Who Is Alex Honnold’s Wife? All About the Skyscraper Climber’s Family
What To Know
- Rock climber Alex Honnold is married to Sanni McCandless.
- The couple were featured in 2018’s Free Solo documentary.
- Honnold will free solo a Taipei skyscraper on January 23.
After completing the first free solo climb of Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan rock formation, Alex Honnold is set to scale the Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, the 11th-tallest building in the world. Like last time, he’ll forgo ropes and equipment, and his journey will be captured on camera. Honnold also has partner supporting him, just like he did in the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo.
However, quite a bit has changed in the years since Free Solo came out in 2018. The rock climber has not only married his aforementioned partner, but they’ve also started a family together. Before Netflix broadcasts Honnold’s ascent live, get to know his wife, Sanni McCandless, and their kids.
Who is Alex Honnold’s wife?
McCandless is also a rock climber herself. You’ll likely remember if you’ve watched the documentary. Born in Seattle and raised in North Carolina, where she earned a psychology degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she’s also a life coach, writer, and workshop leader. She cofounded Outwild, an outdoor retreat series. McCandless lives with her family in Las Vegas, Nevada.
How did Alex Honnold and Sanni McCandless meet?
Before the first two years of their love story were caught on camera, McCandless attended Honnold’s Alone on the Wall book tour in Seattle. In an essay she penned about their relationship for Outside Online, McCandless described leaving her phone number on the table after she got her book signed. A few weeks later, when Honnold returned to the city for the last night on his tour, he asked his future wife out on a date. She picked him up from a climbing gym, and they got to know each other over pizza.
“As we chatted, we learned about each other,” she wrote. “I was an outdoor dilettante; he had committed his entire life to rock climbing. I lived with four friends in the middle of the city; he spent entire rest days alone in his van. I treasured nuance and context; he found clarity in the black and white. We were total opposites, yet somehow there was a spark. As we laughed and watched each other, I was unaware that he had recently signed a contract with National Geographic to film a documentary about his life.”
How long have Alex Honnold and Sanni McCandless been together?
That date took place toward the end of 2015, and six months later, McCandless quit her job in Seattle and joined Honnold for a climbing trip in Switzerland.
“We climbed at crags across France and Switzerland and counted waterfalls as we hiked on trails through the Alps,” she recalled in her essay. “He was like no one I had ever met: incredibly brave, quietly in need of love and approval, confident, and whip-smart. Mostly, he was playful and made me laugh. I think he appreciated my self-deprecating sense of humor and enthusiasm for life, but maybe it was my convenient lack of employment.”
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They’ve been together ever since, even through Honnold’s solo of El Capitan. McCandless recalled Honnold approaching her during filming, asking if they should break up. She wrote, “He worried that I would get in the way of his climbing and that he needed to choose: love or greatness. I remember asking, ‘Why not both?’
About a year after Free Solo premiered, Honnold proposed. They had to cancel their original wedding plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic and said “I do” in an intimate ceremony in September 2020. They had a larger celebration when they renewed their vows in November 2021, with the desert as their backdrop.
Do Alex Honnold and Sanni McCandless have kids?
When they had their vow renewal ceremony, McCandless was pregnant with their first daughter. June was born in February 2022, and Honnold’s National Geographic series, Arctic Ascent, offered a glimpse into their life as a family of three. When their second daughter, Alice, was born in February 2024, McCandless told People, “We have a few big trips planned for our new family of four — all with changeable tickets and refundable Airbnbs, just in case! To be honest, I’m not sure if our expectations are too high for what is possible with two kids, but we are going to try our best!”
They’ve continued to go on adventures with their daughters since, sharing updates on social media. In a June 2025 social media birthday tribute to his wife, Honnold wrote, “We’ve been together for 10 years now and have two wonderful babies – life has changed so much but in some ways not at all. The pics are from recent adventures in the last two weeks around Tahoe. Backpacking with the kids last week and a really scenic birthday/date hike yesterday. We’re slowly getting old together but having a great time doing it…”
Skyscraper Live, January 23, 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, Netflix
