'Where's the old man?': Karoline Leavitt’s baby shower photos spark frenzy over missing husband and broken marriage

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt recently celebrated her second baby shower with fellow MAGA leading ladies including former DOGE advisor Katie Miller and US Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Miller, wife of US Homeland Security Advisor and an expecting mum herself, took to X on March 23, to share photos with the mother-to-be and Bondi. "Celebrating the great @karolineleavitt and her baby girl," she wrote in the caption. Many in the comments were quick to congratulate the 28-year-old expecting mother, writing: "So wonderful to have a supportive and friendly team. We The People are so excited for the birth of this beautiful baby girl."Others soon noticed the absence of her businessman husband from the celebration, taking to mocking their age gap and questioning the status of their relationship. "Where’s Grandpa? I mean her husband." wrote one user on X. "Wow! Wonder where the “old man” literally was, and not Trump, but her rich hubby at least twice her age," added another."It's interesting that this is happening while the father is nearing retirement.

The mother will see her girl head off to college but the father may not given his age. That's what happens when you marry someone more than twice your age, I guess. Weird," one user added.

Leavitt and her husband Nicholas Riccio, who tied the knot secretly last year, share an age gap of 32 years. It was in December 2025, that the couple announced that they would be welcoming a daughter in May 2026. They already share a son, Nicholas "Niko" Robert Riccio, whom they welcomed in 2024. While Leavitt and Riccio share an age gap much like most MAGA couples in the spotlight, the Press Secretary has been exposed to heavy flak online by those disappointed in her stance and briefings on the Trump administration's policies. Back in 2024, critics similarly inquired about Riccio's presence at their son's baby shower, asking where he was when Leavitt revealed the news of their first child. The criticism was enough to push Leavitt to respond "He's right by our side!" When fans still weren't convinced, she explained that Riccio "hates" social media and she respects that. "He doesn't have social media and he's an introvert (complete opposite of me). 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," she added. While the world might be going gaga over her age-gap marriage, Leavitt, who became the youngest White House Press Secretary at 27, seems to be in a blissful marriage and family. In a March 2025 appearance on The Megyn Kelly Show, she addressed her "atypical" relationship.

“He is my greatest supporter, he's my best friend and he's my rock,” she said of the wealthy real estate developer. “He's built a very successful business himself so now he's fully supportive of me building my success in my career.”The duo met in 2022 when Leavitt was running for Congress in New Hampshire and a mutual friend of theirs hosted an event at a restaurant he owns, inviting Riccio there as well. “I was speaking. We met and we were acquainted as friends. And then we fell in love,” she revealed.