coming off of recent marriages, and although they aren't publicly acknowledging their relationship, they aren't exactly keeping it a secret. They've attended parties together, and Vanity Fair has reported that staffers working at FOX are aware of the relationship. “I knew they were involved. I saw it when we were all together,” one staffer was quoted saying. “It wasn’t even that hidden,” a friend of Sean's added. 

In the lead-up to the 2020 election, there was a ton of coverage of the growing rift between President Trump and the anchors on FOX. The president was increasingly critical of FOX's coverage of him throughout the campaign, and Sean was known to complain about the way that the Murdochs, who own the network, treated the former president. 

Sean told Trump that the Murdochs hated him. He also had apparently said that he was planning to leave the network when his contract ended, but he has since re-upped with the network through 2024.