06-02-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Who is Nicholas Riccio, husband of Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt?
Meet Nicholas Riccio, the 32-years-older husband of Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. Photo: @karolineleavitt/Instagram Fame and celebrity Just days after his re-election in November, US President Donald Trump appointed 27-year-old Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary, making her the youngest person ever to hold the position. It may seem like an unlikely appointment, but Leavitt has history with the Trump administration.
She was an intern in the White House press office during Trump's first term; after graduating in 2019 she began working as a presidential speech-writer and later as an assistant press secretary. 'Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator,' Trump told the BBC.
She's already proving him right, with some netizens calling her first press briefing a 'masterclass'. In the 'explosive briefing', Leavitt took aim at illegal immigrants and held her own against seasoned reporters, notably NBC's Peter Alexander.
While the appointment, Leavitt's age and her first press briefing have been much discussed in the media, what's shocking people even more is the 32-year age gap to her husband, Nicholas Riccio.
Last week, Leavitt's personal life came into the spotlight after Ryan Shead, who co-hosts the Hold the Mic podcast, took to X to comment on her marriage. Sharing photos of the couple, Shead pointed out the age difference and wrote, 'I'm sure his money had nothing to do with it,' adding, 'At least we know how she got the job now.' So just who is the press secretary's 59-year-old husband, who funded her failed 2022 bid to become a US representative ? His wife says he's introverted and 'just hates social media', but is her 'number one fan, the best dad, and just the best man I've ever met'. What else do we know about him? Nicholas Riccio is a real estate entrepreneur Karoline Leavitt and Nicholas Riccio welcomed a son in July 2024. Photo: @karolineleavitt/Instagram Nicholas Riccio graduated from Plymouth State University, New Hampshire, but then took a real estate class in 1990 that changed the course of his life. He began his property career in the early 2000s, flipping houses in the state's Hampton Beach area while his future wife was a toddler.
