World Baseball Classic star Matt Festa revealed how he and his wife, FOX News correspondent Danamarie McNicholl, balance their equally demanding lifestyles.
On Sunday, Festa made his debut in this year’s tournament while representing Italy — whose unique home run celebration has swiftly become a fan favorite — for a second consecutive WBC. Upon taking the bump in the top of the seventh, the Cleveland Guardians pitcher surrendered one hit while striking out two while helping propel his team to a 7-4 victory over Great Britain.
Only a handful of months prior to Festa’s relief appearance at Daikin Park, he and McNicholl tied the knot during a fairytale wedding in Ireland.
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In the first week of November — which has fittingly been dubbed “baseball marriage weekend” given that it’s the first minibreak following the World Series — Festa and McNicholl traveled to Dublin with 150 of their closest friends and family members.
Following a joyous pub crawl to kick off the festivities, the couple united in matrimony at the Luttrellstown Castle — a 15th-century fortress located on 229 hectares of lush parkland. Unfortunately for Festa, he was momentarily upstaged by one of his guests on his big day.
As an homage to Ireland’s history, Festa walked around the venue with a baby owl named Mille perched on his falconry glove. “In Ireland, they do falconry out there, and we thought it’d be a cool moment to surprise people with a little bit of culture out there,” he told Mirror U.S. Sports. “[Mille] was a hit. She was a bigger hit than me, but not my wife.”
Like many couples in this day and age, Festa and McNicholl first met on the dating app Hinge back in 2019. At the time, the former was playing for the Seattle Mariners, while the latter was one year removed from being named Miss Washington. It wasn’t until after the COVID-19 pandemic, however, that the newlyweds went on their first date.
“We met [in person] after COVID in 2021,” Festa recalled. “I was coming back from TJ, so it was kind of a silver lining to getting some Tommy John and being stuck in Arizona for a little bit longer. I got to meet my wife.”
Though McNicholl and Festa are forced to spend significant time apart because of their respective careers, the pair ensure that they are equally supportive of one another’s undertakings.
“She has a hectic lifestyle just like me,” Festa noted. “She actually does probably as many hotel nights as I do. Working on the road, covering stories. But it keeps her distracted during the season, which is nice because being apart from each other is super hard. But she’s in the big leagues in her own career, and I support her whenever I can. Turn on the news as soon as I wake up after a late game, and just try and catch some action.”
In McNicholl’s current role as a Miami-based reporter for FOX News Channel, Festa acknowledged that his partner has been incredibly busy as of late due to the recent news cycle.
“She’s gone at the drop of a hat,” he said. “It could be a phone call at 5:30 [a.m.] and you’re in a new city. The news kind of never stops, and she covers that southeast region. There’s a lot of stuff going on there these days. So she does a wonderful job, and I’m so proud of her every day.”
Despite her hectic schedule, McNicholl still managed to make it out for Festa’s WBC game in Houston over the weekend. “You know, it’s not easy hopping on flights all the time, but she sticks her neck out for me,” he said. “I love her for that.”
As for what’s the key to he and McNicholl’s relationship, Festa highlighted communication as the main key. “It’s very unique. It’s very hard,” he conceded. “I would say it’s not for the faint of heart, but we’re really good communicators.
“We love each other very much, and we understand each other’s grind and passion for our career. We’re very career-oriented people, and we kind of make it work that way. We’re very lucky to have each other.”