Mary Katherine Ham Lost Her First Husband When She Was Seven Months Pregnant

Most people know Mary Katherine Ham for her professional side, she’s a conservative political commentator, journalist, and host of the Getting Hammered and Normally podcasts. But many might be less familiar with her personal life. In 2015, she faced an unimaginable tragedy when her first husband died while she was seven months pregnant with their second child.

Mary hasn’t exactly kept this part of her life a secret, but it only comes up occasionally, like when she appeared on Fox News in late August 2025 to defend prayer after the Annunciation Catholic School shooting in Minneapolis. Naturally, her mentions of her first husband and his death have sparked curiosity, with many wanting to know what happened. Here’s what she has shared about it.

Mary Katherine Ham’s first husband, Jake Brewer, tragically died in a bicycle accident during a cancer charity event in September 2015. While riding, he lost control of his bike and collided with a vehicle, Fox News reported in October 2015. He was only 34 years old. Mary later revealed that she was in Durham, N.C., with her family when she received the call. At the time, she was seven months pregnant with their second child, due in December of that year.

Jake had worked in the White House during the Obama era, and what’s ironic about the couple is that they stood on opposite sides of the political spectrum. Mary is a Republican, while Jake was a Democrat.

When they first met, Mary told Fox’s Greta Van Susteren that it wasn’t exactly love at first sight for either of them. “There were some reservations because of the bipartisan nature of that relationship,” she said, adding, “The reason we were together is because we believe people are more than just their politics.”

Nevertheless, they married in 2011 and were fortunate enough to conceive two children before Jake's untimely death, though he never got to meet their second child. In the weeks following the tragedy, Mary spoke candidly about her late husband.

Just a month after his passing, she maintained a smile and said, “He would want us to live bravely, and he would want us to have fun. And I will probably always think that the world is a little bit less fun and beautiful because he’s not here, but he would say it’s my job to get off my butt and make it fun and beautiful.”

She also remembered Jake as an “incredibly talented” guy and just “one hell of a human being.” Ham added that he was “obnoxiously good at everything” but “such a cool guy,” who was “really driven to help other people.”

Mary did remarry following her husband’s tragic death in 2015. She married a man named Steve on March 7, 2020, and together they have welcomed two children, bringing her total number of kids to four. While Mary is widely known thanks to her career and knack for public speaking, Steve tends to take a back seat on social media, unless he’s being featured in one of her posts.