What We Know About Karoline Leavitt's Relationship With Her Parents

Karoline Leavitt grew up in New Hampshire, in a family that includes her two older brothers, as well as her parents, Bob and Erin Leavitt. The White House press secretary appears to have a tight relationship with her family. Since Karoline's parents are surprisingly close in age to her husband, Nicholas Riccio, her social media followers sometimes get confused with some of her shared photos. To further complicate matters, Karoline's dad looks similar to Riccio, causing people to misidentify photos even when they're clearly captioned. "My dad. My hero," Karoline wrote in a June 2021 Instagram post, along with a photo of the two of them smiling and laughing inside Bob's car dealership. 

In addition to Leavitt Auto and Truck, Karoline's parents also operate Leavitt's Ice Cream. The press secretary believes their example set her up for career success. "That value of hard work and determination and drive was instilled in me in a very young age just by watching my parents work so hard to earn a living," Karoline explained to CBN News in March 2025. She was accustomed to seeing them work long hours, and she pitched in, working at their ice cream shop. In addition to being a pivotal experience, Karoline appreciated that her mom was willing to give her friends jobs, too. "It was some of my best memories from life and a lot of fun," she recalled to Kate Mackz's "Post Run High" podcast in April 2025.

Beyond working along them, Karoline Leavitt has credited her parents more broadly for influencing her worldview. "My upbringing is absolutely everything to me," she informed "The Catholic Current" podcast in October 2021. During their leisure time, Karoline and her dad, Bob Leavitt, bonded while watching TV news. When Karoline expressed interest in a media career, her mom, Erin Leavitt, encouraged her to explore this possibility. "My mom has home videos of my brothers and me pretending to be sports broadcasters," Karoline divulged to Kate Mackz's "Post Run High" podcast.

During college, Karoline's career interests migrated to politics. When she was working at the White House in 2019, Bob joined his daughter for their 2019 Christmas festivities. A few years later, her parents lent their support when Karoline campaigned in a 2022 New Hampshire congressional race. Although she lost by over 25,000 votes, Erin praised her daughter's efforts. "We are sad yet so proud of her," Erin explained on Facebook. "She certainly put a lot of hard work into her campaign." 

In 2024 Erin also celebrated Karoline as she prepared to become a new mom. "My beautiful mother threw me the most beautiful baby shower I could have ever dreamed of and I am so grateful," Karoline gushed in a June 2024 Instagram post. After Karoline's son Nicholas Robert Riccio arrived, Erin offered crucial assistance, traveling to Washington, D.C. to provide childcare while Karoline balanced parenting and her hectic job as press secretary.