You see it all the time in the comments sections or during those quick Google deep dives: "Who was Sara Haines first husband?" People seem convinced there’s a secret starter marriage tucked away in her Iowa past or buried in her early NBC days. Maybe it’s because she didn’t get married until she was 37, or perhaps because she speaks so candidly about her "past lives" on The View.
But here is the simple, unvarnished truth. Sara Haines has only been married once.
Her husband is Max Shifrin. There is no "first husband" because Max is the only one.
The Mystery of the "First" Husband Explained
So, why does everyone keep asking? Honestly, it’s probably a mix of her late-bloomer timeline and her incredible transparency about her dating history. Before Max, Sara spent huge chunks of her 20s and 30s in serious, long-term relationships that just didn't cross the finish line.
She’s been very open about two specific ex-boyfriends. Both relationships lasted about four years each. In the world of celebrity gossip, a four-year stint often gets misremembered as a marriage. One of those guys was a coworker—she famously admitted to "dipping in the company ink" during her single years—and the other was a man she loved but who simply didn't share her vision for a family.
"I held on 10 times too many," she once told Glamour. She was a "hopeless romantic" who stayed in situations where the "long-term partner radar" was screaming at her to leave. When you hear a celebrity talk about a four-year relationship that "didn't work out," your brain sometimes fills in the blanks with a wedding that never happened.
Meeting Max Shifrin (The Only Husband)
The real story is actually way less "Hollywood" and way more "Brooklyn." Sara didn't meet her husband at a red-carpet gala or through a high-profile matchmaker. She met him on OkCupid.
Basically, she was doing a segment for Good Morning America about online dating. To "participate" in the experiment, she set up a profile. Max, a lawyer who genuinely had no idea who she was, came across her page.
They hit it off in 2012.
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Max is a commercial litigation powerhouse—specifically a partner at BakerHostetler. He’s a UConn alum and a Brooklyn Law grad. He’s also five years younger than Sara, a detail she’s joked about regarding her "scrambled eggs" and the biological clock she felt ticking when they finally decided to pull the trigger on a family.
The Pajama Proposal and the Bahamas Wedding
Their engagement wasn't some grand production with rose petals and a camera crew. Max actually proposed while they were both in their pajamas, early on a Tuesday morning around 6:30 a.m.
Sara’s reaction? She laughed. Not because it was a joke, but because it was so perfectly them—awkward, real, and low-key.
They officially tied the knot in November 2014 in the Bahamas. If you’re looking for a "Sara Haines first husband," this is the date where the history book actually begins. Since then, they’ve added three kids to the mix: Alec Richard, Sandra Grace, and Caleb Joseph.
Why the "Starter Marriage" Rumors Persist
In today's world of quick-hit celebrity news, people love a "hidden chapter." Because Sara is so vocal about the "work" of marriage—she’s called it a "discipline" rather than a fairy tale—some viewers interpret her pragmatism as the wisdom of someone who has failed at it before.
She often says things like, "When I married Max, I still didn't know if he was The One." That kind of honesty is rare. Most celebs sell the "soulmate" narrative. Sara sells the "I chose this person and we work at it every day" narrative. It's refreshing, but it confuses people who expect a more polished, scripted version of romance.
Identifying the Real "Workplace Romance"
To be 100% clear on the facts:
- The NBC Romance: Sara dated a coworker while she was at NBC (pre-2013). This was a long-term relationship, but it never involved a ring or a legal document.
- The "Non-Committer": She had another long-term partner who wasn't interested in marriage or kids. She ended this because her "vision" didn't match his.
- The Marriage: Max Shifrin is her first and only husband.
Lessons from Sara’s Intentional Dating
If there is any "actionable insight" to take from Sara's journey, it's her concept of "Dating Grit." She didn't settle. She waited until she was nearly 40 to ensure she found someone whose life plan matched hers.
She admits she wasn't a "healthy shopper" in her 20s. She stayed too long. She ignored red flags. But by the time Max came along, she had refined her "radar."
If you’re currently navigating the dating world and feeling behind the curve, remember that Sara Haines was 37 when she finally walked down the aisle. She didn't have a "starter marriage" to regret; she just had a lot of data points that led her to the right choice.
Next Steps for Your Own Research
If you want to see the real-time chemistry that fuels their marriage, look for the "Behind the Table" podcast episodes where Max joins Sara. They talk through their "marriage discipline" in a way that’s much more helpful than any tabloid rumor. You can also find her Glamour essay from a few years back, which remains the definitive source on how she shifted from a "hopeless romantic" to a "committed partner."