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William James "Bill" O'Reilly Jr. (born September 10, 1949) is an American television host, author, journalist, syndicated columnist, and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary program The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel. During the late 1970s and 1980s, he worked as a news reporter for various local television stations in the United States and eventually for CBS News and ABC News. From 1989 to 1995, he was anchor of the news magazine program Inside Edition.O'Reilly is widely considered a conservative commentator, although some of his positions diverge from conservative orthodoxy. O'Reilly is registered as a member of the Independence Party of New York, and was formerly registered as a Republican and characterizes himself as a traditionalist. O'Reilly is the author of over a dozen books, and hosted The Radio Factor until early 2009. O'Reilly was married to Maureen E. McPhilmy, a public relations executive. They met in 1992, and their wedding took place in St. Brigid Parish of Westbury on November 2, 1996. They have a daughter, Madeline (born 1998), and a son, Spencer (born 2003). The couple separated on April 2, 2010, and were divorced on September 1, 2011. Each currently resides in suburban Manhasset, New York.
In May 2015, court transcripts from O’Reilly's custody trial with ex-wife Maureen McPhilmy revealed signs of domestic violence within the household—O’Reilly's daughter testified to a forensic examiner that she witnessed O’Reilly choking McPhilmy and dragging her down the stairs of their home by her neck, apparently unaware that the daughter was watching. In light of the allegation, O’Reilly issued a statement through his attorney describing the account as "100% false" and declined to comment further in order “to respect the court-mandated confidentiality put in place to protect [his] children”. In February 2016, O'Reilly lost a bid for custody of both of his children.
