CNN anchor Jake Tapper has been an integral part of the American news network since the early 2010s. Tapper’s lengthy career in journalism has earned him numerous awards, including a couple of Emmys, not to mention the fact that he’s also an accomplished author of both fiction and non-fiction books. Still, for all his success, Tapper has certainly hit a few bumps in the road throughout his journey in broadcast television and beyond.

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Taper also hasn’t been shy about speaking his mind. Take, for instance, back in 2020, when he caused a bit of a stir thanks to his commentary on the 2020 presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. What’s more, that was far from the only time the state of American politics tried Tapper’s patience. For instance, the TV journalist hasn’t been one to hold back regarding his disdain for Trump — particularly in the aftermath of the January 2021 Capitol riot. All of this is to say that Tapper’s chosen profession doesn’t make him immune to human emotion in the face of exasperating circumstances, never mind the fact he often has a front-row seat as these things unfold in real time.

Not only that, but digging into the truth of Tapper reveals that he’s experienced his fair share of personal heartbreak away from the newsroom as well. From nearly losing his daughter to watching his late father-in-law deal with a difficult illness, here are some tragic details regarding the CNN anchor’s life.

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Jake Tapper’s daughter Alice Paul Tapper has shown a lot of promise from a young age. In fact, much like her father, Alice is a New York Times best-selling author. But what sets them apart is that the younger Tapper achieved that feat when she was just 11 years old, having written the picture book “Raise Your Hand” when she was only 10. In the years since, Jake’s daughter has grown up to be gorgeous. However, Alice’s story was almost tragically cut short in 2021, when she nearly passed away as the result of a medical misdiagnosis at the age of 14.

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Alice opened up about the ordeal in a CNN op-ed published in 2022. She recalled that after spending a number of days in the hospital with severe abdomen pain, she was finally diagnosed with a perforated appendix — a serious, often fatal if left untreated complication of appendicitis — despite the fact that the doctors had already ruled such a thing out. Worse yet, Alice described an overall dismissive attitude among the hospital staff. “I felt helpless,” she wrote, adding, “I was not being heard; when I described to the doctors how much pain I was in, they responded with condescending looks.” Alice ultimately pulled through after undergoing emergency surgery, and used the experience as inspiration for her second children’s book “Use Your Voice” which encourages young readers to speak up about their health.

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Tom Brown — the father of Jake Tapper’s wife, Jennifer Marie Brown — died at 75 years old in late 2022. While Tom certainly lived a long life, what made his passing so tragic was the fact that he had a form of dementia called frontotemporal dementia or frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) in his later years. Tapper took the time to pay tribute to his late father-in-law in a special obituary broadcast on CNN. During the segment, Tapper revealed that Tom didn’t exactly have an easy upbringing and as a teenager was forced to fend for himself. Despite this, according to the anchor, Tom went on to become a loving husband, father, and grandfather.

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Near the end of the tribute, Tapper briefly discussed his father-in-law’s struggle with FTD, calling it “a cruel and unforgiving disease.” To that end, the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration notes that there are no treatments to keep FTD from progressing nor a cure (though there are ways to maintain a decent quality of life for those with the disease). “We’re richer for Tom Brown having been here on this Earth, and we’re all now poorer for him having been taken from us,” Tapper said to close out his CNN memorial segment, concluding, “Goodbye, Tom. We will always love you. And we will all always miss you.”

For many, a pet dog is like part of the family. As such, it often can be incredibly difficult for pet owners when it comes time to say goodbye to their furry companion.  Jake Tapper and his family had to face this unfortunate reality firsthand when the CNN anchor’s beloved pup Winston passed away in July 2023 at the age of 12.

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Tapper confirmed Winston’s passing in a post to the dog’s official X, formerly known as Twitter, account, calling him “the best boy ever” and sharing various photos of his family spending time with Winston. Tapper also reposted the original post on his own personal X account, adding, “Some sad news at the Tapper home.” 

Tapper — perhaps prophetically — shared an article titled “Nothing Prepared Me for My Dog’s Death” on X just one month before Winston passed. Meanwhile, Winston’s account itself has been inactive ever since the death announcement. The only exception is a September 2023 repost of a Substack article by former CNN contributor Mary Katharine Ham, in which she opened up about the death of her husband. It’s unclear if Tapper meant to share this to Winston’s profile.

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