Who Is Carl Higbie Married To? – The Full Story of the Navy SEAL Who Became a Newsmax Host, Trump Surrogate, and Family Man Behind the Headlines

Carlton Milo Higbie IV is not a man who does things quietly. He jumped out of college to become a Navy SEAL when troops were deploying to Iraq. He led missions that captured one of Iraq’s most wanted insurgents. He wrote a book that got his security clearance downgraded. He ran for Congress at 30. He became a national Trump surrogate during one of the most polarising election campaigns in American history. He took a federal appointment, made controversial statements, resigned, and came back stronger. He now hosts his own nightly programme on Newsmax, has filed federal lawsuits over Second Amendment rights, and has three children from two marriages — one of which he has kept almost entirely out of the public record.

The personal story of Carl Higbie is, appropriately for someone of his background, defined as much by what he has chosen not to say publicly as by what he has. Nowhere is that more evident than in the question that drives the most online searches about him: Who is Carl Higbie married to?

The honest, careful answer — the one this article will give — is that his first marriage to Kaitlyn Marie Caruso is the best-documented chapter of his personal life, and his current marriage is confirmed to exist but deliberately shielded from public scrutiny. His wife’s name, variously reported across different online sources as Kaitlyn (first marriage), and Kiley, Ashlie, Libby, or Carrie in reference to his current spouse, reflects the genuine confusion that exists when a public figure deliberately withholds personal information.

What is not in dispute is that he is married, that he has three children — one daughter from his first marriage and two sons from his current marriage — and that he lives in Connecticut. Everything beyond that requires navigating sources of varying reliability.

Carl Higbie Biography

Early Life and Background – Greenwich, Connecticut

Carlton Milo Higbie IV was born on April 23, 1983, in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Greenwich is one of the most affluent communities in the United States — a Fairfield County town on the Connecticut shore of Long Island Sound, known for its hedge fund executives, colonial architecture, and high-performing public schools. Growing up there in the 1980s and 1990s placed Carl Higbie in a world of considerable privilege, which makes his choice to drop out of college and enlist in the Navy SEALs all the more striking. He could have followed a very different path. He chose the harder one.

While he was in high school, he was a state champion wrestler. That physical discipline and competitive intensity, developed on the wrestling mat at Greenwich High School, became a precursor for the mental and physical demands of SEAL training

His family background has not been detailed publicly. His parents have not been named in any verified source, and he has not discussed his upbringing at length in public interviews, preferring to let his military service speak as his defining formative experience.

Education 

After graduating Greenwich High School, he attended college at Sacred Heart University before dropping out to join the military as troops were being deployed to Iraq.

Sacred Heart University is a Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut — a legitimate academic institution with strong sports programmes. Carl was building a college wrestling career there when the post-9/11 troop deployments made his decision for him. Whatever calculations he made, the conclusion was the same: he wanted to be where the action was, and that meant the Navy, not the classroom.

He later enrolled at Sacred Heart University and built a wrestling career there. When the war on terror was declared, he dropped out in 2003 and signed up to become a United States Navy SEAL

That decision was not impulsive — becoming a Navy SEAL requires surviving one of the most demanding selection processes in military history, including Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training, which has a documented attrition rate of over 70%. The physical and mental gauntlet of SEAL selection is genuinely brutal, and completing it reflects qualities that Carl Higbie has carried throughout his subsequent career: stubbornness, pain tolerance, and an absolute refusal to quit.

During his show on October 17, 2024, Higbie revealed that he has ADD, better known as ADHD. That disclosure — made publicly, on air — reflects both his willingness to be vulnerable about something genuinely personal and a possible explanation for the intensity and impulsiveness that has characterised some of his most controversial moments

Military Career — Two Tours, the “Butcher of Fallujah,” and a Complicated Discharge

Higbie enlisted in the United States Navy and became a SEAL in 2005, ultimately reaching the rating of Special Warfare Operator, First Class. He was twice deployed to Iraq to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom, once each under presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

In 2007 and 2009, he led his team to capture the infamous “Butcher of Fallujah,” and he finished two combat deployments to Iraq. Thereafter, he went back to take a senior training position where he taught high-risk evolutions like Air Operations and Close Quarters Combat for his remaining three years.

The capture of a high-value target nicknamed “the Butcher of Fallujah” is a significant operational achievement — the kind of mission that defines a SEAL’s career record. Teaching high-risk evolutions at the completion of his service reflects a man who was trusted enough to pass on the most dangerous aspects of SEAL craft to the next generation.

