Who is Karoline Leavitt? White House press secretary opens up about her 32-year age gap "atypical love story" with husband Nicholas Riccio

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt recently addressed her relationship with her husband Nicholas Riccio alongside their age gap as she appeared for an interview on The Megyn Kelly Show on February 22, 2025.

According to BBC News (January 28), Leavitt has gained recognition for being the youngest secretary in the history of the White House. She worked for Fox News and Donald Trump’s White House press office during her school days and was a presidential speechwriter and assistant press secretary at the White House.

During the interview, Leavitt recalled her first meeting with Riccio by saying that it happened at a restaurant owned by Nicholas in New Hampshire during Karoline’s congressional campaign and an event was organized by a mutual friend at the restaurant. She further stated:

“I was speaking and you know, we met, we were acquainted as friends and then we fell in love as you said.”

Karoline Leavitt mentioned that she met many “amazing people” over the years who helped her to learn various life lessons. Megyn Kelly then started addressing Leavitt’s personal life, saying that Karoline tied the knot with someone who was 59 and she was 27.

Megyn questioned Leavitt if she had second thoughts about their age gap of 32 years and the latter responded:

“Of course, I mean, it’s very atypical love story, but he’s incredible.”

Karoline also said that Riccio has supported her a lot on different occasions, adding that Nicholas has built a successful business. Karoline Leavitt continued:

“He’s the father of my child, of course, and he’s the best that I could ever ask for and so supportive, especially during this very chaotic period of life. I say I walked into your life and it’s been a circus ever since but God bless him because he’s fully on board.”

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Karoline Leavitt has a long list of experience in different fields over the years

After enrolling at Saint Anselm College, Karoline was a member of the Saint Anselm Hawks, a women’s softball team. According to Business Insider (March 18), she also formed the Saint Anselm Broadcasting Club and was interned as a presidential writer at the White House during Donald Trump’s first presidency in 2018.

In addition, Karoline Leavitt wrote articles for a newspaper titled The Saint Anselm Crier. She completed her primary studies at Central Catholic High School.

Back in 2022, she also ran for Congress in New Hampshire and emerged as the winner, defeating former White House senior adviser Matt Mowers. As per USA Today, she aimed to reduce the corporate tax rate so that America could enter the global market, leading to more job opportunities. However, Leavitt did not win the general election against Democrat Chris Pappas.

Speaking of her reasons to run for Congress, Karoline Leavitt said on her campaign website that she was unable to witness the “conservative principles” of America being attacked and added:

“New Hampshire needs a strong, bold, conservative warrior to serve as a firewall between the radical, power-hungry Democrats in Washington and our freedom-loving state. That is why I am running for Congress. The solemn responsibility to represent the Granite State, our beloved home, is personal.”

According to the website, Karoline also worked at WMUR-TV as a producer in the past and served as an associate producer for the New Hampshire Chronicle. She also worked for US representative Elise Stefanik as the director of communications.

Karoline’s husband Nicholas Riccio has been active in the world of real estate and operates a company called Riccio Enterprises, as per People magazine's March 19 article. They welcomed a son named Niko in July 2024.