Meet Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Boyfriend, Riley Roberts
America knows the name Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — or, at least, they know her nickname, AOC. She rose to political fame in 2018 as the youngest woman to ever be elected to Congress, beating out longtime incumbent Joseph Crowley in her New York primary (via The New York Times) and eventually winning the seat.
Since being elected in January 2019, she's been the young, progressive voice of Congress, voted in during a decidedly female blue wave that switched the balance of power in the House from Republican to Democrat for the first time in nearly a decade. Ocasio-Cortez is so busy and active in her congressional role that one would think she hardly has time for a social life, but the young representative has had a significant other supporting her through everything during her rise to political stardom.
His name is Riley Roberts, and, while he tries hard to stay out of the spotlight as his rising star girlfriend uses it for her progressive agenda, he seems to be her rock, and he has been since the pair first met in college in 2011 (via Insider).
How Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez met boyfriend Riley Roberts
When Alexandaria Ocasio-Cortrez and Riley Roberts were both attending Boston University, they spent an afternoon at a weekly student town hall, Coffee & Conversations, where students discussed almost any meaningful topic that would come up, according to Insider. They soon began quietly dating, and, with so few even knowing Ocasio-Cortez has a boyfriend 10 years later, it's clear quietly dating is the name of the game for them.
While they broke up after they graduated and she moved back to New York and he moved back to Arizona, they eventually realized that they were meant to be together. By then, Roberts was working in web design and advertising and knew he could do that from New York. So, Roberts and Ocasio-Cortez were back together while he worked on his startup companies and she worked on Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign and as a bartender (via Insider).
Riley Roberts helped Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez get elected to Congress
As a young tech professional, Riley Roberts knows how to work social media platforms for maximum exposure. In the Netflix documentary "Knock Down The House," telling the story of Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez and other young progressives who rode into Congress on the 2018 blue wave, Roberts gives commentary on how Democratic consultants no longer know what they're doing. The documentary's director, Rachel Lears, told Insider that Roberts was with Ocasio-Cortez every step of the way in 2018. "Everything from the emotional to the strategic to the practical, he has been a really important partner to her," she said.
And he was there when she was sworn into the House in January 2019, becoming the youngest female member of the House at age 28 with the largest freshman class of female House members ever. "A really incredible day, really special," Riley said of the day, adding that he thought D.C. was great so far, according to the New York Post.
Riley Roberts gets the seal of approval from a very important person
As of this writing, Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez and Riley Roberts split their time between apartments in both New York and D.C., with him staying so far out of the spotlight that he doesn't even seem to have his own social media accounts, but he does have the support of his girlfriend's mom. In 2019, Blanca Ocasio-Cortez gave an interview to the Daily Mail in which she sang Roberts' praises and even revealed that she'd like to have him as a son-in-law one day.
"I love him," Blanca told The Daily Mail. "He is the most loving, supporting person I've seen. He helped her tremendously during the election. They've been together for four years now, after they reconnected from a college breakup. I know they love children, and they do very well with children from the family. So, I hope they get married soon. Although they haven't told me anything about their plans."