Weird Things About Zohran Mamdani & His Wife Rama's Marriage We Can't Ignore

After launching a successful campaign to become mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani also found himself and his family in a rather large spotlight. Before clinching victory on November 4, there was a slew of both good and bad press swirling around the then-candidate. It even got to the point that Mamdani clearly got under President Donald Trump's thin skin, proving his ability to make a political splash. However, there's been another person working behind the scenes alongside Mamdani — his accomplished wife, Rama Duwaji. But keeping her out of the public eye had many scratching their heads, wondering if something weird was going on.

Eschewing tradition, Mamdani and Duwaji were very rarely spotted together during his campaign. Typically, politicians trot out their spouses and families as part of the election strategy to connect with potential voters, but not Duwaji and Mamdani. While this would appear strange at first glance, especially for newlyweds, it seems that Duwaji, an established artist with works appearing in magazines and museums, opted to put her skills to use in a different way. According to CNN, Duwaji was behind the bold yellow, red, and blue branding for Mamdani's campaign. With the font and color scheme quickly becoming a favorite of Mamdani fans, bootleg merch like that of Hot Girls For Zohran began popping up across the internet.

However, there's another fact about the marriage between Mamdani and Duwaji that has certainly gotten people talking — how they met.

While the dream of swiping to magically find the perfect match is still alive in the hearts of many, the reality of finding someone through dating platforms like Tinder or Bumble feels slippery. So when it came out that Zohran Mamdani and Rama Duwaji met on Hinge, the internet didn't quite know what to do with it. One user on X, formerly Twitter, tried to keep things inspirational by saying, "They met on Hinge and now she's First Lady of New York, keep swiping, ladies." Although many responses were quick to point out that "The Hinge Zohran and Rama met on is not the Hinge that I deleted."

Though the Hinge algorithm might be tricky to master, it seems to have worked for Mamdani and Duwaji. Mamdani himself even sang the praises of the platform, telling The Bulwark, "there is still hope in those dating apps." (Via the BBC) While meeting this way might feel strange to people who prefer more traditional routes — and Vice President JD Vance has made his feelings known about it — it appears to be par for the course for many. Author Nura Maznavi spoke to Fortune about how seeing Mamdani and Duwaji's love story, "made me feel like less of a loser," because she had met her own husband on Match.com. Getting to see yourself reflected in those in leadership roles can be an affirming thing, even if it does feel strange to have.