The end of his service was complicated. He signed out of the SEALs before the end of his term of duty with an honorable discharge. Some two months later, the Navy downgraded his discharge to “general.” However, upon appeal, his Honorable Discharge was restored.

The circumstances surrounding the initial discharge downgrade — related to a published book that made claims about a superior officer — became one of the earliest controversies of his public career. The fact that he successfully appealed and had his Honorable Discharge restored is the legally relevant outcome.

Career After the Navy

Books and Early Media Presence

Higbie is the author of a self-published book titled Battle on the Home Front: A Navy SEAL’s Mission to Save the American Dream in 2012, after which his security clearance was downgraded from “top secret.”

A second book, Enemies, Foreign and Domestic: A SEAL’s Story, was published by Post Hill Press in 2016.

Both books established his voice as a conservative military commentator — critical of the Obama administration’s approach to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and deeply invested in what he described as the degradation of American military culture by political interference.

The 2014 Congressional Race

In 2014, Higbie announced that he was running to be the Republican Party nominee to challenge Democrat Jim Himes in Connecticut’s 4th congressional district, declaring himself to not be “bound by the same conformist rules that most Republicans are bound by.”

Higbie had difficulty with fundraising during his candidacy. Debicella won the nomination overwhelmingly, with support from 195 of the 210 delegates, but lost the general election to the incumbent, Jim Himes.

Losing a convention race at 30 years old, against an established candidate with party backing, is not a failure — it is an education. Higbie took what he learned and channelled it into the arena where he had always been most effective: media and advocacy.

The Trump Era — Great America PAC, Controversies, and Federal Service

Higbie is a spokesman for Great America PAC, an independent-expenditure only political action committee (Super PAC) which advocates for Donald Trump. In this capacity, he has acted as a Trump surrogate, appearing on news networks including Fox News and CNN.

His role as a Trump surrogate during the 2016 campaign made him a regular presence on national television. He was articulate, combative, and willing to defend positions that other surrogates sometimes hedged on — qualities that made him useful to the campaign and distinctive as a media presence.

In August 2017, Higbie was selected to serve as the chief of external affairs for the Corporation for National and Community Service, resigning several months later after his comments denigrating minorities were discovered by media

The resignation from the CNCS role, following the surfacing of past radio statements that were widely condemned as racist, Islamophobic, and homophobic, was one of the most damaging moments of his public career. He has acknowledged making those statements and has continued his media career without fully retracting the underlying positions, which has maintained his status as a polarising figure.

Newsmax — Carl Higbie Frontline

Higbie started hosting Saturday Report on Newsmax TV in 2020 and has also filled in as guest host for other Newsmax hosts. In 2022 he quit Saturday Report to host Wake Up America Weekend. In April 2023 he got his own nightly show Carl Higbie Frontline, airing at 5PM ET, replacing Spicer & Co. after Sean Spicer’s departure from Newsmax. In September 2025, Newsmax announced Carl Higbie Frontline would air at 6PM ET

Getting his own nightly programme is a significant milestone — it places him in the same tier as established Newsmax hosts who have built audience relationships over years. The time slot move to 6PM ET in September 2025 represents a promotion within the Newsmax primetime schedule, reflecting the network’s confidence in his audience draw.

Federal Lawsuit on Second Amendment Rights

On February 5, 2024, he and two other people filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York challenging New York’s laws that ban non-residents from bringing and publicly carrying firearms in the state

This lawsuit reflects a consistent thread in his public identity — the conviction that constitutional rights, particularly the Second Amendment, should be portable across state lines and not subject to what he views as unconstitutional state-level restrictions.

Who Is Carl Higbie Married To? — The Honest Account

This question generates enormous online traffic and produces some of the most unreliable content on the internet. Dozens of websites offer different names for his current wife — Kaitlyn, Kiley, Ashlie, Libby, Carrie — with none of them providing primary sources or verified records to back their specific claims.

Here is what is confirmed by reliable, primary-source reporting:

First Marriage — Kaitlyn Marie Caruso (2008–2016)

The only widely verified public marriage in Carl Higbie’s life is his first marriage. Carl Higbie was married to Kaitlyn Marie Caruso. They married in 2008. The couple had a daughter named Mackenzie, born in 2013. They separated and later divorced in 2016.

Carl was previously married to his ex-wife Kaitlyn (2008–2016), with whom he shares a daughter by the name Mackenzie, born in 2013. They exchanged wedding vows on July 5, 2008, in New Rochelle, NY at Beckwith Pointe

After their divorce, Carl and Kaitlyn maintained a co-parenting relationship, ensuring their daughter received love and support from both parents.

