For nearly thirty years, Steve Doocy was the guy you saw every single morning. He was the anchor of the "curvy couch," the steady hand on Fox & Friends since the very beginning in 1998. But if you’ve tuned in lately, things look a little different. The Manhattan studio lights are still bright, but Steve isn’t always there. Honestly, people were pretty shocked when he announced he was changing things up.
It wasn’t a retirement. Far from it.
Basically, Steve Doocy decided he was done with the 3:30 AM alarm and the soul-crushing drive across the George Washington Bridge. In May 2025, he made it official. He moved to Florida. Now, he’s what the network calls a "coast-to-coast host." It’s a massive shift for a guy who has been the face of morning cable news for longer than some of his viewers have been alive.
The Evolution of Steve Doocy: From Weather Guy to Voice of Dissent
Most people forget that Steve started as the weather guy. Back in 1996, when Fox News was just a scrappy startup trying to take on CNN, he was doing features and reporting on the rain. When Fox & Friends launched two years later, he found his real home. He has outlasted almost everyone in the business. Except for Al Roker, he’s the longest-running morning host in history. That’s wild when you think about how volatile TV news is.
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But it’s not just his longevity that makes him interesting. Lately, he’s become something of an "unexpected voice of dissent" on his own network.
You’ve probably seen the clips. While the rest of the morning crew might be leaning hard into a specific political narrative, Steve has started asking the "wait a minute" questions. He famously pushed back on the Joe Biden-Ukraine investigation, at one point flat-out asking Rep. James Comer, "Did they break any laws?" It got so tense that Comer eventually stopped coming on the show for a while. It’s a fascinating pivot. He’s managed to stay loyal to the brand while carving out a space where he demands actual evidence before jumping on a bandwagon.
Life in Florida and the New "Coast-to-Coast" Role
The move to Florida wasn't just about the weather. It was strategic. Fox News wanted to broaden its reach, and Steve was the perfect person to do it. He’s now broadcasting from diners, pickleball courts, and small towns across the heartland. He spends three days a week on air, often remotely.
He’s 68 now. He admitted on air, with some real emotion in his eyes, that the morning hours simply "suck" after three decades.
He wanted to have breakfast with his grandkids. He wanted to be a person again, not just a guy who lives by a 3:30 AM clock. His wife, Kathy, a cancer survivor and his longtime cookbook collaborator, is there with him. They’ve built this whole "Happy Cookbook" empire together, which basically saved them during the pandemic when everyone was stuck inside making "Engagement Lasagna."
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The Doocy Dynasty: A Family Business
You can't talk about Steve without talking about Peter Doocy. It’s gotta be a weird feeling for a father to be the one throwing the feed to his son at the White House. Peter is the Senior White House Correspondent now, and he’s just as much of a lightning rod as his dad ever was.
Steve used to be Peter's baseball coach. Now, they're colleagues.
They have this rule on air where they try not to mention they’re father and son. Peter once almost slipped up, starting to say "Dad" before catching himself and saying "Steve." Or maybe it was the other way around. Either way, they keep it professional, though Steve often jokes that people think they’re brothers. Considering Steve is 30 years older, that’s some serious flattery.
Beyond the News Desk: The "Happy" Empire
If you think Steve is just about politics, you haven't seen his kitchen. He and Kathy have turned "happy" into a brand.
- The Happy Cookbook
- Happy in a Hurry Cookbook
- The Simply Happy Cookbook
These aren't gourmet, "chef-y" books. They're about comfort food. Stuff like Lasagna Grilled Cheese or Buffalo Chicken Pot Pie. They’ve sold millions of copies because they feel accessible. It’s the same reason people like Steve on the couch—he feels like the neighbor who actually knows how to use a grill.
Why Steve Doocy Still Matters in 2026
In an era where everyone is screaming, Steve Doocy has stayed... well, relatively calm. He’s a guy who grew up in Kansas, went to the University of Kansas, and never really lost that "aw-shucks" Midwestern vibe, even after living in the New York media bubble for decades.
He’s seen every political cycle since the 90s. He’s interviewed everyone from George W. Bush to Donald Trump. In fact, when he moved to Florida, Trump even recorded a video tribute for him. "You've always treated me fairly," the former president said, "sometimes a little more fairly than other times." That basically sums up the tightrope Steve walks every morning.
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What happens next for Steve Doocy?
He isn't going anywhere yet. He’s still a co-host with Ainsley Earhardt, Brian Kilmeade, and Lawrence Jones. But he’s shown other veteran anchors that there is a "Phase Two." You don't have to quit entirely; you can just change the venue. By moving his base to the South, he’s staying relevant while finally getting the sleep he’s missed for 30 years.
Actionable Insights for Following the Transition:
- Watch the remote segments: Look for Steve’s "Coast-to-Coast" hits on Fox & Friends (6-9 AM ET). These often feature more "real world" interviews than the studio segments.
- Check the cookbooks: If you’re looking for the lifestyle side of his career, his latest, The Simply Happy Cookbook, focuses on low-ingredient, high-comfort meals.
- Monitor the "Dissent": Pay attention to the 8:00 AM hour. This is often where Steve digs into the harder questions that have defined his more independent streak lately.
- Follow the Family: Keep an eye on the interaction between Steve in Florida/the field and Peter at the White House; it’s a unique dynamic in the history of cable news.
Steve Doocy has successfully navigated a landscape that has swallowed up dozens of other hosts. He did it by being consistent, being a little bit funny, and finally knowing when to leave the couch behind for a life in the sun.