Who is Karoline Leavitt's 60-year-old husband? Netizens ask amid 'airbrush' allegations

Donald Trump's Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, has been accused of airbrushing her 60-year-old husband in an Instagram photo taken on Halloween. Leavitt is 28, 32 years younger than Nicholas Riccio. She posted a picture of her husband and their one-year-old son at the White House Halloween celebration. People noticed that Riccio looked younger, leading to speculation that she had de-aged him in the pictures. They noticed that while his face looked smooth, his hands had wrinkles. “Karoline, Awesome picture but my friends noticed something: The guy on the left seems to have only his face photoshopped. His hands look like 60+ years old. What happened?” a user wrote. Another added, "Man that smoothing filter on her old man’s forehead working overtime."

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How did Leavitt meet Riccio, who is much older than her, and when did the sparks fly? Leavitt and her husband first met in 2022, got engaged in 2023 and tied the knot in 2024, days before Trump's second inauguration. The huge age gap quickly led to criticism. On The Megyn Kelly Show, Leavitt said, "I mean, it's a very atypical love story, but he's incredible." Who is Karoline Leavitt's husband? Riccio is from New Hampshire and grew up in Hudson with three siblings. He attended Plymouth State University after high school, and told the Sunday Herald in 2005 that he faced financial insecurity during this time. He runs a real estate company called Riccio Enterprises and owns over 15 buildings in Hampton Beach, NH, all of which he rents out to families.

Karoline Leavitt met her husband through a mutual friend

Leavitt and Riccio met when she was running for a congressional seat in New Hampshire in 2022. She won the Republican nomination but lost the election to Democrat Chris Pappas. It was at an event hosted by a mutual event that the meeting happened. “A mutual friend of ours hosted an event at a restaurant that he owns up in New Hampshire and invited my husband," she said on the show. They were introduced to each other and became friends.

They started dating and welcomed their son on July 10, 2024. Three days later, Trump was shot during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Leavitt cut her maternity leave short and returned to work. Leavitt said that he is very supportive of her career. “He's built a very successful business himself, so now he's fully supportive of me building my success in my career," she said. The wedding did not take place until January 2025, days before Trump was inaugurated as the new president of the United States.