Rumors Surrounding Sandra Ali’s Marriage Surfaced Before Her WDIV Departure
Published Jan. 24 2023, 3:51 p.m. ET
On Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023, Michigan news station WDIV-TV bid farewell to one of its longtime anchors, Sandra Ali. Sandra joined the network in 2010 and was Channel 4’s go-to person for the nightly weekend news. Sandra also appeared on CNN and Fox News while representing WDIV.
"I'm moving on to a wonderful, new opportunity," Sandra said during her final broadcast. "This decision was my own. I'm excited and focused on the future."
"I can’t wait to see you all again on TV soon,” the anchor added.
WDIV watchers will likely miss Sandra’s anecdotes about her family. During her run, Sandra opened up about her personal life, often discussing her husband and their kids. However, Sandra’s fans have wondered if the anchor is married now, as they’ve seen some evidence leading to the contrary.
Sandra Ali married fellow journalist and Local 4 anchor Shawn Ley.
Sandra isn’t the only public figure in her family. The anchor’s husband, Shawn Ley, is also a Local 4 journalist with an Emmy under his belt. Shawn and Sandra met when Shawn took a job in Detroit, where Sandra lived and worked at the time.
When he learned that his “dream girl” was moving to Cincinnati, a city he previously lived in, he provided her with his favorite hotspots. A year after they met, they crossed paths when Shawn stumbled upon Sandra’s house, which she had recently put up for sale.
Shawn took the unexpected reunion as a sign to ask Sandra out, and their romance began there. The pair reportedly married in 2006 at the Hills Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Fans have seen the anchor without her wedding ring.
According to several fans on the message board Buzzboard, they spotted Sandra without her wedding ring several times, dating back to August 2021. Someone else claimed the couple filed for divorce in November 2019 but were keeping the divorce away from the public.
Neither Sandra nor Shawn have confirmed a divorce, and we also haven’t found any legal documents indicating separation. However, Sandra’s last social media post of Shawn was in 2018, and he also doesn’t have any recent pictures of them on his account. Instead, both anchors share photos of their children and work engagements.
Sandra Ali and Shawn Ley have four children — including twins!
After they tied the knot, Sandra and Shawn began expanding their family. In 2010, Sandra gave birth to their first son — Roman. Then, the pair welcomed a daughter, Isla, and their twin boys — Grant and Tamer.
As more kids came in, the couple had to adjust to balancing their work and family responsibilities. In 2012, Sandra penned an open letter to Shawn for Father’s Day, praising her husband for his devotion to their legacy.
“My husband leaves for work in the middle of the night to get ready for the morning show,” Sandra wrote to WDTV when their oldest was a toddler. “Our two-year-old is still fast asleep. But, by the time my husband gets home after working a long day at Local 4, he's greeted by an energetic, non-stop two-year-old who is ready to take on the afternoon.
“Despite being bleary-eyed and sleep deprived, he would never let our little guy down,” she added. “Somehow, he manages to find the energy to keep up with our toddler.”
Sandra also posted a Father's Day tribute to her husband in June 2018. In her most recent post about her husband, she praised him for dealing with all of their kids' "dirty diapers" while also maintaining his career.
