Who Is Fox News Host Jesse Watters’ Mom? 5 Things to Know About Anne Purvis

Fox News host Jesse Watters shares an interesting dynamic with his mother, Anne Purvis.

Jesse’s mom made headlines again this month after he revealed on the Monday, October 20, episode of The Five that she attended a No Kings protest against President Donald Trump. “I know my mom was there,” Jesse shared, much to his cohosts’ surprise. “Can you believe my mom was there? Sometimes I think I was adopted.”

Jesse went on to claim that people who attended the rallies had “no idea why they’re there,” with the exception of his mother. “I mean, some of them do; my mom knew. But if you stick a mic in front of their face, they have no clue,” he added. “They’re just kind of walking around.”

The No Kings protest discussion was not the first time Jesse has discussed his mother on-air. So, who is Jesse’s mom and what is his family background?

Scroll down to get to know Jesse and Anne’s family.

Who are the members of Jesse Watters’ family?

Born in 1978, Jesse is the son of Anne and Stephen Watters. Jesse grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, alongside his sister, Aliza, before moving to Long Island, New York, during his senior year of high school. He later graduated from Trinity College in Connecticut and joined Fox News as a production assistant in 2002. He currently serves as a cohost on The Five and hosts his own series, Jesse Watters Primetime.

Jesse shares his twin daughters, Sophie and Ellie, 14, with his ex-wife, Noelle Inguagiato, to whom he was married from 2009 to 2019. He wed Emma DiGiovine in 2019, and the two welcomed their son, Jesse Jr., and daughter, Georgina, in 2021 and 2023, respectively.

 

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What is Anne Purvis’ job?

Anne works as a child psychologist in Long Island, while Jesse’s father is a former middle school teacher.

Anne also has connections to the world of publishing, as her father served as a publisher of Better Homes and Gardens and her grandfather published The Saturday Evening Post.

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What is Anne Purvis’ political affiliation

Unlike Jesse, Anne’s political views lie on the liberal side. When Jesse took over Tucker Carlson‘s 8 p.m. time slot on Fox News in July 2023, Anne called in to the show to both congratulate her son and issue him a warning.

“Do not tumble into any conspiracy rabbit holes. We do not want to lose you, and we want no lawsuits. Okay?” she said on the broadcast, adding, “In keeping with the Hippocratic Oath, do no harm. We need you to be kind and respectful. … Use your voice responsibly to promote conversation that maintains a narrative thread.”

Before hanging up, she stated, “You could encourage that Bedminster friend of yours to return to his earlier career on television. Everyone in his audience could wear a red hat, and I’m sure the ratings would soar, although never as high, my darling, as yours, on Jesse Watters Primetime.”

When has Anne Purvis been mentioned on Fox News?

Last year, Jesse revealed that his mother didn’t invite him to her house for Thanksgiving while discussing how some Democrat voters weren’t planning to spend the holiday with Trump-supporting relatives.

“People are taking some space in the Watters household. I’ll have you know that I was not invited to my mother’s house for Thanksgiving. Apparently, there wasn’t enough room,” he told viewers in November 2024. “She said it was a scheduling situation and then, at the last second, invited me to come over on Black Friday. I told her no thanks, I’ll be at Best Buy.”

During a May 2024 episode of The Five, Jesse shared that Anne had been sending him several texts about Trump’s 34 felony convictions. “My mom is celebrating. She texted me that she was dancing after the verdict. Dancing. And then she kept, all day, sending me 34, 34, 34 felony counts,” Jesse shared. “She’s a grandmother. She’s a grandmother! Get it together, Mom! Oh my God!”

Jesse has also been known to read Anne’s critical texts on-air. “I always laugh,” Jesse said of the texts in a 2019 joint interview with Anne published by The Atlantic. “I’ll [send a] thumbs-up or a ‘Hahaha’ or an emoji—laughing, crying, something like that. She’s always telling me two things that are constant in these texts: One, stop screaming. And two, don’t be too much of a Trump supporter. I don’t really listen to either.”

Anne, for her part, told the outlet she finds her texts to be a “clarifying and clearing” form of expression. “Next I pause, quietly hoping that he heeds just a moment of my perspective (and ire). And then, more times than not, I shake my head in disbelief and remark to my husband, ‘Can you believe that boy!!! Can you believe he said that! That’s typical. That’s my Jesse! Look at that grin and those sparkly eyes!’” she said. “Despite my degree of outrage, I have to laugh.”

Watters: My mom is celebrating. She texted me that she was dancing after the verdict, dancing. And then she kept all day sending me 34, 34, 34 felony counts. pic.twitter.com/gll6kKSC97

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 31, 2024

What do viewers think of Anne Purvis?

In reaction to Jesse discussing his mother’s No Kings protest attendance on Fox News, one X user wrote, “So he was provably raised better than that! His poor mom smdh.” Another person tweeted, “His mom is smarter than he is.”

Others sympathized with the conflict that comes with sharing different political views with your parents. “Poor Jesse. 🤦🏻‍♀️ that’s a tough one but 🤷🏻‍♀️❤️🇺🇸,” another user wrote underneath an X clip of Jesse’s No Kings comments. A different person added, “A reminder is always good to show we don’t all have the same views.”