Photo: Courtesy Rachel Campos Duffy
“In terms of doing it all, I don’t do it all,” she tells PEOPLE.
“I think the advantage of having eight kids is that, first of all, it was harder for me when I had my first child. I think the first child is absolutely the hardest,” shares Campos-Duffy, 47, whose oldest and youngest share a 17-year age gap. “And a lot of times, first-time moms look at me and they’re like, ‘Oh my God.’ And I always remind them that my first child was the hardest, because it’s such a change.”
“You lose your freedom, you don’t know what you’re doing, you have so many more questions about how it works,” she continues. “And what happens when you have a lot more kids is you gain more confidence, you figure out what’s necessary, what’s not, and you learn to manage your time better as a mom with kids who are over the age of 10.”
Rachel Campos-Duffy and husband Sean Duffy with their eight children.Courtesy Rachel Campos Duffy
So how does she prioritize her work commitments while running the family’s lively household? Campos-Duffy says she’s quick to “do a lot of delegating” — and that their “family works like a company — we all contribute.”
As they approaches their milestone 20-year wedding anniversary, which they’ll celebrate in 2019, Campos-Duffy credits an outside influence to the couple’s happy marriage: their shared faith, which has been “a very grounding force.”
When young women ask about the secret to her successful relationship, Campos-Duffy says she advises them to choose a supportive life partner like Duffy.
“I always give the opposite advice of all the feminists: I say you must get your education or decide what you want to do in that regard, but then get your love life in order. Because if you have that support system, I’ve always felt like that has been the key to my success — having a great partner,” says Campos-Duffy.
In addition to relying on their faith, the couple openly discusses controversial topics and engage their children in the conversations.
“When I grew up, my family talked about all the things that they say you’re not supposed to talk about at the dinner table,” she says. “We all talked about religion and politics. And so in my family, we’re kind of the same. Our kids are obviously in a hyper-political environment — their dad is a congressman, their mom’s a Fox News personality.”
While she admits that her “kids don’t agree with every position that me and my husband take,” she views it as a positive sign and encourages them “to ask questions.”
“I think that in this country, if we’re going to learn political tolerance, it has to start in your families,” she says.
On Tuesday, Fox News launched its subscription-based digital streaming serviceFox Nation, featuring dailyshortandlong-formprograms with content from some of thenetwork’s biggest stars, includingSean Hannity,Tucker Carlson,Laura Ingrahamand Brit Hume.
“I want to talk to all kinds of different groups of women who are mothers and get their perspective on current events and family life and home life. I think that there are so many incredibly intelligent women out there and I want to make sure that we’re really highlighting them and focusing on getting to understand that. The only other show that I know that does this isThe Real Housewives,” she says with a laugh, “which is quite the opposite. In a way, it is a little window.”
Rachel Campos-Duffy.Fox News
On an upcoming episode of the talk show, Campos-Duffy will sit down with spouses of politicians to discuss the current political environment and navigating those conversations with one’s children.
“We’re going to talk about the midterms, but also just what it’s like to be a political spouse and a mom and what kinds of concerns we have in this really hyper-political — but also kind of aggressive political — environment that we’re in right now. And also, how do we explain that to kids?” she shares.
“I keep hearing from families who are unfriending each other on Facebook over politics, or are not speaking to one another, and I think it’s really sad because obviously family is more important than politics,” she says.
To help bridge the divide, Campos-Duffy believes that there needs to be a reorganizing of priorities, with politics moving down the list.
source: people.com
