Leavitt's team frames this as a celebration of motherhood and career ambition coexisting beautifully. The narrative: she's a devoted mom who's also killing it in one of the most high-pressure jobs in Washington, and her supportive husband makes it all possible.
But let's be real — this woman had her first baby in July 2024 and was back working Trump's campaign within DAYS. Now she's having baby number two less than two years later while holding down the most visible communications job in America. People are side-eyeing whether this is #girlboss goals or something else entirely.
Leavitt announced her pregnancy on Instagram in December 2025, revealing she's expecting a baby girl in May 2026. She gave birth to son Niko in July 2024 and was working on Trump's campaign shortly after, per the article. Her husband Nicholas Riccio is 60 years old — making their age gap a full 32 years.
Love is love, I guess — but you can't tell me people wouldn't be raising eyebrows if the genders were reversed here. A 28-year-old with a 60-year-old spouse pushing baby number two while running White House communications? That's not just an 'atypical love story.' That's a whole conversation.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt gave what she called her final "gaggle" for reporters on Friday, April 24, signaling the start of her maternity leave as she prepares to welcome her second child — a baby girl due sometime in May 2026. The 28-year-old, who made history as the youngest press secretary in U.S. history, didn't exactly go out quietly. "This will likely be my last gaggle for some time," Leavitt told assembled media outlets including USA TODAY, AFP and UPI. "As you can see, I'm about ready to have a baby any minute, so I will see you guys very soon." She added with a laugh that reporters would be in "good hands" with her team while she's gone — and reminded them they already have the president's personal phone number, so news wouldn't exactly dry up.
But here's where things get interesting for those of us keeping score at home: Leavitt's husband, Nicholas Riccio, is 60 years old. That's a 32-year age gap between the woman about to brief the nation on presidential policy and the man waiting at home for their daughter to arrive. The couple met back when Leavitt was running for Congress in New Hampshire — she ultimately lost that race to Democrat Chris Pappas — and hit it off at a mutual friend's event at a restaurant Riccio owns up in the Granite State. "We were acquainted as friends. And then we fell in love," Leavitt explained during a March 2025 interview with former Fox News host Megyn Kelly, where she called her husband her "best friend," her "rock," and acknowledged their romance is "very atypical." Riccio, for his part, is described in the source as a real estate developer who's built a successful business of his own. "I walked into your life and it's been a circus ever since," Leavitt said she tells him. "But God bless him because he's fully on board."
The timeline here is what really gets people talking, though. The press secretary welcomed son Nicholas "Niko" Robert Riccio in July 2024 — and according to multiple reports, she was back working on Trump's 2024 reelection campaign within days of giving birth. Now, less than two years later, she's heading into maternity leave for baby number two while simultaneously holding down one of the most demanding jobs in Washington. Leavitt announced her pregnancy in December 2025 with an Instagram post calling their expected daughter "the greatest Christmas gift we could ever ask for" and describing motherhood as "the closest thing to Heaven on Earth." The White House has yet to announce who will handle press secretary duties during her absence — which, given the chaos of covering a second Trump administration, is its own kind of headline.
Look, I'm not here to yuck anyone's yum. If Leavitt and Riccio are happy, that's genuinely fine. But you can't tell me with a straight face that this situation wouldn't generate endless hot takes if the ages were flipped — or if we were talking about anyone other than a Trump ally who gets favorable coverage from certain corners of the media. A 28-year-old power player married to a 60-year-old, zipping through babies while running White House communications is objectively wild behavior, and I refuse to pretend otherwise. The official line is that she's crushing it as both a mom and a press secretary. The unofficial line? Girl is speedrunning life, and we're all just watching.
