Her first marriage was to Halifax lawyer, Peter McDonough, with whom she had two sons: Justin and Travis. In 1993 she separated from Peter McDonough, and is now divorced from him, though she claims that her political career did not play a part in it. In 1994, just before she stepped down as Nova Scotia leader, she had a hysterectomy, and waited until she recuperated before she announced her resignation. During her time as leader of the federal NDP, McDonough was romantically involved with David MacDonald, a former Progressive Conservative (PC) MP for Toronto Centre—Rosedale and a cabinet minister. MacDonald ran as the NDP candidate in Toronto Centre—Rosedale in the 1997 election; in the previous election, he was the PC incumbent, and like every other PC candidate in Ontario in 1993, was defeated. The pair split up prior to the 2004 federal election