Dana Perino's Age Gap With Her Husband Is Painfully Obvious In These Photos

American political commentator Dana Perino has a massive 18-year age gap with her husband, Peter McMahon. The unlikely duo first met on a flight from Denver to Chicago in 1997. At the time, Perino was only 25 and had just started a new job in Washington, D.C. McMahon was a 43-year-old British man based in England. "We had polite conversation at first. I asked him about his book, he asked me how my trip was, but we ended up talking for two and a half hours," Perino told People. "We call it love at first flight."

Only a year after their fateful meeting, Perino took the leap of faith to move to England and marry McMahon in 1998. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the couple moved to Washington, D.C., as Perino followed a job opportunity in communications for the George W. Bush administration. In 2007, she cemented her place in history as the second woman to serve as White House press secretary. In these early stages of her rising career, McMahon supported Perino and helped her learn what she needed to be successful. 

Now a Fox News host for "The Five" and "America's Newsroom," Perino is still in the spotlight, and so is her unconventional marriage. Many believe that Perino's marriage is full of obvious red flags. Given the drastic size of their age gap, Perino and McMahon cannot hide the fact that he is significantly older than her. This age difference has only grown more obvious over the years, especially as McMahon began his 70s. While aging is natural and wholly inevitable, photos of the couple highlight what an almost-two-decade age difference looks like.

On June 6, 2022, Dana Perino took to Facebook to publicly wish Peter McMahon a happy birthday. Her husband turned 68 that year, and it shows. Through this blurry selfie, wrinkles and fine lines are still prominent. The age spots are also hard to ignore as they are made front and center. This makes McMahon appear much older than his wife, who is nearly 18 years his junior. His outdated fashion sense doesn't do him any favors, either, making their age gap painfully obvious. 

In March 2023, Dana Perino and Peter McMahon were pictured bundled up during a cold winter trip to the city. While this photo makes them both look especially old, McMahon's age is drastically apparent in the photo. Cold weather usually has a poor impact on the skin, which may explain why their wrinkles appear more pronounced. Luckily for the couple, Perino's loud and colorful coat stole the show. "I will join all of the people who love your coat. I am so tired of the black I always buy," one Facebook user commented.

Dana Perino posed for a photo with Peter McMahon in May of 2023 during a visit to Texas. "When we took our sunglasses off for two seconds for a photo...dallas is Sunnyvale!" she captioned the Facebook post. In the harsh sunlight, all of the imperfections on McMahon's face and neck are highlighted. This makes his forehead wrinkles, crow's feet, and fine lines pop out in the photo to reveal their age gap. In comparison, Perino's skin still looks much younger and healthier as it still retains some smoothness and bounciness. 

In July 2022, the untold truth of Dana Perino came to light in a posted selfie with Peter McMahon at the airport gate where they first met to honor the 25th anniversary of their chance encounter. The Facebook post generated over five thousand comments from users who wanted to wish the couple a happy anniversary. The harsh airport lighting made McMahon's wrinkles and fine lines incredibly pronounced, and the shadows on his face made him look much older than Perino. Despite the glaring age gap, many commenters called them a beautiful couple. 

In June 2018, Dana Perino's Facebook post with husband Peter McMahon garnered criticism as it drew unwanted attention to their massive age gap. McMahon's outfit was doing him no favors; he was dressed in a striped tie, oversized suit, and an old-fashioned dress hat. The outfit itself was giving grandpa vibes regardless of how old he looked in the face. "What's with the older man," one user asked in a comment on the post. "Nice to see daughter hanging out with her father," another user teased. 

In a Facebook post in December 2016, Dana Perino and Peter McMahon's age difference was even more striking while posing beside Jeff and Tracy Schyberg in a Christmas photo taken in Bluffton, South Carolina. The Schybergs, who are behind Palmetto Bluff Real Estate Company, also appeared to have an age gap of their own that is showcased in the photo. "Why you guy's marry your grandfathers?" one Facebook user commented on the post. While the commenter was poking fun at their varying ages, he does raise a valid question. 

In 2017, Dana Perino and Peter McMahon volunteered on a Mercy Ship, which provides hospital ships staffed by volunteers who help deliver lifesaving care. The couple posed together in blue scrubs accompanied by headwraps. "Ready to scrub in on Mercyships! Shadowing Dr. Mark Shrime in the OR this morning," Perino captioned the Facebook post. While volunteering in Cotonou, Benin, in West Africa, McMahon looked exceptionally older than Perino. Scrubs are unfortunately not the most flattering attire on anyone, and they have a tendency to emphasize any facial imperfections or flaws caused by aging. 

On June 17, 2023, Dana Perino shared a photo standing on a boat dock in New Jersey with her husband, Peter McMahon. Given its proximity to Father's Day, the picture had some people questioning if Perino was honoring her dad for the holiday. "I'm new here, is this her dad? Father's Day post?" one user commented. The photo has McMahon looking like an old British sailor, which is a fitting choice for what little the public knows about what Perino's husband really does for a living and how frequently he travels.