The newswoman and working mom makes peace with her past as she takes on her new role at Today.
HOW THE NEWSWOMAN’S TOUGH EARLY YEARS HELPED HER FIND HAPPINESS TODAY
Megyn Kelly was all smiles as she greeted an appreciative crowd at the Princeton, N.J., Barnes & Noble at an event for her book, Settle for More. Clad in a navy blue dress that showed off her toned arms, the usually stoic newswoman made a point of interacting with her fans, empathizing with one young girl about the horrors of seventh grade, lifting another reader’s baby high in the air…and posing for many, many pictures. “By far [the highlight of writing the book] is meeting people,” Megyn enthuses. “The love has been so rewarding and uplifting in a very powerful way.”
And these days, Megyn is feeling more loved than ever. With the success of the book, a new show Megyn Kelly Today debuting on NBC and a happy homelife with novelist husband Douglas Brunt and their three children, the 46-year-old is living her best life now. But it’s taken her a long time to get here. After enduring the shock of her father’s death when she was just a teen, Megyn experienced a variety of setbacks, from career disappointments to an unsuccessful first marriage. Yet instead of becoming bitter, she’s made peace with her past. “I knew there would be no shortcuts for me,” she shares. “I knew if I was going to have any success, it would be a result of working hard.”
HER TOUGH JOURNEY
She wasn’t always so clear-eyed. Megyn was an insecure 15-yearold when her beloved father, Edward, died suddenly of a heart attack, 10 days before Christmas. “I remember looking at my mom in the hospital waiting room and saying, ‘Will you ever be happy again?’” she recalls. “Here’s this woman, 44, overwhelmed by what’s happening…and she said, ‘Of course I will, honey. And you will, too.’ ”
Yet the loss hit Megyn and her two older siblings — Pete and Suzanne — in more ways than one. After their dad’s death the family found themselves struggling to make ends meet. Megyn’s mom, Linda, a nurse, raised Megyn in a no-nonsense way, urging her not to be lazy. “Linda was extremely critical of Megyn, but when she gave her praise, she knew she’d truly earned it,” an insider adds. “It all gave her a strong backbone.”
That early loss also gave Megyn an appreciation for family. One of her biggest regrets is an unresolved argument she had with her father shortly before his death — and as a result, she wants to spend as much quality time with her own children as possible. “I knew I made the right decision when Mom being home for dinner was no longer a cause for celebration,” says Megyn, who moved from Fox to NBC so she could spend more time at home. “And there is no substitute for that — my kids are little, so I can still be there for them. I haven’t missed it yet!”
Like most everything in Megyn’s life, that sense of perspective has been hard-earned. “The hard times remind you it’s possible to do better,” she says. “Today, I look at the future and see unlimited opportunity.” — Alison Gaylin, with reporting
by Jaclyn Roth
“When you make a decision
out of hope and love, good things follow.”
— Megyn