Joe Kent Got Married in 2023 After His First Wife Was Killed During Deployment in Syria
"God blessed me twice, first with Shannon and now Heather."
Published Feb. 4 2025, 10:32 a.m. ET
Although President Donald Trump made waves by nominating countless politicians and even self-made billionaires to various government positions ahead of his inauguration, he added another name to that list on Feb. 3 — Joe Kent. Trump nominated the former Army Special Forces soldier to head The National Counterterrorism Center. But outside of politics, who is Joe Kent's wife and does he have any kids?
After Trump named Joe as his choice to lead the department, the veteran shared his official public response on X (formerly Twitter). "Thank you President Trump!" Joe posted, alongside a screenshot of Trump's own post about his nomination. "It's an honor to serve our nation again, time to keep our nation safe and strong!" Read on for everything to know about Joe Kent's wife and his late first wife.
Who is Joe Kent's wife? He was married twice.
Joe married his now-wife Heather Kaiser in 2023. Like Kent, she did her time in the United States Armed Forces. Although Joe is active on social media, he doesn't tag his wife in any of their family posts, which likely means that she is either not on social media, or she prefers to keep some parts of her life private.
Still, on Nov. 11, 2023, Joe shared an Instagram post about his wife Heather, featuring a photo of her from her time in the service. Like Joe and his first wife, his second wife Heather also served in the military, and it's something that Joe praises her for often on social media.
"Happy Veterans Day to my amazing wife Heather!" Joe wrote at the time. "She is very humble about her service so it's up to me to tell you how badass she is, she's a West Point grad, military intel officer with year-long tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, she also served in a few places that I can't discuss. God blessed me twice, first with Shannon and now Heather."
The Shannon that Joe mentioned in his Veterans Day post for his second wife is his first wife, Shannon Kent. The couple got married in 2014 and had two children together. However, she died unexpectedly in 2019 after she was killed in action in Syria. It had been her fifth combat deployment.
Prior to Shannon's death, in 2006, she had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. However, she beat her diagnosis with a successful surgery. Although Joe remarried a few years after his first wife's death, he still regularly celebrates her on social media.
In December 2024, Joe shared an Instagram photo of himself and Shannon when they were younger. In the caption, he wrote, "Happy Anniversary Shannon. I love you forever."