Chuck Schumer's First Meeting With His Wife Was Less Than Romantic

Some folks experience their fairytale love-at-first sight moment when they meet their future spouse, but that wasn't exactly the case for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. In fact, his future wife put Schumer firmly in his place when the two initially met, in the 1970s, at a Mid-Bay Independent Democrats gathering in Midwood, Brooklyn. The 24-year-old was attending the meeting in his capacity as a New York state assemblyman, and it was there Schumer ran into Iris Weinshall, a fiery 21-year-old lobbyist who didn't budge easily, as he quickly learned when Schumer tried to weasel his way into making his speech before hers. 

Weinshall looked back on that fateful day while chatting to Crain's New York Business in 2016. "I had waited to speak and he showed up and he came over to me and said, 'You don't mind if I go ahead of you, because I have to go to some other meetings.' And I said, 'Yes, I do mind,'" she recalled, quipping, "But then he charmed me, so I let him do it." Sparks flew, and the two tied the knot in September 1980, subsequently welcoming two daughters.

The happy couple, who has been married for several decades at this stage, has notably weathered many storms together, including the heartbreaking death of Schumer's father Abe. Likewise, Weinshall has continued to be her husband's most valued advisor when it comes to his work. She's the first person the Senate minority leader calls every morning when he's working in Washington, and Schumer still relies on her decision-making input.

Chuck Schumer's bitter feud with Donald Trump might be dominating the news cycle at the time of writing, but the Senate minority leader once made headlines for something entirely different. Schumer's first meeting with his wife might have been awkward at best, but it turns out that the politician is actually quite the romantic. In fact, he loves playing matchmaker, and those who have worked in his office have attested to the fact that he's very good at it. In fact, by 2012, he'd managed to orchestrate 10 marriages among his staff.

"Our staff is a family," Schumer proudly told the New York Times that same year. "I want them to be happy. I get worried that they'll be lonely. So I encourage them. If I think it's a good match, I try to gently — as gently as I can — nudge it." His former communications director, Risa Heller, confirmed that seeing his staff falling in love delighted Schumer. "It brings him joy. He picks good people to work for him, and when they pick each other, it's even better," she said. According to employees, Schumer is an entertaining wedding guest. 

Iris Weinshall gushed that her hubby is a joy to have around because he doesn't expect her to be at his beck and call, even upon returning from his travels. "He'll call from the airport and say, 'Is there any dinner?" Weinshall informed Crain's New York Business. "And I'll say, 'Nope.' And he'll say, 'Okay, I'll have a bowl of cereal, then.'" Suffice it to say that the sneaky red flags in Donald and Melania Trump's relationship are nonexistent in the Schumers'.