CARSON Daly has enjoyed fame and popularity as the host of the Today show.
But the former MTV VJ’s career hasn’t always been so rosy: Carson has dealt with accusations of homophobia, broken engagements, and a “sleep divorce.”
GettyCarson Daly has found himself the subject of unwanted attention[/caption]
GettyThe former MTV host enjoys new popularity on the Today show[/caption]
He also has admitted to having secret “panics” while hosting.
The 49-year-old opened up about his battle with anxiety and told fans that he’s not always as calm as he seems on air.
Speaking to USA Today, Carson revealed: “On The Voice, when I’m live on Monday nights, most of the time, my right hand is in my right pocket.
“I’m literally gripping onto the flesh of my thigh because I’m waiting for a high-panic moment to pass.”
The California native revealed in 2018 that he suffers from a generalized anxiety disorder, which means that he experiences excessive feelings of worry and fear.
“You may think my life’s perfect. I’ve got kids. I always look happy on TV or when you watch me on The Voice. But that’s just not how it works,” he added.
Carson has survived numerous other controversies as well.
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In 2018, Carson was accused of downplaying the impact of the #MeToo and larger Times Up movements, which gained support after the allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein.
His interview with actress Eva Longoria on the red carpet at the Golden Globes that year sparked controversy as the Desperate Housewives actress explained the purpose of the movement.
Carson breezily said he was sure the outcry would continue “throughout tonight and for the next weeks and months.”
That led Eva to clap back: “This is not a moment. This is a movement, and tonight is just one small part of that.”
PILOT ERROR
Carson was then forced to apologize, after making what some deemed to be homophobic remarks.
During his radio show in 2012, Carson was discussing the response of a group of JetBlue airline passengers who were forced into action after the pilot had a mental breakdown.
The passengers wrestled Clayton Osbon to the ground after he left the cockpit and ran up and down the center aisle making outlandish statements.
The plane made an emergency landing in Amarillo, Texas, and one on board was seriously hurt.
You may think my life’s perfect. I’ve got kids. I always look happy on TV or when you watch me on The Voice. But that’s just not how it works.
Carson Daly
After the incident, Carson tried to joke that gay passengers wouldn’t have responded the same way.
“Most of them were on their way to some sort of security conference in Las Vegas,” he said on air at the time. “It was like a bunch of well-trained dudes, thank God.
“With my luck, it would be like, ‘This is the flight going to the gay pride parade in San Francisco. ‘Uh, we’re headed down to Vegas for the floral convention.’”
Later, he apologized: “I’ve long been a supporter of Gay and Lesbian rights.
“I’m saddened that my comments, however unintentional, offended anyone, specifically members of the LGBT community,” Carson said in a statement.
QUICKIE ENGAGEMENT
Carson met American Pie actress Tara Reid in 2000 during an infamous MTV spring break.
They got engaged just seven months after their wild getaway and were sharing an apartment in New York City.
But their romance was fleeting.
Reid initially postponed their summer wedding to film The Guest, but then the couple decided to cancel their engagement in 2001.
Daly said he “dodged a bullet,” by not marrying Reid.
He told ELLE in 2013: “I was getting serious about my career, and she wanted to shoot movies and just party [during] her time off.
“That didn’t work for me.”
The Today show host wanted to share his life with a “regular person.”
He said: “I realized I’d have more in common with a regular person than with a celebrity.”
DUMPED ON AIR
Carson also had a relationship with Party of Five star Jennifer Love Hewitt in the late 1990s.
But their romance ended when Carson found out Jennifer dumped him – over the radio.
“I woke up to Howard Stern telling me my relationship with [Jennifer] was over,” Daly told People in 2000.
“Then I heard Steve Kmetko on E! say, ‘Just off the Associated Press: Jennifer Love Hewitt and Carson Daly have officially broken up.’”
When Daly confronted his ex, he said: “If we were going to break up officially like this, maybe we could have just talked about it.
“I don’t see why you had to tell your publicist. And now I have been publicly humiliated.”
In 2005, Love Hewitt came on Last Call With Carson Daly to hash things out.
On the show, Daly admitted to getting a tattoo of Love Hewitt’s name on his leg, which was since covered up, allegedly at Tara Reid’s demand, with a crab claw pocket knife.
Carson told his ex: “I blame the breakup on you, you blame it on me.”
SLEEP DIVORCE
Carson eventually did find a permanent love with food blogger Siri Pinter.
The two were married in 2015.
But the morning show host surprised many of his viewers when he revealed that he and his wife have an agreement dubbed a “sleep divorce.”
“I was served my sleep-divorce papers a few years ago,” Carson told his fellow hosts. “It’s the best thing that ever happened to us. We both, admittedly, slept better apart.”
When Siri became pregnant with their child Goldie in 2020, the couple reportedly found sleeping in the same bed unbearable.
“We’re both pretty good-sized humans, and it just wasn’t really working when she was in her third trimester, and I also have sleep apnea, which is very sexy for the ladies out there, I’m sure,” Carson told People in 2020.
CPAP BATTLE
Carson wears a CPAP machine, which he told People is “like sleeping next to Darth Vader.”
“We woke up and we just shook hands like, ‘I love you, but it’s time to sleep divorce. It’ll be the best thing for all of us,’” he said.
Carson also mentioned their sleep divorce in a previous episode of the Today show: “We don’t want to sleep apart, but we have now, and I think secretly we’re both like, ‘This is kinda cool because you get command of the whole room.’”
The couple still keeps up the habit.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever sleep together again,” he said.
GettyDaly is now married to Siri Pinter, 41, (pictured) – but they have a ‘sleep divorce’[/caption]
GettyCarson was engaged to actress Tara Reid just months after they met[/caption]
GettyCarson seemed to be the last to know he was dumped by Jennifer Love Hewitt[/caption]
Instagram/Carson DalyCarson and his wife have a sleep-divorce[/caption]
Eva Longoria threw shade at the host during the height of the #MeToo movementGetty Images – GettyNBCCarson issued an apology after making some controversial comments in 2012[/caption]
