Bill Melugin’s Shocking Backstory: From Milan’s Runways to Breaking National Scandals—The Fox Star You Thought You Knew

If you’ve watched Fox News in the past few years, chances are you’ve seen him: camera-ready, steady as a rock, and reporting live from some dusty corner of South Texas as drones soar overhead capturing the latest border flashpoint.

But Bill Melugin is far more than the network’s top border correspondent. Before becoming a fixture on Fox News’ immigration coverage, he walked fashion runways in Milan, exposed major political scandals, and picked up a string of prestigious journalism awards along the way. His personal story—a blend of ambition, heartbreak, and humility—adds even more depth to his already high-profile on-screen presence.

Frontlines, Fires, and Historic Firsts

Melugin joined Fox News in May 2021, and he didn’t take the easy route. He dove straight into the nation’s most volatile and high-stakes stories—mass migrant crossings, deadly wildfires, presidential inaugurations, and school shootings.

He doesn’t just report; he shows up. In 2022 alone, Melugin spent 170 days on the southern border. Through drone footage, exclusive interviews, and real-time reports, he’s become one of the most recognizable faces in American immigration journalism.

“All we’re doing is putting a mirror up and showing what’s happening,” Melugin told reporters. What that mirror reflects: overrun border agents, families in crisis, and a country divided on what comes next.

He’s covered:

The Del Rio bridge migrant surge

The tragic drowning of Guardsman Bishop Evans

The 2022 Uvalde school shooting

The 2025 California wildfires

Trump’s 2025 inauguration

The 2024 GOP Convention and Iowa caucuses

Even when he appears in the Washington, D.C. studio, he’s often back out in the field days later.

Yes, He Was a Model. Yes, Milan.

Long before he was breaking national news, Melugin had a brief modeling career that took him all the way to Milan while still in college. But the runway didn’t hold him for long. He traded designer suits for FOIA requests—and never looked back.

A proud Orange County native, Melugin graduated from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism in 2012. He started small—first in El Paso, then Charlotte—before landing at KTTV FOX 11 in Los Angeles, where his investigative instincts made headlines.

At FOX 11, Melugin uncovered the now-infamous French Laundry scandal involving California Governor Gavin Newsom. The exposé won him three local Emmys, two Golden Mike Awards, and three Edward R. Murrow Awards—all before turning 40.

“He wasn’t even hired as an investigative reporter,” said KTTV anchor Elex Michaelson. “But he was digging through documents before and after his shifts. No one else worked like that.”

The Quiet Ritual Before Every Live Shot

Despite his commanding on-air presence, Melugin keeps a deeply personal pre-broadcast ritual. Before each live segment, he quietly whispers a few words—not to his producer, but to his late father, Gary, who passed away suddenly at age 55 from a pulmonary embolism.

“I’m just asking him to watch over me,” Melugin says. “Hope I’m making you proud.”

The loss was life-changing. “I considered myself an immature little boy,” he admitted. “It made me grow up very quickly.”

He now lives in Brentwood, California, close to his mother Audrey in Orange County. She still calls him a “mama’s boy” and beams with pride—especially when talking about the two dogs and a cat Melugin rescued while reporting on the border, all of whom she’s adopted.

A Love Story That’s Stayed Off the Radar

Despite his growing fame, Melugin keeps his personal life largely under wraps. But fans got a rare peek when he posted a heartfelt message on social media celebrating his one-year anniversary with girlfriend Katy Johnson on November 12, 2019.

Johnson, a model and global women’s advocate, runs One Model Mission, a storytelling initiative that documents women’s lives in over 100 countries. The couple has been together since November 2018.

There’s no engagement news yet, but the relationship appears rock solid—and refreshingly private.

Respected by Critics and Admirers Alike

Even in traditionally blue border towns like El Paso and Eagle Pass, Melugin has earned quiet respect. “We’ve had locals say, ‘We don’t watch Fox, but thank you for being here,’” he revealed.

And he’s earned a reputation for being deeply sourced. In 2022, he broke the leaked audio of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas admitting, “We’re losing” control of the border. It became a defining moment in the immigration debate.

“If my reporting is going to be used,” Melugin said, “who better to make sure it’s done right than me?”

Driven and Grounded

From fashion model to field reporter, from personal loss to national exposure, Bill Melugin’s path has been anything but typical. He chases hard stories, speaks softly to his dad, and shrugs off the spotlight when it’s not needed.

If he ever complains, it’s only about Los Angeles traffic—which probably tells you everything else you need to know.