Sara Haines has faced a wave of criticism over comments questioning Patrick Clancy’s decision to remarry after his former wife, Lindsay, killed their three children.
The View co-host drew backlash after challenging why the grieving Massachusetts father ended his marriage following Lindsay’s January 2023 killings of their children: Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and eight-month-old Callan.
Patrick met fertility doctor Rachel Danis at a New York City running club about a year later. The couple married in Manhattan in April and this week announced they are expecting their first child together during their first interview with 60 Minutes.
Discussing the couple’s new relationship on The View, Haines said Patrick’s decision to move forward with Danis troubled her. She questioned why he would leave the woman who killed his children.
“What bothers me is that he talks about forgiving her, which I love, but he focuses on that and never jumps to what so many people struggled with: How did the marital love end so quickly?” Haines asked.
Haines added that, if she had committed an act as horrific as the one attributed to Lindsay Clancy, she would “hope” her husband would remain by her side.
“But I would hope, you know, in sickness and in health,” she said. “I would hope that my husband wouldn’t just move right along.”
When Sunny Hostin asked whether Patrick’s remarriage bothered her, Haines suggested that starting a new relationship so soon may have been part of how he coped with the devastating loss.
Sara Haines faced backlash after questioning Patrick Clancy’s decision to remarry following the deaths of his three children at the hands of his former wife, Lindsay
Patrick Clancy and fertility doctor Rachel Danis discussed their marriage and pregnancy during their first interview with 60 Minutes
“Some people need love and they need to fill themselves again,” Haines said.
Although she stressed that she did not want to shame Patrick, Haines continued: “I just don’t know why we skipped over all the marital things.”
The discussion later turned to reports that Lindsay had not asked Patrick for forgiveness during conversations in prison. Co-host Alyssa Farah-Griffin pushed back against Haines’ interpretation.
“That stood out to me… him admitting she never sought forgiveness,” Farah-Griffin said.
She added that if she had committed a similarly horrific act, “The first thing I would do is say, ‘What did I do? I am so sorry I took these three children.’”
The exchange quickly drew condemnation online, with viewers accusing Haines of overlooking the obvious reason Patrick would end his marriage to Lindsay.
“Truly bizarre,” one viewer wrote on X. “She murdered his children… It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why he divorced her.”
Another commenter wrote: “A child is a direct result of marital love. When a partner murders your children, it breaks the marital love bond. Especially when you hold your child in your arms while he dies because your wife strangled him…”
“Would Sara Haines stay with her husband if he murdered their kids?” another person asked.
Our News Outlet has contacted ABC for comment on the criticism surrounding The View’s discussion.
Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial ended in a controversial mistrial, with her jury concluding in an 11-1 deadlock as one holdout juror refused to acquit her by reason of insanity
The Clancy children, Cora, Dawson, and Callan, were killed by their mother in January 2023
The View waded into the topic after Patrick Clancy and his new wife, Rachel Danis, gave a highly anticipated interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, following Lindsay’s controversial mistrial.
Lindsay was charged with murder, but her trial ended in an 11-1 deadlock as one juror refused to acquit her by reason of insanity.
In their interview with correspondent Ross Douthat, Danis said she did not know who Patrick was when they first met at a run club, and was not aware that his children had been killed by his ex-wife.
She said they hit it off at the run club and went for a coffee together, and she only realized the truth when she saw his children on his phone wallpaper and asked, ‘Who are those cuties?’
Danis said Patrick told her, ‘They died,’ and said the awkward conversation came as they were ‘just at the cashier.’
She said the heartbreaking moment left her with a lot of questions at the time, but ‘didn’t know exactly what to ask.’
Danis said she ‘can’t bring his kids back,’ but said she hoped to help Patrick rebuild his family and find peace after the tragedy of his children’s deaths.
‘If I can honor them and allow Pat to grieve but also just continue to honor them in the present, it, I guess that’s all I can do,’ she said.
Patrick added that he was preparing to one day tell his future child about their older siblings, Cora, Dawson and Callan.
‘I think every parent can agree, you have different relationships with your kids, but they’re all your kids. And I can’t wait to tell them about their brothers and sister,’ Patrick said.
