Kamala Harris

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff acknowledges affair contributed to breakup of first marriage

He issued the statement after the Daily Mail reported on the matter.

Hmong Wausau Festival in Wausau, Wisconsin.
Photo by Dominic Gwinn / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff acknowledged Saturday that he had an extramarital affair years ago that contributed to the breakup of his first marriage.

โ€œDuring my first marriage, Kerstin and I went through some tough times on account of my actions," Emhoff said in a statement, first reported by CNN. "I took responsibility, and in the years since, we worked through things as a family and have come out stronger on the other side.โ€

He issued the statement after the Daily Mail reported on the matter.

The affair was known to the team that vetted Vice President Kamala Harris before President Joe Biden picked her to be his running mate in 2020, according to a person familiar with the events who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive situation. Harris knew about the affair before she married Emhoff, the person said.

Emhoff and Harris met on a blind date in 2013 and married the following year. It was her first marriage and his second. Harrisโ€™ stepchildren, Ella and Cole Emhoff, were teenagers when their father remarried.

Kerstin Emhoff has spoken positively of Harris as a โ€œco-parentโ€ of her daughters and as โ€œloving, nurturing, fiercely protecting and always present.โ€ She issued a statement supporting her ex-husband after he acknowledged the affair.

โ€œDoug and I decided to end our marriage for a variety of reasons, many years ago,โ€ she said. โ€œHe is a great father to our kids, continues to be a great friend to me and I am really proud of the warm and supportive blended family Doug, Kamala, and I have built together.โ€

Here are five things to know about Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Associated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed to this report.

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