“That advice changed the course of my life dramatically,” she says—something that parallels the impact of timely chronic illness management or a life-altering diagnostic lab test result.
Marriage and a Shared Life Across Continents. When her boss, a Colorado congressman, retired in 1998, Perino made a life-changing decision: she moved to England and married McMahon, just one year after meeting.
Ever the partner, McMahon assured her from the beginning that if she ever wanted to return to the U.S., he’d support the decision. Such a foundational commitment mirrors the security that comes from a robust maternity insurance policy or a long-term health savings plan.
By 1999, the couple settled in San Diego, where Perino worked in public relations. But after 9/11, she felt called back to public service and returned to D.C., eventually rising to become the nation’s second female White House press secretary under President George W. Bush.
Throughout it all, McMahon remained a constant—not only as a spouse but as an intellectual partner, offering her the kind of reliability one seeks in a trusted birth injury attorney or legal advisor.
“He’s like the wizard behind the curtain,” Perino says, recalling how he often helped her research policy issues, including prepping her for Bush’s presidential visit to Israel.
