Karoline Leavitt, 28, Opens Up About Marrying 60-Year-Old Nicholas Riccio After Awkward Family Talk

Karoline Leavitt says the hardest part of dating a man more than three decades older was the family talk that came first.  The White House press secretary told Miranda Devine on the Pod Force One podcast that breaking the news to her parents was awkward at the start.

Leavitt, 28, is married to real estate developer Nicholas Riccio, who is about 60.

They began dating while Leavitt was running for Congress in New Hampshire in 2022 and later had a son, Niko, in July 2024. They were married in January 2025 just before the presidential inauguration.

“It’s definitely a challenging conversation to have at first,” she said, using plain words to describe the moment. Leavitt said the tension eased once her parents met Riccio and saw how he treated her. The family now spends time together without drama.

Riccio runs Riccio Enterprises and has built a name in the Hampton Beach area. Local reporting and profiles show he owns many buildings there and grew his business over years of steady work. His past includes stretches of tight money and a move into real estate after college.

“Once they got to know him and saw who he is as a man and his character and how much he adores me, I think it became quite easy for them, and now we’re all friends,” Leavitt said. She used that line to show how fast first impressions can change when people meet in person.

Leavitt has talked about their meeting before. She told Devine the introduction came through a mutual friend at an event at a restaurant Riccio owns in New Hampshire.

“I was speaking. We met and we were acquainted as friends. And then we fell in love,” she said, describing a slow start that turned into something serious.

On other shows Leavitt called their story “a very atypical love story, but he’s incredible.” She and Riccio have balanced public work and family life since their son was born, and she has returned to a high pressure job while raising a young child with his help.

“I mean, it’s a typical family relationship, and my husband has such respect for my parents in the way that they raised me,” Leavitt said. “We all have a lot of fun together when they come to visit.” That note of ease is the main point she wanted to make about a relationship many found surprising.

The story is not just about an unusual age gap. It is about how people handle questions and how families make room for new members.

For Leavitt the awkward talk led to a steady family life, and that is the moment she keeps returning to in interviews.

Featured image via YouTube screengrab