Karoline Leavitt's Low Profile Husband Hasn't Been Spared From The Brutal Nicknames
The job of White House press secretary tends to attract a lot of chaos. Karoline Leavitt has held that position since the start of the second Trump administration, and she's certainly no stranger to controversial moments. That extends to her personal life, as she's married to Nicholas Riccio, a real estate developer 32 years her senior who has lived through his fair share of tragedy. Riccio is definitely not as much of a public figure as his wife is (and they're far from the only political couple with a massive age gap), but that hasn't spared him from the merciless glare of the political spotlight. Let's just say that whenever he appears on Leavitt's social media, the commentary about their age difference is nothing short of brutal.
That savagery was abundantly clear right away when Leavitt announced their engagement on Instagram on Christmas 2023. One commenter spared some mock concern for Riccio by asking, "Looks like he had alot of trouble getting up from that kneeling ... did you help?" Another jokester took a peak at the rock on Leavitt's finger and quipped, "Her hand looks older [than] her husband."
The public criticism did not cool down at all when Leavitt and Riccio started growing their family. After their baby son appeared on his mom's Instagram in the summer of 2024, multiple commenters made sure to jokingly refer to Riccio as the grandfather. Then, when the three of them had a beach outing the following summer, one person cracked the joke, "Cool that u and your dad still hang out." Since then, "dad" and "grandfather" have become social media nicknames for Riccio.
Karoline Leavitt knows that her age-gap relationship is abnormal
Despite all the brutality, Karoline Leavitt has in fact addressed what her age gap with Nicholas Riccio means for their marriage. During an appearance on "The Megyn Kelly Show," she recounted, "I met my husband during my congressional campaign. A mutual friend of ours hosted an event at a restaurant that he owns up in New Hampshire and invited my husband, and I was speaking, and you know, we met, we were acquainted as friends, and then we fell in love." When Kelly asked her if she ever had any doubts about dating someone so much older, Leavitt assured her, "Yes, of course! I mean, it's [a] very atypical love story, but he's incredible." Hey, at least she's self-aware about it.
However, in that same interview, Leavitt was a little less self-aware when she made what some might consider a Freudian slip by calling Riccio "the best dad I could ever ask for." To be fair, it's clear from context that she means he's the best dad to their son, as opposed to being Leavitt's dad. But in the merciless world of the internet, we're sure that statements like that will continue to be irresistible cannon fodder for all the roasters out there. Indeed, the missiles just kept on firing. When Leavitt posted some Fourth of July pics on Instagram in 2025, it became clear that this could become another American tradition, with the top comment declaring, "Awe, I love how close you and your dad are- spending the holiday together!"