Second gentleman Doug Emhoff admitted on Saturday that he had an extramarital affair during his first marriage, following a report by the Daily Mail alleging that he impregnated a nanny.
In a statement to CNN, Emhoff confirmed the affair during his marriage to his first wife, Kerstin, though he did not address the identity of the other person involved. The Daily Mail had claimed that Emhoff was involved with a teacher at his daughter’s school, who also worked as a nanny for the family, and that this relationship allegedly led to a pregnancy.
“During my first marriage, Kerstin and I went through some tough times on account of my actions,” Emhoff stated to 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.”
Emhoff’s statement did not confirm whether the affair resulted in a pregnancy.
According to the Daily Mail, Emhoff was involved with a teacher at The Willows, a private school in California where his daughter Ella was a student. The report claimed that Kerstin Emhoff discovered the affair in 2009, leading to the end of their 16-year marriage. Emhoff married Vice President Kamala Harris, then California’s attorney general, in 2014.
CNN reported that President Joe Biden’s vetting team was aware of the affair during the selection process for a running mate in the 2020 election cycle, according to an unnamed source familiar with the matter. Emhoff had disclosed the affair to Harris well before their marriage, the same source indicated.
Emhoff also understood that the affair might eventually become public knowledge, according to CNN, citing another unnamed source familiar with the situation.