Current Marriage and Family

Higbie is married and has three children, one daughter and two sons. His daughter is from his first marriage and his sons are from his second.

When it comes to Carl Higbie’s current wife, there is no single, officially confirmed name or profile from public records or reputable outlets as of 2025. The most accurate and responsible statement is that Carl Higbie’s current wife has not been officially confirmed in reliable sources. His daughter from his first marriage and additional children from a later relationship are noted.

The most reliable timeline that can be established from credible sources is straightforward. Carl Higbie married in the early 2010s, became a father, later divorced, and continues to co-parent his daughter. Beyond that, assertions about a current wife move from documentation into conjecture.

In summary: he is confirmed to be currently married, to have two sons with his current wife, and to live in Connecticut with his family. His current wife’s name has not been confirmed by any reputable primary source — which, given how deliberately Carl Higbie manages his family’s privacy, appears to be entirely intentional.

Personal Details — ADHD, Faith, and Connecticut Life

During his show on October 17, 2024, Higbie revealed that he has ADD, better known as ADHD. The public disclosure of an ADHD diagnosis is notable for someone whose career has been built on a hyper-disciplined military identity. It humanises a public persona that can sometimes feel impenetrable, and it may go some distance toward explaining the restless energy and occasionally impulsive public statements that have defined parts of his career.

Carl Higbie and his family live in Connecticut, where they focus on maintaining a peaceful and family-oriented environment. Connecticut — and specifically the Greenwich/Fairfield County area where he grew up — has remained his home base throughout his public career, grounding a national media presence in a local community context

Net Worth

As of 2025, Carl Higbie’s estimated net worth stands around $3 million. His income comes from several sources — his Newsmax salary, book royalties, public speaking engagements, and military pension.

Some earlier sources estimate the figure lower, around $1.5–2 million, which likely reflected earlier career stages. The current estimate of approximately $3 million is consistent with the income streams of a nightly cable news host with a military memoir backlist, active public speaking engagements, and PAC advisory work.

Tribe, Religion, and Nationality

Carl Higbie is an American national of white American ethnicity, born and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. He identifies as a social conservative with Christian values — a worldview that shapes his political commentary, his advocacy for veterans, and his public statements on cultural issues. His religion has not been specified as a particular denomination, but his worldview is explicitly faith-adjacent and culturally conservative.

Conclusion

Carl Higbie’s story is, in many ways, the story of a certain kind of American man — one shaped by competitive intensity, military service, patriotic conviction, and a willingness to say publicly what others only think privately. That last quality has been both his greatest professional asset and the source of his most damaging controversies. His first marriage, to Kaitlyn Marie Caruso, produced a daughter and ended in 2016. His current marriage — to a woman whose name he has consistently declined to make public — has produced two sons and appears, by the quiet evidence of his social media and on-air references, to be stable and supportive.

Three children. Two marriages. One nightly Newsmax programme. A federal lawsuit. A restored Honorable Discharge. An ADHD diagnosis disclosed on live television. A career built on refusing to be quiet about things that powerful institutions would prefer he stayed quiet about. That is Carl Higbie. Not simple. Not boring. Genuinely complicated — which is the only interesting kind of biography.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Who is Carl Higbie married to? Higbie is married and has three children — one daughter and two sons. His daughter is from his first marriage and his sons are from his second. His current wife’s name has not been confirmed by any reputable primary source. His earlier marriage was to Kaitlyn Marie Caruso, whom he married in 2008 and divorced in 2016.

2. How old is Carl Higbie? Carl Higbie was born on April 23, 1983, in Greenwich, Connecticut, making him 42 years old as of 2025.

3. Where is Carl Higbie from? Higbie was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he grew up, attended school, and continues to live with his family

4. What does Carl Higbie do now? In April 2023 he got his own nightly show, Carl Higbie Frontline, on Newsmax. In September 2025, Newsmax announced the show would air at 6PM ET.

5. How many children does Carl Higbie have? Higbie has three children — one daughter and two sons. His daughter is from his first marriage and his sons are from his second.

6. What was Carl Higbie’s military career? Higbie enlisted in the United States Navy and became a SEAL in 2005, ultimately reaching the rating of Special Warfare Operator, First Class. He was twice deployed to Iraq to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom, once each under presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He served in the U.S. Navy from 2005 to 2012.

7. What is Carl Higbie’s net worth? As of 2025, Carl Higbie’s estimated net worth stands around $3 million, earned through his Newsmax salary, book royalties, public speaking engagements, and military pension