Karoline Leavitt Has A Bigger Age-Gap In Her Marriage Than Donald & Melania Trump

Karoline Leavitt's age is frequently mentioned since she holds the record for being the youngest White House press secretary at just 27 years old. She is living a busy life, balancing her demanding political role with being the mother of a young child. On July 10, 2024, Leavitt and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, became parents when their son, Nicholas Robert, was born. Age is also a standout statistic in their romance since Riccio is 32 years older than Leavitt.

When compared with her boss, Donald Trump, Leavitt's marriage age gap looks even larger. While still significant, Donald is about 24 years older than Melania Trump. However, Donald's oldest child, Donald Trump Jr., is seven years younger than his stepmom, making the age gap between Donald and Melania look even bigger.

While a difference of over three decades is noteworthy on its own, comparisons like these also magnify the age gap between Riccio and Leavitt. As one poster observed on X (formerly Twitter), Riccio "was 50 when she graduated high school and will be 77 when their son graduates from high school." A commenter went a step further, noting, "Leavitt is closer in age to her newborn than her husband." Riccio was well into adulthood when Leavitt was born, and after seeing photos of them together, people make the awkward mistake of thinking Leavitt's husband is her dad. Things became further confused when Leavitt slipped up on Megyn Kelly's podcast in February 2025, calling Riccio "the best dad I could ever ask for" (although she meant as a parent to their son). 

Back in the late '90s, Melania Trump was questioned about the age gap in her romance with Donald Trump. Some people believed Melania was enticed by Donald's wealth, and she refuted that claim. "You can't sleep or to hug or to talk with beautiful things . . . you could feel very empty," Melania informed ABC News. "If somebody said, you know, you are with the man because he's rich and famous, they don't know me."

Karoline Leavitt also married a wealthy man. Nicolas Riccio is a millionaire and owns a successful real estate firm. Leavitt and Riccio first met while she was running for Congress in New Hampshire. During her interview with Megyn Kelly, Leavitt admitted that she had reservations about moving from friendship to romance. "It's [a] very atypical love story," Leavitt explained. "He is my greatest supporter, he's my best friend, he's my rock." She noted that their age gap helps them balance their personal and professional lives. When their son was born, Leavitt was the spokesperson for Donald's campaign, and her responsibilities have grown as press secretary. Fortunately, Riccio has more flexibility with his career right now, and he's able to care for their son while Leavitt's traveling for work.

Melania, on the other hand, experienced a very different parenting dynamic with Donald, who didn't envision himself as a hands-on parent. Instead, Melania's career took a backseat after Barron Trump was born. Melania devoted so much time and energy to parenting Barron that she didn't want to have more kids.