FORMER US ambassador Nikki Haley has always made it clear her husband is her biggest supporter and advocate.
The Republican wed military man Michael in 1996 following both a Sikh and Methodist ceremony in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
Who is Nikki Haley's husband Michael?
Michael Haley is a Ohio native and a commissioned officer in the South Carolina Army National Guard.
He met Nikki in 1989 while attending Clemson University.
The two married in September 1996, and have two children together, their son Nalin and their daughter Rena.
In January 2012, Haley was shipped out for a year-long tour of duty in Afghanistan as a captain, serving in Helmand Province.
The unit served as an Agribusiness Development Team, helping Afghan farmers improve their techniques and develop cash crops to replace opium poppies.
Michael served as a liaison between the military and civil authorities and is thought to have been the first spouse of a governor to serve on active duty in a war zone.
He also acted as the First Gentleman of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, after his wife became the first female governor of the state.
The dad has also dipped his toe into the world of politics by serving on the board of a conservative advocacy group, the Palmetto Family Council.
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What did Michael say about his year-long tour of duty?
In 2016, Michael explained how difficult it was to be apart from his family while on his year-long tour of duty.
As well as a string of dramatic tales from the frontline, he explained how he kept in touch with Nikki each day via email.
He said: "There's a lot lost in translation.
"You don't get the emotion, the humor you get in one-on-one communication on the telephone or physically being there."
Michael described how hearing about family activities after they happened was like "looking back in the rearview mirror at your life over the past year."
What did Nikki Haley say about Donald Trump?
Nikki had previously vowed she would "never" run against Donald Trump, before their relationship hit the rocks.
She issued stunning remarks about the former president in wake of the Capitol riot, saying she believes he "let us down".
“We need to acknowledge he let us down,” Nikki, who served in her ambassador role under Trump, told Politico.
“He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t let that ever happen again.”
The mum-of-two claimed she had not spoken to Trump since the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
“When I tell you I’m angry, it’s an understatement,” Nikki said. adding her disappointment at Trump for condemning his own vice president, Mike Pence.
“I am so disappointed in the fact that [despite] the loyalty and friendship he had with Mike Pence, that he would do that to him. Like, I’m disgusted by it.”
In the days immediately following the attack, Nikki said in a speech to Republican National Committee members that Trump was “badly wrong with his words,” at his January 6 rally.
"And it wasn’t just his words. His actions since Election Day will be judged harshly by history."
However, after publicly signaling her intent for running for president in 2024, Nikki reportedly got in touch with her former boss.
Trump welcomed the competition and encouraged her to follow through with her White House bid.
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