Who Is Ashleigh Banfield? What to Know About the Reporter Weighing In on Nancy Guthrie Case
Despite recently ending her NewsNation show, Ashleigh Banfield is continuing to dig into the biggest true-crime stories, which, most recently, includes the disappearance and apparent kidnapping or abduction of Savannah Guthrie‘s mother, Nancy Guthrie.
On February 3, Banfield weighed in on the disturbing case and claimed that a trusted law enforcement source told her that Savannah’s brother-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, who’s married to the journalist’s sister, Annie Guthrie, has allegedly been identified as a prime suspect in the case.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department responded to Banfield’s claims on February 4, noting, “We have not identified a suspect or person of interest in this case. Detectives continue to speak with anyone who may have had contact with Mrs. Guthrie. We are also awaiting additional forensic results.”
Scroll down to learn more about Banfield, her history in journalism, and more.
What does Ashleigh Banfield do?
Banfield is currently the host of the Drop Dead Serious podcast. She launched the true-crime podcast in January 2025 and generally releases several episodes per week.
On Drop Dead Serious, Banfield, who has been reporting on crime for more than 36 years, takes listeners through a “journey through mystery and injustice” and “dive[s] deep into critical clues.” She shares her personal take on the stories she shares.
In January 2026, Banfield ended her NewsNation show Banfield to prioritize the podcast. The primetime program ran on the network for five years before Banfield made the decision to step away.
Where has Ashleigh Banfield worked?
After beginning her career in the late 1980s as a local news reporter in Canada, she began working locally in Texas in the early 1990s. By 2000, she was hired by MSNBC (now MS NOW), and became a household name for her ground reporting following the September 11 attacks in New York City.
After working at CourtTV (later TruTV) from 2005 to 2011, she joined CNN in January 2012. She moved over to CNN’s sister network, HLN, in 2016 and began hosting her own primetime show that October.
However, Banfield was laid off by the network in 2018. The decision to let her go came amid HLN’s decision to start cutting live news programs, which were not performing well for the network (HLN got rid of live programming entirely in 2025).
Following her exit from HLN, Banfield returned to CourtTV before beginning her tenure at NewsNation in January 2021.
Who is Ashleigh Banfield’s husband?
Banfield married Chris Haynor in December 2017. They met three years prior on Match.com.
Per LinkedIn, Haynor works as the vice president of sales for tiptap, a company that “embraces a simple, frictionless way to accept payments and donations for organizations of all kinds,” according to its website. He is also the president of Banfield Productions.
Who was Ashleigh Banfield’s first husband?
From 2004 to 2011, Banfield was married to Howard Gould. The two seemingly remain on amicable terms, with Banfield even sending Gould a wedding gift when he married Jessica Peters in 2020.
“Wrapping a wedding present for my ex-husband and his new wife… #notweirdatall 🤣… Congratulations @howardgould and Jessica Peters!” she wrote on Instagram.
Does Ashleigh Banfield have kids?
Yes, Banfield has two children. She shares sons Jay and Ridley with Gould.
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services