All The Details About Nancy Mace's Disastrous Love Life

The following article includes discussions of rape and sexual assault.

Nancy Mace thought she was getting her happily ever after three separate times, but the fairytale always came crumbling down. The Republican representative refused to keep tight-lipped about the men who have wronged her, but she's been left heartbroken so many times that she might just throw in the towel on dating altogether. We've already discussed how her love life is nearly as disastrous as Kimberly Guilfoyle's, but it's time to unpack all of the details of Mace's past beaus.

Mace has been no stranger to controversy throughout her political career, but one idea that remains firm for her is being a champion of women who have been victims of sexual assault, including herself. One of the perpetrators was her ex-fiancé, Patrick Bryant. She took the House floor in February 2025, detailing and accusing Bryant and three other men of "some of the most heinous crimes against women imaginable" (per NBC News). For Bryant specifically, it was when he gave her access to his phone that she uncovered some horrifying clips of Bryant raping several unsuspecting women, one of which being Mace. "I turned up the volume to hear if there was audio. I heard my voice. I zoomed in on the video. And that woman was me," Mace remarked, continuing, "My entire body was paralyzed, and I couldn't move. Were my feet on the floor? Was I breathing? I have no idea." Needless to say, Mace has been put through tragic experiences when it comes to finding Mr. Right. We're just glad she didn't settle for any of the horrible men she's been with in the past.

Nancy Mace met Chris Niemiec while attending the Citadel Military College of South Carolina. She was the first woman to graduate from the Corps of Cadets program in 1999, and that same year, they were married. She went on to earn her Master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Georgia and would then build her political career, while he ended up making a name for himself within the military realm as a JAG Corps lawyer.

There's not much to be said about the relationship, as they divorced after only two years. Niemiec largely stays out of the public eye, and Mace has hardly said a word about the past relationship; however, she once gave some insight into her emotional state following her second divorce. "I've been divorced twice. Don't recommend it. Not even a national divorce...," she wrote on X (formerly Twitter) in February 2023. Speaking of second divorces, next, let's unpack her marriage to Curtis Jackson.

It didn't take long for Nancy Mace to find love again after her divorce from Chris Neimic. She met Curtis Jackson in 2004, and they were married the same year. Like Niemiec, Jackson kept a pretty low profile but always voiced his support of Mace while they were together. During her Senate campaign in 2014, he shared an impassioned Facebook post supporting her campaign and urging others to do the same. "We are both enormously humbled by the overwhelmingly positive response she has received since entering the race. I am so proud of her for setting out to make a difference and the passion she has for improving this great country," he wrote before asking for donations.

Mace and Jackson welcomed two children while they were together: Miles in December 2006 and Elli in May 2009. Mace rarely posts photos of the kids, aligning with her stance on protecting women and children, but Jackson regularly updates his social media with pictures of the two teens. The couple divorced in 2019, but that only marks the beginning of the drama.

Following their 2019 divorce, Nancy Mace took Curtis Jackson to court in an attempt to gain full custody of their two kids, citing his alcohol abuse and parenting ability as her reasons. Ultimately, the judge ruled that the former couple continue to have joint custody, which Mace chalked up to his lawyers having a personal relationship with the judge.

Mace and Jackson have seemingly buried the hatchet after the legal drama went down — unlike her brutal feud with Marjorie Taylor Greene — but she has woven her status as a single mother into her political career. In March 2021, she formed the "Single Parents" caucus shortly after she was elected congresswoman, creating legislation to help mothers and fathers like her. "It was tough enough being a single parent before the pandemic. Now, just tack on the issues and challenges that this pandemic has exposed: virtual school, child-care costs, mental health," she said, per The Washington Times, "I feel the pain. I know the struggle."

Fortunately, she and Jackson learned how to co-parent amicably. In December 2024, she wrote that her kids and ex-husband had taken her out to dinner to celebrate her birthday. "Kids, and their dad, took me out for barbecue for my birthday. 47 never felt so good!" she captioned the Instagram post.

Nancy Mace's relationship with Patrick Bryant was certainly her most publicized, but not for good reason. It's unclear when the two met originally and when or how they started dating, but his surprise proposal put their relationship on the map. In May 2022, Mace was filming for her campaign, documenting extra footage of her knocking on doors. Little did she know, Bryant would be on the other side of one with a ring. When she opened the door, he got on bended knee and asked, "Will you spend the rest of your life with me?" After the initial shock and awe, she said yes.

The pre-marital bliss was short-lived, though. In October 2023, Mace was made aware that Bryant was suspected to be active on dating sites. It was when she was going through his phone to investigate that she found the photos and videos of several women, including herself, being assaulted. That's when, in February 2025, she took the house floor and accused her ex-fiancé, and three of his business partners, of "rape, non-consensual photos, non-consensual videos of women and underage girls, and the premeditated, calculated, exploitation of women and girls in my district." In a statement to the Associated Press, Bryant said, "I categorically deny these allegations. I take this matter seriously and will cooperate fully with any necessary legal processes to clear my name." All four men vehemently deny these allegations, with one of their attorneys demanding that she either show evidence or retract the claims, or they would pursue further legal action. As it stands at the time of writing, all of the men are currently under investigation by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

There have been a few times when Nancy Mace landed in hot water for talking about her love life. It seems the only secret the politician can keep is her hidden tattoo. Everything else is fair game for her to overshare. In June 2023, she made a speech at a prayer breakfast on Capitol Hill, recalling how she was almost tardy for the event. "When I woke up this morning at 7 — I was getting picked up at 7:45 — Patrick, my fiancé, tried to pull me by my waist over this morning in bed," she remarked, continuing, "And I was like, 'No, baby, we don't got time for that this morning." She acknowledged that she was being "a little TMI," but it comes as no surprise that a few of her employees resigned because of her oversharing.

By November 2023, all of her employees had resigned. Well, all except for one. Mace fired her Chief of Staff, Dan Hanlon, in December 2023, with eight others quitting, claiming that she was running a "toxic" work environment. "She frequently made sexual references in the office and discussed things that were not appropriate in a work environment," a former employee remarked to The Daily Mail. Here's the real kicker, though: when the publication asked her about her legal standing with Patrick Bryant, she remarked, "I'm not Taylor Swift. No one gives a damn about my relationship status." Interesting that the thought didn't come to mind during the prayer breakfast.