Dana Perino was 25 years old when she met her much older husband, Peter McMahon — and she’s made no secret of the fact that her first thoughts after meeting him revolved around all the red flags. Even so, the couple has gone the distance, and Perino has joked on a number of occasions that everything worked out exactly as it was meant to.

Perino met her now-husband on a flight in the mid-90s, and as she revealed at The Hudson Union talk for her book “I Wish Someone Had Told Me …” she’d been immediately taken by the good-looking gentleman offering to stow her bag for her. While she declined the offer, she found another conversation starter in the book he’d brought on board, and by the end of the flight, she was smitten.

Granted, the former aide to George W. Bush wasn’t blind to the red flags at the time — and Perino told the truth about that at The Hudson Union. On the contrary, she recalled listing all the obstacles in a silent prayer as the plane touched down. The chief issues? Their 18-year age gap, the fact that he was twice-divorced, and the issue of him living in the U.K. Luckily, she also voiced those concerns with a good friend, and wrote in “I Wish Someone Had Told Me …” that it was thanks to that conversation that she decided to give the relationship a go. As for what, exactly, her friend had said, Perino recounted, “Kim Wilkerson said, ‘Stop. Do not pass up the chance to be loved.’” Perino moved to the U.K. for a brief stint, then back Stateside with McMahon in tow, and she never looked back.

Dana and Peter often get lost in translation

@danaperino/Instagram
Things may have worked out for Dana Perino and Peter McMahon, but the Fox anchor and her husband have nevertheless poked fun at some of the enduring challenges they face, particularly when it comes to language.

In a 2022 episode of Perino’s “Everything Will Be Okay” Fox News podcast, McMahon made an appearance and joked that even after years of marriage, “Occasionally, Dana and I have a little bit of a dispute because there’s been a misunderstanding.” In particular, McMahon said the different ways they pronounced “Schedule” — he beginning with a “Shh” sound and she with “Sk” — was something Perino found especially annoying. “It’s like nails on a chalkboard, that word,” she agreed.

It’s pretty clear Perino and McMahon gave a great time together. He makes regular appearances on her Instagram, with the twosome trying out Gen Z photo trends, hanging out with their dog, and spending time with friends. However, every once in a while they play into the major age difference between them, as was the case when Perino began giving her husband weekly recaps of “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” The first in the series of Instagram videos — recorded by Perino’s assistants unbeknownst to McMahon — saw McMahon getting crochety as the explanation went on, eventually asking, “Why should I give a s***?” The updates continued in the weeks that followed, and though McMahon made no secret of the fact that he wasn’t interested, he was enough of a sport to be in the videos. Perino and McMahon may have a bigger age gap than she would initially have liked, but there’s no question that these two have a great thing going.