White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says the biggest challenge of dating a man more than 30 years her senior happened long before their relationship became public.
The 28-year-old recalled the moment she had to tell her parents that her future husband was closer in age to them than to her.
“It’s definitely a challenging conversation to have at first,” she said on Miranda Devine’s Pod Force One.
A Partner Older Than Her Parent
Leavitt’s husband, New Hampshire real estate investor Nicholas Riccio, was born in 1965 – making him roughly five years older than her mother and five years younger than her father. Riccio, now 60, runs Riccio Enterprises, a company overseeing multiple beachfront properties along Hampton Beach.
The couple began dating in 2022, when Leavitt was 25 and running for Congress, PEOPLE details. She admitted the age gap initially jolted her family, though the discomfort didn’t last.
Credit: Karoline Leavitt / Instagram.
“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,” she said.
A Relationship Formed During Leavitt’s Political Rise
The relationship evolved as Leavitt’s own career accelerated. Appointed by President Donald Trump, she made history as the youngest White House press secretary. She says the pressures of the role strengthened their bond rather than strained it.
The pair married in January 2025, just two days before Trump’s second inauguration. Their son, Niko, was born in July 2024.
“It’s a typical family relationship, and my husband has such respect for my parents in the way that they raised me,” she said. “We all have a lot of fun together when they come to visit.”
An “Atypical Love Story”
Leavitt has spoken openly about the relationship before. She described it as “a very atypical love story” during an interview on The Megyn Kelly Show, adding that Riccio had been “incredible” from the start.
She first met him at an event hosted by a mutual friend at a New Hampshire restaurant Riccio owns. “I was speaking. We met and we were acquainted as friends. And then we fell in love,” she said. Leavitt ultimately lost her 2022 congressional race to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas.
Credit: Karoline Leavitt / Instagram.
When she was asked about the "unusual" age gap, Leavitt acknowledged it, before the host asked her: "Could you not find boys your own age?"
Leavitt then responded: "Honestly no, but he's amazing," going on to praise his real estate successes.
Riccio’s Path From Hardship to Real Estate Success
Riccio grew up in Hudson, New Hampshire, one of four siblings. After high school, he attended Plymouth State University and faced stretches of financial struggle, he told the Sunday Herald in 2005.
A real estate course after college set him on the career track that later defined his life. Today he owns more than 15 buildings in the Hampton Beach area, many of them rented out to families during the vacation season.