MSNBC Host Nicolle Wallace Is the Proud Mother of Two Children

The Gist:

• Nicolle Wallace welcomed a daughter, Isabella, in November 2023 via a surrogate.
• It's her second child after Liam, and her first with her current husband, New York Times journalist Michael S. Schmidt.
• Nicolle isn't leaving her show on MSNBC, but she may take a few weeks or months off as part of her parental leave to care for Isabella.

Eagle-eyed MSNBC viewers may have noticed that Nicolle Wallace has been absent from her regular hosting duties on Deadline: White House for most of November 2023. As it turns out, Nicolle has been out because she just had her second child, leading many to want to learn more about her new child and how many kids Nicolle has altogether.

Nicolle, who used to be a Republican strategist during a different era of Republican politics, shared the news by calling into her own show. Here's what we know about her kids.

Nicolle has two kids, including Isabella, who she just had with her husband Michael S. Schmidt at the age of 51.

“I have not looked at my phone in a week, and I am amazed at the theories out there,” Nicolle said when she called into the show. “I understand why the truth was ruled out by so many people that Mike and I had a baby. Her name is Isabella Sloane Schmidt, and Mike and Liam and I are all smitten with her.”

In addition to Isabella, Nicolle also has a son named Liam with her ex-husband Mark Wallace. Isabella is her first child with Michael. Nicolle also explained that Isabella was born via a surrogate and that she was happy to be able to keep the news that she was going to be a mother again under wraps until she was ready to announce it. “I’m so happy to share our happy news today,” she added.

Michael S. Schmidt is a journalist and author who covers national security and federal law enforcement for The New York Times. He has broken a number of high-profile stories over the course of his career, including the existence of Hillary Clinton's private email server and the news that Donald Trump asked James Comey for a loyalty pledge. He and Nicolle got married in April 2022.

Nicolle doesn't appear to have any plans to leave MSNBC, but some fans are concerned that she might because of her recent absence from the show. What seems far more likely, though, is that she will return in a few weeks or months once she is done with her maternity leave.

Fans may have been shocked that Nicolle was leaving the show for a while to raise her child, but it's very normal for parents to take time off from their day jobs whenever their family welcomes a new member. Nicolle may not have gone through labor, but that doesn't make her any less entitled to parental leave than any other mother would be.