Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff could become a history-making president and first gentleman. Here's a timeline of their relationship.
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- Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff met on a blind date and married on August 22, 2014.
- Emhoff said meeting Harris was "love at first sight," and she's called Emhoff "the love of my life."
- They marked their 10th anniversary at the DNC, where Harris accepted the presidential nomination.
Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff could become the next president and first gentleman of the United States.
When President Joe Biden announced his exit from the 2024 race, he also endorsed Harris to replace him as the Democratic nominee. Harris officially accepted the nomination at the Democratic National Convention on August 22, 2024, which also happened to be her and Emhoff's 10th wedding anniversary.
Here's a look at Harris and Emhoff's love story.
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Doug Emhoff, an entertainment lawyer, had been married before to film producer Kerstin Emhoff. The couple shares two children, Cole and Ella, and divorced after 16 years of marriage.
After reports emerged in 2024 that their marriage ended due to an extramarital affair, Emhoff released a statement acknowledging that he and Kerstin Emhoff "went through some tough times on account of my actions."
"I took responsibility, and in the years since, we worked through things as a family and have come out stronger on the other side," he said.
Five years after his divorce, Emhoff and Harris were set up on a blind date by Harris' friend Chrisette Hudlin, who met Emhoff through work. At the time, Harris was serving as California's attorney general.
"The morning after our first date, @DouglasEmhoff emailed me a list of his available dates for the next couple of months," Harris wrote on Instagram on Emhoff's birthday in 2020. "He said, 'I want to see if we can make this work.' We've been making it work ever since."
Emhoff described meeting Harris as "love at first sight" in a 2020 Instagram post for her birthday.
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According to a profile of Emhoff by Marie Claire, he proposed during a "decidedly unromantic conversation (she was deliberating between chicken or shrimp pad thai)" less than a year after they met.
Harris and Emhoff held their wedding at a courthouse in Santa Barbara, California. Harris wrote in a 2019 Elle Mother's Day essay that she and Emhoff's children didn't like the term "stepmom," so they began calling her "Momala."
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Others in attendance at the star-studded event included Beyoncé and Jay Z, Anna Wintour, Serena Williams, Oprah Winfrey, and Reese Witherspoon, Vanity Fair reported.
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Emhoff came with her to vote at the Kenter Canyon Elementary Charter School Auditorium in Brentwood, California, in 2016.
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Then-Vice President Joe Biden administered Harris' oath of office. Harris later became Biden's vice presidential pick in his 2020 campaign.
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Harris launched her presidential campaign on the steps of Oakland City Hall, where 20,000 people attended the event, SF Weekly reported.
"I'm not overly political," Emhoff later told Marie Claire of his involvement in her campaign. "I'm overly her husband."
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Harris wrote about bringing Emhoff to a professional gathering with her for the first time while they were dating, prompting "whispers and pointing among my team."
"They would later refer to that era as AD — 'After Doug,'" she wrote of her colleagues. "They loved how much he made me laugh. I did, too."
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Harris greeted supporters outside the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
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He showed off his Kamala phone case.
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"I've got you @kamalaharris. As always," Emhoff captioned a black-and-white Instagram photo of him embracing her, complete with a heart emoji.
He later told Marie Claire, "She made that decision, and I would have supported whatever she decided. But I'm not her political advisor. I'm her husband. And so my role was to be there for her, to love her, to have her back, to talk it through, to help her."
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The two couples observed social distancing in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic by standing 6 feet apart and air-hugging.
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The convention was held virtually due to the pandemic.
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Harris and Emhoff attended a memorial ceremony at the Fairfax County Public Safety Headquarters in Virginia on September 11, 2020.
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Arguably, the most memorable part of the debate was when a gigantic fly landed on Mike Pence's head.
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Harris mentioned her husband and family in her victory speech introducing Biden.
"To my husband Doug, our children Cole and Ella, my sister Maya, and our whole family — I love you all more than I can express," she said.
Harris also shared a photo of herself with Emhoff on Instagram that night, captioned, "Meet the love of my life, Doug Emhoff."
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A spokesperson told AP News that Emhoff was leaving his position at DLA Piper to devote himself to the role of second gentleman.
