MSNBC is becoming a hotbed of passion for Beltway nerds. Page Six has exclusively learned that the network’s Nicolle Wallace is divorcing her ambassador husband of 14 years and is dating New York Times writer Michael S. Schmidt, a regular guest on her show “Deadline: White House.”
In fact Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Schmidt, 35, is such a familiar face alongside Wallace, 47, both on air and off, that we’re told they have disclosed their romance to network chiefs, who were fine with it, just as they were when the co-anchors of their “Morning Joe” show, Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, coupled up.
Wallace — George W. Bush’s former White House communications director, a senior adviser for the McCain-Palin campaign, a co-host of “The View” for a year until August 2015, and now chief political analyst for MSNBC and NBC News — has been married to lawyer and Bush-appointed US Ambassador to the United Nations Mark Wallace since 2005. He didn’t return e-mails seeking comment.
The couple was featured in HBO’s 2012 McCain-Palin political drama, “Game Change.” Nicolle was played by Sarah Paulson and Mark by Ron Livingston. They filed for divorce on March 18 and the split appears to be uncontested. Friends say they have been separated for at least a year.
Schmidt is also a national security contributor for MSNBC and NBC News and has broken a series of big stories, including the existence of Hillary Clinton’s private e-mail account.
He and Wallace were seen out and about together at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, earlier this month. However, a source close to the anchor strongly rejected the implication that Wallace was in any way “gallivanting,” adding, “Nicolle is one of the most professional people I know.” The source insisted the couple only attended a breakfast together.
Like Mika and Joe, Nicolle and Mike make good TV, but unlike the affectionately bickering “Morning Joe” spouses, their dynamic seems solidly serious and nonflirtatious.
A spokesperson for MSNBC and Wallace declined to comment.