Nikki Haley's Family: All About Her Husband Michael and Kids Rena and Nalin

Nikki Haley met her husband Michael in college and the pair share two children

Nikki Haley and her husband, William Michael Haley, have been married since 1996.

They first met in college seven years prior and went on to have two children together: daughter Rena and son Nalin. Nikki — who is a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — has been open about how much her husband and family mean to her.

"I would be lost without him," Nikki wrote on Michael in her 2012 memoir, Can't Is Not an Option: My American Story.

Throughout their decades together, the couple have weathered both triumphs and challenges, including Michael's deployment during Nikki's tenure as South Carolina governor. Michael, a major in the National Guard, is currently serving another yearlong deployment in Djibouti, Africa, that began in June 2023.

Nikki also came to her daughter Rena's defense after then-candidate Vivek Ramaswamy brought up Rena during a GOP presidential primary debate in November 2023. When asked about his use of TikTok, Ramaswamy called out Nikki's daughter for using the app, which prompted Nikki to say, "Leave my daughter out of your voice." She later called Ramaswamy "scum" for referring to Rena on the debate stage.

Related: Nikki Haley Slams Vivek Ramaswamy After He Brings Up Her Daughter at GOP Debate: ‘You’re Just Scum’

Nikki is now one of only two candidates campaigning for the Republican nomination. While she lost the New Hampshire presidential primary to former President Donald Trump on Jan. 23, 2024, she told supporters that night she had no intention of ending her campaigning, saying "the race is far from over," per The New York Times.

Here's everything to know about Nikki Haley's husband, William Michael Haley, and their kids, Rena and Nalin Haley.

Michael was adopted as a child

Michael was born in Ohio. According to Nikki’s memoir, Michael’s biological father “was an alcoholic who had trouble with the law,” and the home his family shared didn't have electricity or running water. When Michael was a toddler, he and his four siblings were placed in foster care. Their mother was set to regain custody until she got into a car accident and sustained a traumatic brain injury that left her unable to care for the children.

Michael and his siblings were placed once more in foster care. Bill Haley, a steel mill manager, and Carol Haley, a teacher, adopted 4-year-old Michael and his younger sister Lee Anne. Michael's other three siblings were adopted by different families.

The Haleys eventually moved from Ohio to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, where Michael graduated from high school. Nikki wrote that Michael didn't reconnect with the rest of his siblings for more than 15 years after his adoption.

Nikki has credited Michael's story with influencing her anti-abortion political stance.

"In politics people assume that if you're a Republican you're prolife because the party tells you to be," she wrote in Can't Is Not an Option. "I'm prolife because I get a chance to spend every day with the love of my life knowing that I am blessed that someone saved his life."

They met in college while he was dating someone else

In 1989, Nikki, then 17, began school at Clemson University; Michael, then 19, was enrolled at nearby Anderson University. Michael's roommate, John, happened to be Nikki’s friend from her hometown and introduced the pair. They hit it off right away and became fast friends, spending almost an entire weekend together. After Michael told Nikki he had a girlfriend, however, she didn't pursue him.

The next weekend, they saw each other at a party. Even though Michael attended with his girlfriend, he kept going over to talk to Nikki. "I wanted no part of it, but I thought it was funny that every time she walked away he came over to check on me," she wrote in Can't Is Not an Option. "Boys."

The following week, Nikki heard that Michael and his girlfriend had split up. "I can't say I was heartbroken by the turn of events," she recalled.

They started hanging out, and Michael impressed Nikki with his honesty and gratitude — and his honesty may have saved their fledgling relationship. Michael told her he was interested in dating her and another girl at the same time, to which she responded, "I don't date people who also date other people,” and wished him luck with the other girl.

That was all that she needed to say: He never dated the other girl, and Nikki and Michael were inseparable from that point on. Michael even transferred to Clemson University to spend more time with her.

Nikki changed Michael's nickname

Before college, Michael was called Bill, short for his first name, William. However, after he and Nikki began dating, she didn't think "Bill" fit him. When she learned his middle name, she began calling him Michael.

"Everyone who knows him before I did knows him as Bill," she wrote, "and everyone who met him after I did knows him as Michael."

Nikki converted to Christianity for Michael

Born to Ajit Singh and Raj Kaur Randhawa, two immigrants from India, Nikki was raised in the Sikh faith. When she and Michael married in 1996 — after initially postponing their wedding because of Hurricane Fran — they had two ceremonies: one Sikh and one Christian at St. Andrew By-the-Sea, a Methodist church in Hilton Head.

In 2010, Nikki told The New York Times that she was baptized at St. Andrew By-the-Sea before their wedding; their children Rena and Nalin were also baptized in the Methodist Church. She also said her family attended both Methodist and Sikh services.

Michael is in the National Guard

Michael is a major in the South Carolina National Guard and served a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan in 2012 while Nikki was serving as governor, making him one of the first spouses of a governor to enter active duty in a war zone.

"This deployment is the reason I joined the National Guard," Michael said in a statement at the time, according to The Augusta Chronicle. "The only thing that gives me pause is the yearlong deployment away from family. But in the end, 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."

In June 2023, Michael was deployed to Djibouti for a year. "It's so many mixed emotions,” Nikki told reporters after his deployment ceremony, per ABC News. “There's so much pride. As a wife, a military spouse, this is when we start the yearlong prayer of making sure they go there, they do their job effectively, they do it in a way that's strong, and that they come home safely."

Nikki’s campaign has said Michael is the first spouse of a candidate to be deployed during a presidential run. "I am just one of many military spouses that are watching their loved ones leave today, and we feel an amazing sense of pride," she added. "We feel an amazing sense of service. And we may feel an amazing sense of sadness. But at the same time, we could not be happier to see them going and doing what they in their blood are meant to do. And so we're proud."

Her daughter Rena is a nurse and got married in April 2023

Nikki and Michael's first child, daughter Rena, was born in South Carolina on June 8, 1998. She was a cheerleader in high school before attending her parents' alma mater, Clemson University, where she studied nursing. In 2021, Rena received her bachelor’s degree in nursing, passed her board exams and became a registered nurse.

Rena married her longtime boyfriend, former Clemson University football player Josh Jackson, on April 15, 2023. The wedding was held at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort on Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

Her son Nalin is a student

Nikki and Michael's younger child, son Nalin, was born in South Carolina on Sept. 6, 2001. He enrolled at Villanova University in Pennsylvania in 2020 and began his final year in August 2023.

The presidential hopeful marked the start of Nalin's senior year on Instagram, writing, "We moved Nalin back to school for the final time. Hard to believe it is his Senior Year. Thanks to Rena and Josh for helping with the move while their dad is away. ?? #WhenDidMyLittleOneGrowUp #MissingMichael #ProudMom."

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