When a sworn affidavit brought Pete Hegseth’s second marriage into the spotlight in January 2025, his former wife, Samantha Deering, gave a brief response. She disputed the account and told NBC News that there had been no physical abuse in their marriage.
The affidavit came from Danielle Hegseth, Pete’s former sister-in-law. It described an alleged safety plan that Deering could use if she felt she needed to get away from him. The claims surfaced during the confirmation process for his nomination as defense secretary, when other allegations about his conduct during the marriage also received attention.
What the affidavit alleged
Danielle alleged that Deering had once hidden in a closet because she was afraid of Hegseth. She also said she had helped put the safety plan into action on one occasion in 2015 or 2016. According to ABC News, she did not describe what prompted the plan’s use that day.
She said her belief that Deering feared for her safety was based partly on behavior she said she had personally observed over several years.
Danielle initially provided information to the FBI and wanted to remain anonymous. She later came forward after Hegseth was nominated for the Cabinet position.
In the affidavit, Danielle also alleged that Hegseth was frequently intoxicated during his second marriage. NBC News reported that she recalled an occasion when he yelled at her while drunk. Those allegations were part of Danielle’s account of his conduct.
Deering responds directly
Deering challenged the account in an email to NBC News, telling the outlet that she did not believe its information was accurate and that she had copied her lawyer on the message.
“There was no physical abuse in my marriage,” Deering wrote in a follow-up email. She said she would make no further comment.
Other scrutiny of Hegseth’s marriage
A separate allegation concerned a sexual encounter that took place while Hegseth was married to Deering. The woman involved said the encounter was not consensual. Hegseth maintained that it was consensual and paid the woman as part of a settlement.
Hegseth also had a relationship with his Fox News colleague Jennifer Rauchet while he was still married to Deering. He and Rauchet had a child before that marriage ended.
A former Fox colleague separately told The New Yorker that Hegseth drank heavily and was physically forward with women while away from his family. The colleague said they could not say whether he had a drinking problem.
The confirmation process brought several accounts of that period into public view. Deering kept her own response narrow, addressing the claim about physical abuse and declining to discuss the marriage further.
