Age means nothing, but whenever White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and her much older husband step out, social media runs wild with theories about her wardrobe and other attempts to distract from her age.
The 28-year-old and her 60-year-old husband, Nicolas Riccio, are currently expecting their second child, following months of speculation about changes in her clothing during briefings and during casual off days tied to Trump-world social life.
A viral image shows Leavitt and Riccio walking into Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, to attend the wedding of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino to Erin Elmore, Director of Art in Embassies at the State Department.
The rich real estate developer arrived in a mint-green suit, white shirt, and tie, debuting a closely cropped haircut and a noticeably slimmer build. While Leavitt wore a long black dress that reached her ankles, black heels, and a pink Chanel bag.
Online, many interpreted the refreshed look as an effort to appear younger, and skepticism followed almost immediately.
“Granpa tries to look younger and she tries to look like 50 yr Karen,” one user posted on X.
“Looks like she wore her grandma’s dress,” another joked. A third said, “Holy s–t, she has aged to match her grandfather.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt with her grandfather at Mar-a-Lago this past weekend pic.twitter.com/KDo2xnbQk8
— TheRealThelmaJohnson (@TheRealThelmaJ1) February 3, 2026
Leavitt’s black dress got compared to everything from a “high school choir dress” to a sheet, and even one person asked, “Why is she wearing her nightie?”
A few people leaned into the jokes about Riccio’s look, stating, “Skinny pants and all, like some aged rocker.” “How sweet she had a suit made for him out of the drapes from a nursing home,” joked a third person.
Most agreed, telling Leavitt, “Your grandpa dresses well for a grandpa,” pointing to his black shoes. Those who took a closer look at Ricco’s noticed, “He has that disgusted look of “why did I do this,” while she is as happy as a pig in shit, thinking what a bright future she will have lying for Trump.”
Another asked, “Why does he look miserable? Oh, wait, never mind.”
— Maureen Madden (@maurmadden) February 3, 2026
Why are we liiiiike this???
— Crazy A** B*tch (@thisbiscrazyaf) February 3, 2026
People says since she has been married, she looks older.
The List didn’t highlight his refreshed look but suggested his face in the viral image showed a man with a scowl and possibly not happy to be there. This is contrasting to the full smile that the millennial is rocking.
What’s going on might be connected to something else. He is apparently shy.
While on the “Pod Force One with Miranda Devine” in 2025, she said of her man, “He’s very introverted, unlike me. He stays behind the scenes, he’s not on social media, he’s very private.”
Just as her hubby is looking younger, his age is still noticeable. To the contrary, several people have noticed Leavitt herself is looking a lot older, not knowing if the 28-year-old’s visible change stemmed from the job, the marriage, or the pace of public life.
Those observations gained traction as older footage from Leavitt’s 2022 congressional run resurfaced. Clips from her New Hampshire campaign circulated alongside recent images, prompting side-by-side comparisons that focused less on her message and more on perceived changes in her appearance.
Karoline Leavitt has aged 40 years in the past 12 months. pic.twitter.com/IPhNi8cMbG
— Bricktop_NAFO (@Bricktop_NAFO) January 22, 2026
The difference after four years is stark.
So many on social media assert that because she is married to an older man she is aging.
Her end-of-2025 photo dump attempted to offer a softer snapshot of her life: White House holiday scenes, family gatherings, appearances with Riccio, their son Niko, relatives, Santa Claus, and dressed-up guests.
She captioned the post, “A December full of White House Christmas magic, precious time with family, and pure love.”
The message prompted more scrutiny. Also subtly visible was her growing belly. On Dec. 26, Leavitt announced that she and Riccio are expecting a baby girl in May.
The couple welcomed their son in June 2024 and married in January 2025, just days before Donald Trump’s inauguration. Leavitt returned to work shortly after giving birth and has been juggling her job as a mom and PR face of the POTUS in front of the world’s eyes.
In the end, the Mar-a-Lago photo is trending because it sparked two conversations at once. Riccio’s makeover was widely read as an attempt to look younger, while Leavitt’s styling fueled separate chatter about her appearing more matronly than her age.
For now, the couple hasn’t addressed the noise — but online the discussion keeps rolling.
Great Job Nicole Duncan-Smith & the Team @ Atlanta Black Star for sharing this story.
