White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is often a target of criticism, both for her professional and personal choices. Critics usually accuse her of confidently “lying” on behalf of her boss, Donald Trump. On the other hand, people on social media don’t miss an occasion to mock her marriage to Nicholas Riccio.
Leavitt married 60-year-old Riccio in January after dating for nearly two years. They got engaged in December 2023, and the couple welcomed their first child in July 2024. Though Riccio and Leavitt share a wonderful marriage, they are often trolled for the 32-year age gap.
Recently, Leavitt appeared on the Pod Force One with Miranda Devine Podcast, where she openly discussed her marriage. Leavitt acknowledged that her marriage is “unusual,” and revealed that talking to her parents was initially “challenging.”
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“Could you not find boys your own age, who are as mature?” the host candidly asked 28-year-old Leavitt.
Leavitt laughed and said, “Honestly, no, if you want to know the truth.”
She then described her husband as an “amazing” man. Sharing details about their relationship, she revealed that they met during her congressional campaign at a restaurant owned by their mutual friend. She said that her friend invited Riccio to his restaurant to attend Leavitt’s event.
“We fell in love,” Leavitt recalled.
She further added, “Here we are today. We are married. We have a beautiful baby and he is just an amazing guy.”
Leavitt added that her husband is “very introverted,” which contrasts with her own personality.
“He stays behind the scene. He is not on social media. He is very private, which I respect,” she further said.
The host interrupted and described Riccio as a self-made man. Leavitt acknowledged the same and added that “he has a successful real estate business back home.” She added that her husband is now in a place where he can support her career and ambitions.
Q: Tell us about your husband, I think he is 32 years older than you which is unusual.
Karoline Leavitt: It is very unusual
Q: Could you not find boys your own age?
Leavitt: Honestly no, but he’s amazing… We fell in love. He’s just an amazing guy… He’s a successful real… pic.twitter.com/n7ZUU5BS6L
— Ron Smith (@Ronxyz00) November 19, 2025
During the same interview, Leavitt also acknowledged that her parents had a tough time accepting their relationship due to the huge age gap.
“It’s definitely a challenging conversation to have at first,” she said, before adding, “But then, of course, 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 press secretary then added that they’re all friends now and “it’s a typical family relationship.”
Miranda Devine: “What did your parents think when you said, ‘Oh I’ve got this guy who’s like almost the same age as my dad.’”
Karoline Leavitt: “It’s definitely a challenging conversation to have at first, but then of course once they got to know him and saw who he is as a man… pic.twitter.com/aQN3bm8a4o
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) November 19, 2025
Leavitt’s candid conversation about her husband comes days after she was accused of “photoshopping” her husband in a Halloween family picture to make him look younger.
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“Face tuning your senior citizen husband is wild lol,” someone wrote in her comment section. Another wrote, “When your kid’s dad also looks like your kid’s grandpa.”
Leavitt, however, has ignored the tasteless comments so far and continues to focus on her family and career.
