'You’ll always be No. 2 to my job” - Skip Bayless loves his job more than his wife and kids
Skip Bayless, co-host on the Fox Sports 1 show Undisputed, spoke on his podcast, The Skip Bayless Show. Bayless delved into his personal life to talk about his wife of 17 years, Ernestine, and how she’d be number two to his job.
“I just knew that if I continued to work nights and weekends the way I do obsessively that I’d be a horrible father," Bayless said. "I’d be as horrible a father as my father was for other reasons and I wasn’t going to inflict that on kids. Not fair, not worth it, no. I’m married to this (job).
"Then I met my wife, Ernestine, 17 years ago in New York City. On our first date, as she will attest, I said ‘Hey, if this happens to go anywhere, I’m sorry but I’m declaring myself upfront, you’ll always be No. 2 to my job, which is my life.”
. @RealSkipBayless explains why his personal life will always come second to his career:
“I'm married to this…when I met my wife I told her, 'You’ll always be number 2 to my job, which is my life.'” https://t.co/trfebrQy3r
Per Ernestine's book, BALLS: How to Keep Your Relationship Alive When You Live with a Sports-Obsessed Guy, the 70-year-old sports personality met her on the set of the show Cold Pizza, the former ESPN2 show Bayless worked on.
At the time, Ernestine worked for a public relations agency and her client was called to the set of the show.
Bayless had forgotten some notes, however, and he went to his dressing room to get them during a commercial break. Ernestine spoke in-depth of her first encounter with Skip Bayless.
“He literally ran past the door of the green room, where we caught each other’s eyes. I guess I gave him a look of familiarity because he stopped and said, ‘Do I know you?’… He later confided that he wasn’t sure what to say — he gets possessed during his show, just lost in how to win the next live TV debate. So now neither of us was thinking clearly.”
Ernestine Sclafani is from Long Island, New York, and went to school at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She is a public relations executive who has worked as the head of public relations for Bally of Switzerland and vice president/group head at Edelman Public Relations Worldwide.
She served as vice president of consumer media relations at the firm Weber Shandwick from 2005 to 2018 and now has her own public relations firm.
Skip Bayless' media career
The long-time Dallas Cowboys fan started his career writing for newspapers, which included the role of lead sports columnist for the Chicago Tribune. Skip Bayless also spent time at The Dallas Morning News, Dallas Times Herald, Miami Herald and Los Angeles Times.
Bayless became a part of FOX Sports in September 2016, after 12 years with ESPN. He co-hosted First Take on ESPN2 with Stephen A. Smith and started his time with the network in 2004. As previously mentioned, he worked on the show Cold Pizza.
The award-winning journalist, author and TV personality is now opposite NFL Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe on Undisputed. Bayless has enjoyed a successful career in various mediums. His wife has been his number one fan for almost 20 years, and it shows.