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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt discussed the "unusual" more-than-30-year age gap between herself and her 59-year-old husband during a new interview on Pod Force One with Miranda Devine.
Asked by Devine if she was unable to "find boys your own age, who are as mature," the 28-year-old Republican laughed and replied, "No, if you want to know the truth."
What To Know
Leavitt met her husband, Nicholas Riccio, during her 2022 run for Congress in New Hampshire’s 1st District. She won the Republican nomination but lost the general election to Democrat Chris Pappas.
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She got engaged in 2023 and though it is unclear when they got married, Leavitt has "wife" listed in her Instagram bio. The two welcomed a child together, a boy named Nicholas, in July.
Devine asked Leavitt about the age gap, and Leavitt replied: "It is very unusual."
...
"He is amazing," she added. "We were acquainted as friends for quite some time, but then of course, we fell in love. And here we are today, we’re married with a beautiful baby, and he is just an amazing guy."
She went on to describe him as "very introverted," and said that he "stays behind the scenes."
Leavitt was praised as "smart, tough, and highly effective" when Donald Trump announced her as his new press secretary following his 2024 election win. Leavitt served as a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign and transition.
She spoke about her husband’s career, describing him as a "self-made man," and said that "he’s built his career, so he’s in a place where he can support me in mine."
Riccio manages a multimillion-dollar real estate business, Riccio Enterprises LLC.
Leavitt said in the podcast that her parents had had a tough time accepting her husband, and said it was "a challenging conversation."
However, she added: "Once they got to know him and saw who he is as a man and his character and how much he adores me, I think it became quite easy for them."
The clip of Leavitt talking about the relationship fast went viral on X, where people weighed in on the age gap.
What People Are Saying
Karoline Leavitt, speaking on Pod Force One with Miranda Devine: "He’s just an amazing guy, and he is my number one fan. He watches every interview, every press briefing."
One social media user said in a post on X: "32 years is quite the age gap, definitely strange."
Another X user added: "Who cares the age difference they love each other."
Galena K. Rhoades, a Research Professor in Department of Psychology at the University of Denver, told Newsweek over email: "Age-gap relationships tend to attract scrutiny because observers often make assumptions about power, money, or control, but these assumptions overlook what we know from decades of relationship research: age difference by itself does not determine the health of a relationship.
"What matters most is whether the couple has key components of long-term stability and satisfaction—mutual respect and shared values, clear expectations for the relationship, good communication, and the ability to navigate conflict constructively.
"For public couples, especially political figures, the attention can intensify because people project broader social or moral concerns onto the relationship. Even in those cases, the same principles apply. The presence or absence of a large age gap tells us very little; the quality of the partnership is what predicts whether it will be a strong, healthy marriage."
What Happens Next
Age-gap relationships have long prompted discourse online, and may well to continue to provoke conversations in the future.
Update 11/21/25, 6:43 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from Rhoades.
Update 11/20/25, 7:14 a.m. ET: Leavitt and Riccio's ages have been added and the headline updated.
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