UNEXPECTED LOVE, UNBREAKABLE PARTNERSHIP
Why Karoline Leavitt’s Marriage to a Man 32 Years Her Senior Has People Talking — and Quietly Reconsidering Everything They Thought They Knew About Her
She walked into the White House briefing room with posture, precision, and presence. But while the press dissected her resume and rhetoric, something else was drawing equal attention: the man standing silently in the background.
Nicholas Riccio, age 59, husband to 27-year-old White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, is not a typical Washington spouse. And that’s exactly the point.
Their relationship, once the subject of quiet gossip, is now being talked about in a very different tone. Because when people ask why a man three decades her senior chose Leavitt as his life partner, the answer is not what anyone expected.
President Donald Trump’s White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, has become a superstar in the political realm—however, her husband boasts his own very impressive career in real estate.(karolineleavitt/Instagram)
The mom of one captured the world’s attention when she made her debut in the briefing room on Jan. 28, quickly impressing viewers with her maturity.(karolineleavitt/Instagram)
A Love Story Born Outside the Spotlight
Riccio is not on Twitter. He avoids cameras. But his story is the kind that reshapes perceptions.
Once homeless at age 18, Riccio built himself into a multimillionaire real estate mogul in New Hampshire. He lived in his car. Stocked grocery store shelves. Took out loans to put himself through Plymouth State. And then, in 1990, took a real estate course that changed everything.
By 2005, Riccio was buying up condemned properties on M Street in Hampton Beach. Today, he owns 10 properties across two states and manages Nautical Beach Properties, a boutique hospitality company.
But it wasn’t his net worth that caught Karoline Leavitt’s attention. And it wasn’t her youth or ambition that won him over. It was something quieter.
Something they both had: scars.
In addition to her accomplished resume, Leavitt’s sophisticated attitude can also be credited to her 59-year-old spouse, who has been thrust into the public eye as his wife makes waves in her new position. (karolineleavitt/Instagram)
Although Riccio is an ultraprivate man, he has grown accustomed to a lavish lifestyle as he is the manager of multimillion-dollar real estate company, Riccio Enterprises LLC, a subsidiary of Nautical Beach Properties.(karolineleavitt/Instagram)
Weathering Criticism — Together
Karoline’s rapid rise came with the usual Washington frenzy. At 25, she ran for Congress. At 27, she became the youngest White House Press Secretary in U.S. history. With it came all the commentary: the critiques, the nicknames, the headlines.
But Riccio never chased the camera.
He helped fund her campaign. Supported her privately. Held her hand publicly when needed, but never tried to make it about him.
When asked why he married someone half his age, he reportedly told a friend:
“Age means nothing when you find someone who’s already fought more battles than you.”
The Anchor Behind the Mic
In interviews, Karoline describes him simply: “introvert. Opposite of me. Doesn’t do social media. Doesn’t want attention. But the best man I’ve ever met.”
To her, Riccio isn’t a story to explain away. He’s a reason she stands taller.
The man who once slept in his car now builds coastal homes for vacationers. The woman who once fetched coffee as a Fox News intern now speaks for the most powerful office in the world. Together, they raise a son — born July 10, 2024.
“I respect his privacy on here – but he’s my number one fan, the best dad, and just the best man I’ve ever met.”
According to property records, there are currently 10 homes registered under Riccio’s company’s LLC, with nine of them in New Hampshire and one in West Virginia.(Realtor.com)
The homes were all built in the late 1900s and cost Riccio anywhere from $5,500 to $400,000. (Realtor.com)
Although it is unclear when Riccio and Leavitt started dating, it’s believed that the pair met through a mutual friend at a political event.
A Marriage That Defies Clickbait
Their engagement wasn’t announced through a press release. It was a photo, posted by Karoline, captioned:
“I get to marry the man of my dreams. I feel SO overwhelmingly BLESSED.”
Their first year as parents wasn’t defined by nursery tours or sponsored content. It was Karoline, replying to a follower:
“Yes, I pray every day about missing moments with my son. But I remind myself: this is temporary. One day he will be proud of his mama.”
She took to Instagram to lift the lid on the woes she was battling ahead of her new role, revealing that she was “praying” about the situation.
Leavitt and Riccio went on to welcome a son on July 10, 2024, with Leavitt calling it the ‘best moment of her life.’ (karolineleavitt/Instagram)
Just weeks before she stepped behind the podium as the White House press secretary, Leavitt revealed she was looking forward to heading back into the White House but admitted she was “nervous” about missing moments with her son.(karolineleavitt/Instagram)
More Than a Marriage — A Mirror
In a town built on optics, their relationship reminds people that not everything needs to fit the frame.
He saw in her what others dismissed: grit. And she saw in him what others overlooked: substance.
They don’t post often. They don’t perform affection. But when Karoline stepped behind the podium that first day, every glance toward him said what no caption could:
“I didn’t get here alone. And I won’t walk it alone.”
Because sometimes the most unconventional pairings aren’t about age, wealth, or power.
They’re about choosing someone who already knows what it means to lose everything — and fight like hell to rebuild it.
And that, more than any title or timeslot, is what makes people stop, stare… and rethink what they thought they knew about Karoline Leavitt.
