Sara Haines may be best known as a co-host on The View, but off-screen, she shares her life with husband Max Shifrin. He’s a lawyer she met in a thoroughly modern way: online.
The couple’s story began in 2012 after Sara created a dating profile for a TV segment. Years later, that profile led to marriage, three kids, and a life filled with humor, love, and just a little chaos.
A Digital Meet-Cute: How Sara and Max Met
Unlike a rom-com, Sara didn’t stumble into her future husband at a coffee shop or bookstore. Her introduction to Max happened on OkCupid.
During a 2017 Glamour essay, Sara explained how the profile came about for a Today show segment. But instead of deleting it afterward, she kept the profile active and made online dating part of her routine.
Max Shifrin, a Brooklyn-based lawyer, “had no idea” who Sara was when he came across her profile. But he was definitely interested. In an interview, Max described Sara as “a worthwhile find.”
Their first date came with its own awkward moment: Sara went in for a hug while Max went for a handshake. Still, things clicked, and soon after, they snapped a photo together to mark the start of their relationship. It was a picture that Sara later shared on Instagram.
Pajamas and a Proposal: How Max Popped the Question
By early 2014, Sara was spotted wearing an engagement ring on Good Morning America. As Max later revealed, the proposal wasn’t exactly grand.
“I literally got up, crawled out of bed in my pajamas and got on one knee on the floor next to the bed,” Max shared.
Sara added, “It’s like 6:30 a.m. on a Tuesday.” The low-key moment ended in laughter, and a yes.
A Bahamas Wedding and Life as a Family of Five
The couple married in November 2014 in the Bahamas. Reflecting on their wedding, Sara wrote in Glamour:
“When I married Max, I still [didn’t] know if he was The One. I mean that in an open way.”
She explained that instead of a storybook love, their bond was rooted in friendship and choice:
“It wasn’t as romantic or fairy-tale-ish as ‘I’ve been looking for you my whole life.’ It wasn’t any of that.”
Since then, the couple has welcomed three children:
- Alec Richard, born March 5, 2016, named after both of their fathers.
- Sandra Grace, born December 23, 2017, named after Sara’s mom.
- Caleb Joseph, born June 26, 2019, named after Sara’s grandfather and brother.
Sara has shared that expanding their family quickly was a conscious decision due to her age. She once joked on Instagram:
“We just stayed in the chaos… Still there. Send help.”
Max’s Career and Life Behind the Scenes
Max Shifrin is a partner at BakerHostetler, where he handles complex commercial disputes and devotes time to pro bono work. He graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 2010 and holds a degree in history and political science from the University of Connecticut.
Though he doesn’t appear on camera as much as his wife, Max shares Sara’s sense of humor. During a segment on The View, Sara recalled offering Max “transactional deals” to get him to put the kids to bed:
“I will pay you in other things, other currency, if you go ahead and put those kids to bed.”
A Modern Love Story That Works
From a dating app match to marriage, three kids, and hectic careers, Sara Haines and Max Shifrin’s relationship shows that sometimes, creating your own luck really does work.