"There is a lot of symbolism from a man stepping back from his high-powered career in order to support his wife's career," Kim Nalder, a political science professor at California State University-Sacramento, told the AP.
The move was likely also for ethical reasons — Emhoff is not a lobbyist, but his law firm does lobby the federal government on behalf of clients.
"Stepping back from my career as an entertainment lawyer was a decision that we made together — this was about something bigger than either of us," Emhoff wrote for GQ in 2021.
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Harris and Emhoff went shopping at a local holiday market in Washington, DC, for Small Business Saturday.
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His bio described him as "Proud husband to Vice President-elect Harris."
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"I've never been asked that!" Harris said after CBS' Jane Pauley asked if she'd Googled Emhoff before their first date. "I did!"
Emhoff's mouth dropped open in surprise as Harris burst out laughing, affectionately touching his arm and calling him "Dougie."
The hilarious moment went viral, racking up nearly 1.5 million views on YouTube in two days.
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One of the Bibles belonged to Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court justice. The other belonged to Regina Nelson, a family friend of Harris.
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Harris and Emhoff visited Las Vegas and Denver, stopping at their home in Brentwood, California, in between.
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Number One Observatory Circle has served as the official vice presidential residence since 1977. The home is located on the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, where scientists collect astronomical data for accurate navigation.
Harris and Emhoff had been living in Blair House across from the White House while the historic home underwent repairs.
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Emhoff, the first Jewish spouse of a US vice president, spoke at the national menorah lighting ceremony on the White House lawn.
"Let us remember always, that Jewish history is American history," he said.
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"Life is always brighter by your side. Happy Valentine's Day, @VP," Emhoff wrote on X, accompanied by a heart emoji.
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In July 2022, Emhoff spoke to participants in a summer camp run by Tools & Tiaras, a nonprofit in Queens, New York, that encourages women and girls to pursue careers in construction, about supporting Harris in her role.
"I think just by stepping away from my career that I love and I was actually very good at so I could support my wife, who was the first woman to become vice president, it was a no-brainer," Emhoff said. "With this big platform that I have and all the microphones and media and working in this great administration with all of these resources, I really decided to lean in on this issue of men supporting women, professionally and personally, so they can succeed, even if that means stepping away from my own career."
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"Happy birthday to my amazing wife and the love of my life," Emhoff wrote on X. "I will always be right by your side. Love you, Kamala."
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After a disastrous debate performance in June that left Democrats panicked about his age and ability to serve a second term, Biden dropped out of the 2024 race and endorsed Harris.
If elected, Harris would be the first female president of the United States, and Emhoff would be the first first gentleman.
Emhoff accompanied Harris on her first visit to her new campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware. He posed with a "Harris for President" sign for an Instagram photo captioned, "Time to make history, @KamalaHarris."
"I am honored to have the president's endorsement, and my intention is to earn and win this nomination," Harris said in a statement.
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In a 2021 interview with then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Vance named Harris as one of the "childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made, and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too." Vance's spokesperson told Business Insider that his remarks had been mischaracterized.
Kerstin Emhoff called the criticisms of Harris "baseless attacks."
"For over 10 years, since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala has been a co-parent with Doug and I," she said in a statement to CNN. "She is loving, nurturing, fiercely protective, and always present. I love our blended family and am grateful to have her in it."
Doug Emhoff also called Vance's statement "abhorrent."
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In his speech on the third night of the convention, Emhoff recounted how he met and fell in love with Harris, including the "rambling" first voicemail he left after he got her number.
"I remember I was trying to grab the words out of the air and just put them back in my mouth," he said. "And for what seemed like far too many minutes, I hung up. By the way, Kamala saved that voicemail and she makes me listen to it on every anniversary."
He also called Harris a "joyful warrior" who can "smell weakness."
"Her passion will benefit all of us when she's our president," he said. "And here's the thing about joyful warriors. There are still warriors, and Kamala is as tough as it comes. Just ask the criminals, the global gangsters, and the witnesses before the Senate Judiciary Committee."
In her speech accepting the nomination the following night, Harris began by wishing Emhoff a happy anniversary.
"Let me start by thanking my most incredible husband Doug for being an incredible partner to me, an incredible father to Cole and Ella, and happy anniversary, Dougie," she said. "I love you so very much."
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