David Sanov: CHP Career, Alison Sweeney, Family, and Life Today
Have you seen the name David Sanov next to Alison Sweeney and wondered who he is? His life took a very different path from hers, and he spent most of his career in law enforcement, not on TV.
David Sanov is a retired California Highway Patrol officer. He is also Alison Sweeney’s husband, and he served with the CHP for 27 years and retired in 2022. The couple married in 2000 and have two children, Benjamin and Megan.
His story is built around work, family, and public service. He is also a pilot and has used that skill to help people and rescue animals, which adds another side to the full story behind the man many TV fans know only by name.
Quick Bio
| Full Name | David Alan Sanov |
| Known As | David Sanov, Dave Sanov |
| Profession | Retired California Highway Patrol officer |
| CHP Service | 27 years |
| Retired | 2022 |
| Wife | Alison Sweeney |
| Marriage Date | July 8, 2000 |
| Children | Benjamin and Megan |
| Other Interest | Flying |
| Family Home | Arizona |
Who Is David Sanov?
David Sanov is a retired highway patrol officer who spent 27 years with the California Highway Patrol. He is married to actress Alison Sweeney, who is known for Days of Our Lives, The Biggest Loser, and Hallmark films.
Their jobs could hardly look more different. Sweeney worked on sets and in front of cameras, while her husband worked on California roads. State pay records also list David A. Sanov as a CHP officer in 2022, the year he retired.
He has never tried to build a public career from his wife’s fame. He sometimes joins her at events, but he has kept a low profile for most of their marriage, and his own story is tied more to police work, family, and flying than to Hollywood.
They Knew Each Other Long Before Marriage
David and Alison did not meet on a TV set because their families knew each other when they were young.
According to TV Insider, Sweeney said his father and her mother both played violin for film scores. That link brought the two families together, and Sweeney has also said she had a crush on David when they were kids.
They later went in different directions as she joined Days of Our Lives while still young, while he went on with his own life and later chose police work.
They met again as adults when Sweeney invited him to her 21st birthday party, and the old family link soon became something more.
That start is a key part of their story because fame did not bring them together; their bond had roots that went back years before their wedding.
A Marriage That Began in 2000
The couple married on July 8, 2000, after they had dated for about three years by then.
Music was part of the wedding too, and Sweeney has said their parents, the same violin players who helped bring the families together, played at the ceremony.
The marriage has now lasted more than 25 years, and Sweeney marked their 26th anniversary in July 2026.
Their work lives stayed separate for much of that time. She had long days on set and later took on hosting and Hallmark work, while he had the demands of a public safety job.
That split may be one reason their story stands out because they did not need the same career to build a shared life, and each had a clear path of his or her own.
His 27 Years With the California Highway Patrol
Police work was the center of his career.
TV Insider reports that he served with the California Highway Patrol for 27 years and retired in 2022. State records from that year also identify David A. Sanov as a CHP officer.
CHP officers help keep roads safe as they patrol highways, enforce traffic laws, respond to crashes, and help drivers in urgent cases, which can be work that means long shifts and hard days.
A 27-year run in the same field is a major part of any life, and it also puts his public image in the right frame. He was not an actor who later became a police officer; he was a career officer whose wife happened to be a TV star.
His retirement was a big family event. Sweeney spoke about it on The Kelly Clarkson Show, where she said friends and family were being brought together to mark the change.
His TV Appearance Was Not His Main Career
A small appearance on Days of Our Lives has sometimes put an acting label beside David Sanov’s name, yet that brief TV role did not define his working life. His long career was with the CHP.
The mix-up is easy to understand because Alison Sweeney has spent most of her life in TV. She became famous as Sami Brady on Days of Our Lives and later hosted The Biggest Loser and became a familiar face in Hallmark films.
Her husband took another road and worked outside the entertainment world for decades.
That difference makes their partnership more interesting: one career was very public, while the other was built on a job where fame had little value.
Benjamin and Megan Became the Center of Family Life
The couple has two children.
Their son, Benjamin, was born in February 2005, and their daughter, Megan, was born in January 2009. Sweeney has spoken often about family life while her children grew up.
By 2026, Ben was a young adult and Megan was in her late teens, while recent coverage has also shown Megan taking an interest in acting.
The family has shared some public moments over the years, but the children did not grow up as full-time public figures. Their parents gave them room to have school, hobbies, friends, and normal family time.
That choice fits the rest of David’s life because his name is easy to find because of his wife, but the family has never made constant attention the point of their home life.
The Move From Los Angeles to Arizona
One of the biggest family choices came when they left Los Angeles.
People reported in 2026 that Sweeney and her family moved to Arizona about a decade earlier, and she said she had no regrets about the move.
Los Angeles remained important to her work, but the family wanted a calmer place to live. Arizona gave them more space between home and the pace of the TV business.
The move did not end Sweeney’s career, and she kept acting, producing, and making Hallmark films; it simply changed where the family chose to build daily life.
That detail helps explain where David is today, since after years of work in California, his family now has its home base in Arizona.
Flying Gave Him Another Way to Help
Police work was not his only form of service.
Yahoo Entertainment reported that David is a pilot and also reported that he used that skill on a 2018 flight tied to Angel Flight West. The nonprofit helps people reach medical care by air.
He has also been linked with Pilots N Paws, a network that helps move rescue animals by plane, and one reported trip involved David and Alison helping fly a dog to a new home.
These flights add a useful part to his story because flying is more than a hobby when it can help a patient reach care or help an animal reach a safe home.
His son Ben has shared that interest, and Sweeney has posted about the bond between father and son over planes and flight.
His Police Knowledge Has Helped at Home
The couple’s careers did not fully stay in separate boxes.
Sweeney has made many mystery films, where crime scenes, officers, and police work are common parts of those stories. A husband with decades of real law enforcement work can be a useful source when a scene needs to sound right.
She has spoken about his help with police details in her work, and it is a small link between two careers that otherwise looked very different.
That link also feels natural. Couples often bring home what they know from work. In their case, one person knows how a TV set works. The other knows how police work looks in real life.
Life After Retirement
Retirement in 2022 closed a long chapter.
After 27 years with the CHP, David had more time for family and the interests he had built outside work. By then, the family was settled in Arizona and the children were getting older.
Sweeney kept a busy work life, while her husband moved out of full-time police service. Flying, animals, and family time remain part of the life he has shared in public.
He has not turned retirement into a new public brand. That would be out of step with the way he has lived for years.
His public story is still simple. He worked a long career, raised a family, and now has more room for home life and the things he cares about.
David Sanov Today
As of 2026, David Sanov is retired from the California Highway Patrol and lives with his family in Arizona.
Sweeney remains active in TV and film. Their son is an adult, and their daughter is nearing adulthood. The couple still marks family events and anniversaries, but David remains far less public than his wife.
His 27 years with the CHP remain the strongest part of his professional story. His long marriage, his children, the move to Arizona, and his use of flying for service add the rest of the picture.
Final Thoughts
David Sanov built a life that was close to fame without being driven by it. He spent nearly three decades in the California Highway Patrol. He married a woman he had known since childhood, raised two children, and later entered retirement with a strong interest in flying and service.
His story is not a Hollywood tale in the usual sense. It is the story of a long career, a long marriage, and a family that chose its own pace.
For another story about a private family life beside a major TV career, read LakewoodScoop.co.uk’s profile of Lisa Ann Russell.