Second gentleman Doug Emhoff appeared on a fundraising livestream with his parents on Sunday, after it was revealed he had an affair with his children’s nanny during his first marriage.
Emhoff appeared with his parents Michael and Barbara at the Seniors for Harris fundraising livestream event to discuss his wife Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
The second gentleman surprised those in attendance at the live broadcast by blowing kisses to his parents and thanking them for the “lifetime” of love and support they gave him.
“I wouldn’t be who I am today if it wasn’t for you two and your example and how you love us unconditionally, no matter what, and you always have our backs,” Emhoff said. “And that extends to the three of us, to your children and all of our children, to our spouses, in my case my ex-spouse, and to Kamala’s entire family, and it’s a joy to see them.”
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff attends a campaign event with his parents Michael and Barbara
Emhoff recalled that he was in Los Angeles when news broke that President Joe Biden would end his presidential campaign and endorse Harris.
He said he was with his parents and ex-wife Kerstin when he experienced the whirlwind of activity that followed.
“I was with my parents and Cole and Greenley… we got to experience what the whole country was watching at the same time and it was pretty surreal, because I was there and we were actually with Kerstin and I was actually making calls and watching and trying to catch up and stay connected with what was happening in DC,” she said.
Doug’s father, Michael Emhoff, praised Kamala Harris’ campaign rhetoric during the call with his son and older supporters.
Doug Emhoff’s parents, Michael and Barbara, participate in a live-streamed campaign event for Harris
“The one we liked the most was: ‘We don’t go behind,'” she said as her son laughed.
“No, we are not!” agreed her mother, Barbara.
Emhoff, often described as “the happiest person in Washington, D.C.,” has earned much goodwill among Democrats for his candid, if sometimes corny, participation in the political circus.
Since Democrats nominated Kamala Harris as their presidential candidate to replace Joe Biden, Emhoff has become more visible.
Emhoff spoke out about his family after the Daily Mail reported Saturday morning that he had an affair with his children’s nanny and got her pregnant during his first marriage to Kerstin Emhoff.
Emhoff, 59, and his ex-wife, film producer Kerstin, 57, ended their 16-year marriage in 2009 when she discovered the affair, according to sources.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff arrive at the White House for a state dinner on April 10, 2024.
Doug Emhoff’s ex-wife Kerstin Emhoff and their daughter Ella
The second gentleman responded to news of the affair in a public statement first published on CNN.
“During my first marriage, Kerstin and I went through difficult times because of my actions,” Emhoff said in a statement to CNN about his first wife, Kerstin Emhoff. “I took responsibility and in the years since, we have gotten through things as a family and have come out stronger.”
Emhoff met Harris in 2013 when she was California’s attorney general and the couple married in 2014.