‘The Pentagon’s Yoko Ono’: Pete Hegseth’s Wife ‘Keeps Him on a Very Short Leash’

Pentagon staffers have reportedly taken to calling U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s wife “Yoko Ono” behind her back, a reference to her growing influence over her husband and increasingly visible presence in his professional life. The Daily Beast reported the nickname, citing a source familiar with the situation.

Hegseth, 46, met his current wife, Jennifer Rauchet, now 49, in 2017, when she was working as a producer for Fox & Friends and he was one of the show’s hosts. At the time, Hegseth was married to his second wife, Samantha Deering, with whom he has three children.

That same year, Hegseth and Jennifer welcomed a daughter, Gwendolyn. The couple subsequently married in 2019, and Jennifer took her husband’s surname. She also has three children from a previous marriage.

In recent years, Jennifer has increasingly appeared alongside her husband in connection with his professional activities. According to the outlet, she attends important meetings at the Pentagon, helps him prepare for public appearances and takes part in other work-related matters.

In August, she appeared alongside Hegseth in the Oval Office during Donald Trump’s signing of an executive order establishing a presidential commission on service members. Jennifer is set to serve as chair of the commission.

Now, according to a source cited by the Daily Mail, Pentagon staffers have taken to calling her “Yoko Ono” behind her back.

The nickname refers to Japanese artist and musician Yoko Ono, the wife of John Lennon, who for decades has been portrayed as having significant personal influence over the musician and has often been blamed for the breakup of the Beatles.

“Now there’s a woman beside him who keeps the man she married on a very short leash,” the Daily Mail source said.

According to The New York Times, Jennifer Hegseth was named one of her husband’s most influential advisers last month. The newspaper cited 20 current and former administration officials, as well as people in Jennifer’s circle.

Former Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot criticized her involvement in her husband’s work. “It’s crazy that the secretary of defense involves his wife in carrying out his sensitive official duties, including sharing details of a planned military operation with her, and faces no consequences for it,” he told The New York Times.

Ullyot worked under Hegseth for just three months before leaving his position. He said that “any president deserves more considered decision-making from their national security leadership.”

According to the Daily Beast, Jennifer draws on her media background to prepare her husband for public appearances, attends meetings and has reportedly taken part in interviews with candidates for Pentagon positions and suggested ideas for the department’s video content.

In July, the Times of London also reported that Jennifer Hegseth was one of her husband’s closest advisers and had access to the Pentagon, which a source told the newspaper was unusual for a defense secretary’s wife.

Hegseth himself also has an unflattering nickname among some Pentagon staffers. The Daily Beast previously reported that some service members refer to him as “No Tab Pete,” a reference to his lack of certain Army qualification badges indicating specialized training and qualifications.

This week, it also emerged that Jennifer helped arrange a CBS News interview with a U.S. service member who was rescued following an incident over Iran. According to Status, CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss personally contacted Jennifer Hegseth to arrange the interview.