You know her as the fearless meteorologist who stares down hurricanes on Good Morning America. Ginger Zee. She’s basically the face of ABC weather, usually seen in a windbreaker with her hair blowing sideways. But off-camera, people have always been a little obsessed with her personal life. Especially the parts she doesn't broadcast during the seven o'clock hour.
Lately, everyone's asking about the Ginger Zee first husband situation.
There is a ton of junk info floating around out there. Some sites swear she was married to a guy named John Zee. Others claim it was an architect or even a fellow storm chaser. If you’ve spent more than five minutes on Google trying to find the "ex-husband" details, you’ve probably seen a dozen different names.
Honestly? Most of it is total nonsense.
The Truth About Ginger Zee’s Marital History
Let’s set the record straight: Ginger Zee has only been married once.
She tied the knot with Ben Aaron (born Benjamin Aaron Colonomos) in 2014. That’s it. There is no secret first marriage to a "John Zee" or a "Kyle Veltman" hidden in the archives of a Michigan courthouse.
So why the confusion?
It mostly comes down to how the internet works in 2026. Automated "biography" sites often scrape data from old rumors or confuse her with other people. Because her professional name is Ginger Zee, some weird algorithm likely assumed she married a man named "Zee" to get it.
In reality, Zee is a pseudonym. She was born Ginger Renee Zuidgeest. "Zee" is just much easier for a news producer to fit on a lower-third graphic than "Zuidgeest."
The Reed Timmer Chapter
While there was no Ginger Zee first husband, there was a very high-profile relationship that felt like a marriage to the public.
Before Ben, Ginger dated Reed Timmer.
If you’re a weather nerd, you know him. He’s the legendary, slightly manic star of Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers. They were the ultimate meteorology power couple. They didn't just go to dinner; they intercepted tornadoes in armored vehicles.
They dated for a significant chunk of time while she was working in Chicago at WMAQ. Because they were so public and worked in the same niche field, fans often assumed they were married. They weren't.
They split around 2011, right about the time she was making the jump to the national stage in New York City.
Meeting Ben Aaron: The Real "Only" Husband
Ginger met Ben Aaron in 2012 at a charity SoulCycle event. Sorta cliché for New York, right?
Ben is a media personality himself, known for his work on Extra and Pickler & Ben. He’s the guy who finally got her to settle down. He proposed in August 2013 on a pier in New York City.
They got married on June 7, 2014, in a beachside ceremony in Petoskey, Michigan. It was a whole thing—very "Pure Michigan" vibe.
Since then, they’ve had two sons, Adrian and Miles. They’ve been incredibly open about their lives, including the messy parts like Ginger’s struggles with depression and the "natural disasters" of parenting.
Why the "First Husband" Rumors Persist
You might still see articles popping up about her "first husband."
Don't buy it.
Often, these stories are clickbait designed to trick people looking for drama. People see her success and her seemingly perfect life with Ben and assume there must be a "starter marriage" buried somewhere in the past.
There isn't.
Ginger has written two books, Natural Disaster and A Little Closer to Home. In those memoirs, she is brutally honest. She talks about her eating disorder, her mental health hospitalizations, and her past heartbreaks. If there were a secret Ginger Zee first husband, she would have been the first one to write a chapter about it. She’s just that kind of person.
Clearing Up the Identity Confusion
If you see a site mentioning a "John Zee" who married Ginger in 2009, you're looking at a hallucination.
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There is no public record of a marriage to anyone other than Ben Aaron.
The name "Zee" actually comes from her father’s Dutch heritage. He was a huge fan of Gilligan’s Island (yes, really) and named her after the character Ginger Grant. When she started her TV career, she shortened her last name to Zee because it sounded punchy and worked with her first name.
It’s a brand. Not a marital relic.
What to Actually Take Away From This
When you’re looking up celebrity histories, especially someone as transparent as Ginger Zee, look at their own words.
- Verify the source. If it’s a random blog with no author, it’s probably AI-generated fluff.
- Check the memoirs. Ginger’s books are the definitive source of her life story.
- Follow the timeline. She moved from Michigan to Alabama to Chicago to New York. Her career trajectory is well-documented, and a marriage would have left a paper trail.
Basically, Ginger’s "first husband" is actually her current husband.
They’ve been together for over a decade now. In the world of TV marriages, that’s basically a lifetime.
If you're interested in how she balances her high-octane career with her actual family, you're better off checking her Instagram or her latest book rather than searching for a mystery man who doesn't exist. Stick to the facts—the real weather is interesting enough without the fake forecast.
To get the most accurate picture of Ginger’s journey, read her memoir Natural Disaster: I Cover Them. I Am One. It covers her real relationships and the truth about her life before she became a household name.