While Sean Hannity got engaged to Ainsley Earhardt in December 2024, once upon a time he was married to Jill Rhodes, and together they welcomed two children. That would be son Patrick Hannity and daughter Merri Hannity. While the kids aren’t in the public eye quite as much as their famous father (and his new romantic partner), they aren’t exactly hidden away from the spotlight, either.  We’ll start with the Fox News star’s firstborn. Some may remember that back in 2021, Patrick’s name came up in a Salon report. This, after some questioned his father’s decision to buy a home near his college, Wake Forest University, and the fact that Sean’s private jet — painted in the university’s colors — was used to transport the tennis team, of which Patrick was a member. As for the home, it also happened that the school’s head of tennis bought the place next door. “It’s suspicious, but it’s hard to nail down what it means,” lawyer Ricky Volante told Salon. Even so, nothing ever came of the investigation. In fact, by the time of its report, Salon acknowledged that the investigation had actually been closed. More than that, though, Sean’s lawyer said they hadn’t known anything about it in the first place. As for whether his father’s lavish purchases had anything to do with Patrick’s admission, the university shut that down in no uncertain terms, pointing out that he had a very impressive 4.2 GPA.

At the time of this writing, Patrick hasn’t been in the news again. He also seems to keep a low profile on social media, though from what is public, there’s no question that he’s incredibly dedicated to his university. The only thing listed in the bio of his private Instagram profile is “Wake Forest,” along with a tennis racket and ball emoji.

Merri Hannity Is A Tennis Player, Too

Merri Hannity speaking about her recruitment to Michigan University.© Michigan Women’s Tennis/Facebook

Just like her older brother, Merri Hannity is an avid tennis player. Luckily for Merri, though, she didn’t find herself at the center of any controversy when she began playing in college. Quite the contrary, all that’s out there at the time of writing is that Merri was recruited for Michigan University based on her tennis abilities.

Merri was featured on the Michigan Women’s Tennis Facebook page in 2020, with the school referring to her as a “five-star recruit.” Not too shabby! It does bear mentioning that Merri also gave her brother a sweet shout-out in the feature. “My brother plays at Wake Forest,” she shared, noting that playing the sport was a big part of their upbringing. In fact, she shared that both Jill Rhodes and Sean Hannity were big tennis fans, too. “I guess that’s kind of how they got me and my brother into playing,” she mused. In addition to her sporting achievements, Merri seems to be quite the achiever when it comes to academics. In 2023, she was named one of Michigan University’s Big 10 Distinguished Scholars — an accolade bestowed on athletes at the school who achieved a minimum GPA of 3.7.

Other than their shared sporting abilities and impressive academic records, another thing Merri seems to have in common with her brother is their love for their dad’s new ladylove. Speaking to Fox News in the wake of the engagement, Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt said that their kids (Earhardt and her ex-husband Will Proctor share a daughter) “couldn’t be happier.”

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