Mitch McConnell & His Wife Have A Bigger Age Gap Than You Might Realize

Mitch McConnell won his first senatorial race in 1984, making it hard for millennials to remember a time before he was on the national political stage. That's a long tenure, and over the decades, McConnell has changed as a politician. Things have also changed for the senator in his personal life. Four years before McConnell was first elected, he and his first wife, Sherrill Redmon, divorced. By the 1990s, McConnell met Elaine Chao, who would become his second wife. "We met in the old-fashioned way. We were introduced through family friends," Chao told KET. Although Chao had a positive first impression of McConnell, a romantic relationship wasn't necessarily a forgone conclusion. "I don't want to say that sparks flew," Stuart Bloch, who helped introduce the pair, later recalled to The New York Times. "That's not the way either of them is."

What many may not realize is that McConnell and Chao have a sizeable age gap of 11 years. McConnell turned 83 in February 2025, while Chao turned 72 in March. It's possible the difference in their ages might have given them pause in their early dating days, especially since the senator was already a dad of three kids when he met Chao. But according to Chao, she was more concerned with their professional roles when she first met McConnell. "I didn't want to be seen with Mitch because I had my own career, and I didn't want people to think that I was a groupie," she recalled to Independent Women in 2021. "Mitch thought that was hilarious because most women who went out with him, wanted to be seen with him in public."

After over three decades of marriage, Mitch McConnell and Elaine Chao's union seems to be going strong. After all, there are plenty of political couples with even bigger age gaps. One thing that seemed to cement the couple's bond was their shared political ideology, since Chao was a staunch Republican and had worked in Ronald Reagan's White House. "In my first marriage, I married a Liberal," McConnell commented (via Time). "With Elaine, she and I understand one another." 

Both have accumulated vast political experience, with Chao serving as a cabinet member for George W. Bush and Donald Trump. Chao's political and interpersonal savvy have been crucial for McConnell during his numerous reelection campaigns. She made it her mission to remember people's personal details so she could have a meaningful conversation the next time she saw them, and was quick to offer embraces as well.

Chao and McConnell both have busy careers, and Chao has often expressed her appreciation for how they divide the household labor. "He actually shares in the housework fully," Chao divulged on the "Women to Watch" podcast in 2020. While Chao's taken the lead on household maintenance tasks, the couple splits some jobs, like doing the dinner dishes. Other areas are typically McConnell's responsibility. "I call him my low-maintenance husband. He does his own laundry and he cooks," Chao informed CNN in 2017. "He does [my laundry] too sometimes."