The controversial interview pushed Carlson back into the spotlight, highlighting that political commentators don’t need the backing of a major networks to have a big audience.

But while Carlson has remained a prominent political influencer, he has managed to keep his private life out of the spotlight. So where does he come from and who does he have supporting him at home? Meet the Carlson family you never knew about.

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Tucker Carlson was born into wealth

According to Business Insider, Tucker’s father, Richard Warner Carlson, began his career in journalism before entering politics. Richard was the US ambassador to the Seychelles during the first Bush administration and the White House later asked him to join the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as head of the organisation.

Per the Columbia Journalism Review, Tucker’s mother, Lisa McNear, left the family home to live a “bohemian” lifestyle. His parents split when he was six and after his mother left, she never saw her two children again.

In an interview with the New Yorker, Tucker, 54, called it a “bizarre situation”, but one that he never spoke about. His father remarried Patricia Swanson, heiress to the Swanson frozen dinner empire, leading to a life of luxury for Tucker and his brother, Buckley.

Tucker graduated from the prestigious Trinity College in Connecticut and famously applied to work at the CIA, but got rejected. It was then that he followed in his father’s footsteps and became a journalist.

How Tucker Carlson found love with Susan Andrews

Carlson met his now wife Susan Andrews when he was a student at St George’s School in Rhode Island. Her father was the headmaster of the school. He told People magazine that “she was the cutest 10th grader in America”.

The couple got engaged just before he graduated from Trinity College. The couple are members of the Episcopal Church and Carlson has been vocal about his conservative views on issues like abortion.

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Per People, Carlson spoke about communication in marriage during a 2022 interview. He claimed “men and women fundamentally don’t understand each other”, explaining that marriage allows you to grow, as couples have to “decipher what that person is saying”.

The couple got married in 1991 and have four children together: daughters Hopie, Lillie and Dorothy and son Buckley. Per the New Yorker, Andrews was a teacher but stopped working by the time they had their third child. She became a housewife, focusing on raising their children.

What is Tucker Carlson like as a parent?

According to People, Carlson has said that being a parent is the most valuable thing in life. During an interview, Andrews added that he teaches his children about the Constitution, reading them the Bill of Rights every fourth of July, per the same publication.

In a profile on GQ in 2017, Carlson said that much of his career moves were dictated by the financial needs of his family. According to The Hill, his son Buckley works in Representative Jim Bank’s office. Carlson also claimed that his son was at the Capitol during the riots in 2021.