Maddow splits her time between Manhattan, New York, and West Cummington, Massachusetts, with her partner, artist Susan Mikula.[98][99] They met in 1999, when Maddow was working on her doctoral dissertation.[98]
Maddow has dealt with cyclical depression since puberty.[100] In a 2012 interview, she stated, "It doesn't take away from my joy or my work or my energy, but coping with depression is something that is part of the everyday way that I live and have lived for as long as I can remember."[101] She has explained why she decided to speak about it in interviews: "It was a hard call ... Because it was nobody's business. But it had been helpful to me to learn about the people who were surviving, were leading good lives, even though they were dealing with depression. So I felt it was a bit of a responsibility to pay that back."[51]
Maddow said, "There are three things I do to stay sane: I exercise, I sleep – I'm a good sleeper – and I fish."[48]: 56 She is also a practicing Catholic.[102]
In 2021, Maddow had surgery to remove a cancerous skin growth from her neck.[103]
