Who Is The Five Co-Host Dana Perino's Husband? All About Peter McMahon

Fox News host Dana Perino and her husband, Peter McMahon, wed in 1998

Peter McMahon and Dana Perino attend The George H.W. Bush Points Of Light Awards Gala at Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum on September 26, 2019 in New York City.
Peter McMahon and Dana Perino in 2019. Photo:

Jamie McCarthy/Getty

Dana Perino has been married to her husband, Peter McMahon, for over 25 years.

The Fox News host met the salesman by chance in 1997 and the pair wed the following year. Perino, who served as press secretary for President George W. Bush from 2007 to 2009 and now serves as a co-host on Fox News' The Five, has credited some of her career success to McMahon's support.

"He's definitely my best friend and my best guide, and everything I've accomplished would not be possible if we were not together," the political commentator said on a 2022 episode of A Dana Perino Podcast: Everything's Going to Be Okay.

In a 2018 essay for Fox News, Perino called her marriage to McMahon the "best decision [she] ever made" and one of the hardest but "most rewarding" things she's ever done.

Here's everything to know about Dana Perino's husband, Peter McMahon.

McMahon and Perino met on an airplane

Dana Perino, Peter McMahon, Instagram
Peter McMahon and Dana Perino at the beach.

Dana Perino/Instagram

Perino and McMahon, who was born and raised in the United Kingdom, met by chance on a flight from Denver to Chicago in August 1997. The couple recalled to Yahoo! Lifestyle that they were seated in seats 13A and 13C on the plane.

"I lived in the U.K. and wasn't looking for any kind of relationship," McMahon told the outlet. "We just talked, and two and a half hours later, exchanged details."

Perino gave McMahon a card with her home phone number, office number, fax number and email address.

They wed in 1998

Dana Perino, Peter McMahon, Instagram
Dana Perino and Peter McMahon.

Dana Perino/Instagram

McMahon sent Perino an email after they first met, and they eventually began dating. Less than a year after they first met, McMahon spontaneously proposed in front of the Washington Cathedral and Perino later responded to the proposal with a letter that closed with, "Yes, I will marry you."

The pair wed on Sept. 30, 1998, and celebrated their 26th anniversary in 2024. McMahon, who was previously married, has two children from a previous relationship.

McMahon works in sales

Peter McMahon, Dana Perino at in-store appearance for Dana Perino Book Signing for 'And the Good News Is.: Lessons and Advice from the Bright Side', Barnes and Noble Book Store, Las Vegas, NV June 27, 2015.
Peter McMahon and Dana Perino in 2015.

James Atoa/Everett Collection/Alamy Live News

On an episode of A Dana Perino Podcast: Everything's Going to Be Okay, McMahon revealed that as a child, he and his best friend thought he'd be a pilot in the Royal Air Force.

"In the officer training, it just didn't work out with me. I was a jokester, I didn't take things seriously enough," he said on his wife's Audible series. "At the end, they decided I wasn't suitable material."

McMahon instead went to work in Germany and started a career in medical manufacturing sales. In 1999, he launched Icon Medical. Per his LinkedIn, McMahon left Icon Medical in December 2016 and in November 2019, became president of GreenSleeve Medical Corporation.

He's an avid traveler

Dana Perino, Peter McMahon, Instagram
Dana Perino and Peter McMahon.

Dana Perino/Instagram

In addition to residing in his native U.K. and then stateside with Perino, throughout his life, McMahon has lived in Germany twice for two years each time and in Saudi Arabia for a year. He's also spent significant periods in various countries in Asia, Europe, South America and the Middle East.

"It gives you great insight into other people's lives," he said of traveling on Perino's podcast.

He and Perino have shared three dogs

Dana Perino, Peter McMahon, Instagram
Dana Perino and Peter McMahon with their dog.

Dana Perino/Instagram

Throughout their relationship, Perino and McMahon have had three dogs: Henry, Jasper (who died in 2021) and Percy. Perino says of their pets, "They're family, too."

All three of their dogs have been Hungarian vizslas. Perino even wrote a book about their second dog, Let Me Tell You About Jasper, How My Best Friend Became America’s Dog.

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