TELEVISION personality Rachel Campos-Duffy met her husband Sean Duffy on MTV’s Road Rules: All Stars.
He’s come a long way from the world of reality TV — President Donald Trump picked the former Wisconsin Representative and Fox News host as his administration’s transportation secretary.
Who is Rachel Campos-Duffy’s husband Sean Duffy?
Sean Duffy was born in Hayward, Wisconsin, on October 3, 1972.
He is a politician, television personality, attorney — and President Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of transportation.
Sean pursued higher education at St Mary’s University, Minneapolis, where he earned a degree in marketing.
He later obtained a law degree from William Mitchell College of Law.
Reality TV
Sean rose to fame as a cast member on The Real World: Boston in 1997.
It was when he appeared on spin-off Road Rules: All Stars in 1998 that Sean first met his future wife Rachel Campos-Duffy.
Rachel told Fox News: “Sean and I met in the most 90s way possible — through an MTV reality show called The Real World, where we had our lives taped for six months and packaged into 23 heavily edited episodes set to the soundtrack of The Smashing Pumpkins and The Counting Crows.
“I was on the third season filmed in San Francisco and Sean was on the sixth season shot in a Boston firehouse.
“Following Sean’s season, MTV decided to send one cast member from each of the first five seasons on a spin-off travel adventure show called Road Rules All-Stars.
“Both Sean and I were cast and the very first moment we laid eyes on each other was captured on tape. Sounds romantic enough, except it wasn’t love at first sight.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Full list of Trump’s cabinet picks so far from Elon Musk’s DOGE title to controversial Matt Gaetz & ex-rival Marco Rubio” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”pV1KxHf2t” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6364701416112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]“For the next month, while Sean and I traveled together with other castmates throughout the US and New Zealand, Sean invested a lot of his time flirting with me.
“Even after the show, when we parted ways, he continued to pursue me, racking up his long-distance phone bills and finding excuses to come to LA where he knew he would see me.”
Shock wedding
During a breakfast date, Rachel surprisingly declared she was going to marry Sean, which came as quite a shock.
She explained: “After five months, when he thought he was still stuck in the friend zone, we went out to breakfast.
“We spent three hours laughing and thoroughly enjoying each other’s company and at some point during that breakfast I realized that this conversation and Sean’s company was exactly what I wanted for the rest of my life.
“When the waitress poured our last cup of coffee, I suddenly, and to Sean’s total shock, declared to Sean that I was going to marry him.
“The way he tells it, that was definitely way more than he was looking for, but we’ve been together ever since.”
Soon afterwards, they tied the knot on April 4, 1999.
Going into politics
Sean left the reality TV scene and became the district attorney of Ashland County, Wisconsin, in 2002.
He held the position until 2010, when he successfully ran for Congress, becoming the representative for Wisconsin’s 7th district.
During his time in the US House of Representatives between 2011 and 2019, Sean gained a reputation as a strong conservative voice, advocating for limited government, tax reform and deregulation.
He was also a member of the House Financial Services Committee, where he helped shaped economic policies, such as championing the needs of families, farmers and small businesses.
In September 2019, Sean resigned from Congress to focus on his family, as he and his wife were expecting their ninth child, who faced health complications.
After leaving office, he worked as a political commentator, frequently appearing on Fox News.
On January 28, 2025, Sean made his return to politics when the US Senate confirmed him as the secretary of transportation by a vote of 77 to 22.
Trump said he believes Sean will use his relationships and experience from his time in Congress to improve travel safety and rebuild infrastructure.
The president posted on his Truth Social platform: “He will prioritize excellence, competitiveness and beaty when rebuilding America’s highways, tunnels, bridges and airports.
“He will ensure our ports and dams serve out economy without compromising out national security, and he will make our skies safe again by eliminating DEI for pilots and air traffic controllers.”
DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion.
[boxout headline=”Donald Trump’s Cabinet Picks” featured-image=”31603085″ intro=”In the days following his dominant Election Day victory, President-elect Donald Trump has begun carving out his future administation.”]Here’s a list of Trump’s confirmed cabinet picks:
- Susie Wiles – White House Chief of Staff
- Dr. Mehmet Oz – Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- Stephen Miller – Deputy Chief of Staff
- Bill McGinley – White House counsel
- Tom Homan – “Border Czar”
- Elise Stefanik – Ambassador to the United Nations
- Lee Zeldin – Environmental Protection Agency administrator
- Marco Rubio – Secretary of State
- Kristi Noem – Homeland Security Secretary
- Mike Huckabee – Ambassador to Israel
- John Ratcliffe – CIA director
- Pete Hegseth – Secretary of Defense
- Mike Waltz – National Security Advisor
- Steven Witkoff – Middle East envoy
- Elon Musk – Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)
- Tim Scott – Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee
- Tulsi Gabbard – Director of National Intelligence
- Pam Bondi – nominated for Attorney general just hours after Gaetz’s withdrawal
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Jay Clayton – US Attorney for the Southern District of New York
- Doug Burgum – Department of Interior
- Todd Blanche – Deputy Attorney General
- Karoline Leavitt – White House Press Secretary
- Chris Wright – Energy Secretary
- Doug Collins – Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs
- William McGinley – White House Counsel
- Steven Cheung – White House Communications Director
- William Owen Scharf – Assistant to the President and White House Staff Secretary
- Dean John Sauer – Solicitor General of the US
- Commissioner Brendan Carr – Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
- Linda McMahon: Education Secretary
- Matthew Whitaker – NATO ambassador
- Scott Bessent – Treasury Secretary
- Keith Kellogg – Special envoy to Russia, Ukraine
- Warren Stephens – Ambassador to the UK
Do Rachel Campos-Duffy and Sean Duffy have children?
During their time together the couple have welcomed nine children.
Their eldest is Evita, who is married to Michael, Jack, who is married to Kaylinn, Lucia-Belen, John-Paul, Paloma, Maria Victoria, Margarita, Patrick, and Valentina.
Their ninth baby Valentina was born on October 1, 2019, after Rachel had suffered two miscarriages.
She has Down’s Syndrome and had to have an operation for a heart defect a few months after birth.
Her health complications prompted Sean to resign from Congress and help care for her.
Rachel opened up on Facebook about the birth of Valentina, saying: “She was born one month before her due date.
“She is doing great, though still in the NICU until she learns to eat on her own.”
She continued: “I’m home now, trying to recover from my first C-section (hats off to all the c-section moms out there — I had no idea!) and working hard with my breast pump to keep up with her growing appetite.
“When we visit with her at the hospital, the kids fight over who can hold her — I don’t blame them! She’s the sweetest, most perfect angel we have ever seen.”
At the start of the new school year in September 2024, Rachel posted a snap of five her kids on Instagram with the caption: “First day of school!!
“Being in my 50s w/ 6 kids still at home, I’m so much more aware of how fleeting these moments & beautiful, busy mornings are than when I was in my 30s & 40s when my 3 adult kids were little.
“I may have less energy today, but I’m a whole lot more grateful & mindful.
“I find myself looking around, trying harder to take in all the beautiful chaos & store the moments in heart.”
Sean and Rachel are also grandparents.