Strange Things About Nikki And Michael Haley's Marriage

Even after losing both the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary, it doesn't appear Republican nominee hopeful Nikki Haley (née Nimarata Nikki Randhawa) is going anywhere — at least not anytime soon. "Now, you have all heard the chatter among the political class. They are falling all over themselves, saying this race is over. Well, I have news for all of them. New Hampshire is first in the nation. It is not the last in the nation," she told a crowd of her supporters shortly after it was determined that she had indeed taken an L in the New Hampshire primary. Later, she vowed in an Instagram post that the fight was not over because she and her supporters had "a country to save." 

However, it appears that Nikki Haley has never been one to give up and walk away when the going gets tough. Take her marriage, for instance. The story goes that her husband, Michael, was actually dating someone else the first time they met, and the sparks flew between them. But instead of giving up, Nikki opted to play the long game. Fortunately, it wasn't too long until Michael and the other girl called it quits. "I can't say I was heartbroken by the turn of events," she penned in the confines of her autobiography, "Can't Is Not an Option." Still, the couple's meet-cute isn't the only strange thing about their marriage.

What's in a name, anyway? Nikki Haley's husband was actually born William Michael Haley. Growing up, however, he went by "Bill." Alas, shortly after they started dating, Nikki decided "Bill" just didn't suit him, so she started calling him by his middle name, Michael. "Everyone who knows him before I did knows him as Bill, and everyone who met him after I did knows him as Michael," she explained in her book, "Can't Is Not an Option," as noted by People.

While some might consider this a cute little anecdote from the Haleys' love story, one professional warned that it could cause significant tension within the relationship. "To tell someone to change their name because of your personal preferences, that's a big ask," president of the American Name Society and linguist Laurel Sutton told the New York Times. Alexa, play "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" by David Allen Coe. 

On the outside, Nikki and Michael Haley look like most longtime married couples. There's only one problem: they spend a considerable amount of time apart. While Nikki has made a living as a public servant working as a congresswoman and a United States ambassador, Michael has devoted his career to serving in the National Guard. Due to the nature of his career, he has been deployed overseas twice, first in 2012, while Nikki served as the governor of South Carolina, and again in June 2023. He is currently stationed in Djibouti while his wife is trekking across the United States on the presidential campaign trail, hoping to secure the Republican presidential nomination.

It appears, however, that the couple takes the time apart all in stride. "This deployment is the reason I joined the National Guard," Michael told the Associated Press (via The Augusta Chronicle) in 2012, ahead of his first deployment to Afghanistan. He added, "I can't help but to think giving one year along with my fellow soldiers, as many have done before me, to secure a life of freedom for my family is well worth all that comes with it."

Meanwhile, Nikki has seemingly learned to make light of their circumstances. "He deployed while I was governor, so he left me as a single-mom governor. And yes, we're still married," she joked to a crowd. 

It's safe to say that many couples have fallen on hard times, but Nikki and Michael Haley's circumstances proved to be even more challenging when they became entangled in Nikki's parents' debt. Nikki's career was soaring to all-new heights in 2016 when then-President Donald Trump tapped her to serve as the ambassador to the United Nations. But that all came crashing down when it was revealed that her parents' Lake Murray home, located in Columbia, South Carolina, was being foreclosed on. The kicker? Nikki and Michael were also listed as defendants in the proceedings. Fortunately, Nikki had a plan to pull her family out of their precarious predicament. She quit her government job — one that paid her $185,000 a year — to cash in on her political prowess instead via public speaking engagements, book deals, and consulting services.

While Haley has often been criticized for her hasty exit from her job as a public servant, it appears neither she nor her hubby have any regrets. In fact, in her 2022 book titled, "If You Want Something Done...: Leadership Lessons from Bold Women" she seemingly doubled down in a heartfelt message that read, "To my mom, who taught me how to dream, how to fight, how to love, but most importantly how to live with a faith in God that would get me through anything."