Kamala Harris Addresses Doug Emhoff’s Affair During His First Marriage

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Kamala Harris voted to keep her loved ones’ personal business out of the spotlight.

In July 2024, a post on X (formerly Twitter) by a far-right activist claimed that Doug Emhoff, the husband of the former Vice President, had an affair during his first marriage to Kerstin Emhoff. This brought the accusation to the family’s attention, and they couldn’t ignore it.

In her memoir, 107 Days, Kamala Harris confirmed she was aware of the affair. According to InStyle, she said Doug Emhoff had told her about it while they were dating, and they both shared the information when she was being vetted as a potential Vice President.

The former senator pointed out that only Doug, who is married to Kerstin and shares two children with her-31-year-old Cole Emhoff and 26-year-old Ella Emhoff-had willingly made himself a public figure and therefore open to criticism through their marriage.

The sixty-year-old explained that his ex-wife, Kerstin, and their children hadn’t caused any trouble, and neither had the teacher – who was quickly swarmed by reporters at her house. He was upset that the children were being forced to relive a painful time, that their friends would start discussing it again, that Kerstin’s privacy was being violated, and that everyone was being pulled back into a difficult period.

I was in the middle of my presidential campaign at the time,” Harris explained, recalling her marriage to Doug in 2014. “I told him he’d have to cope with the public attention because I couldn’t take my focus off the election. He responded with grace and integrity, releasing a statement that took responsibility and apologized for any impact it had.

Kerstin also shared that she and Doug divorced in 2009 after 17 years of marriage, explaining it was due to a number of issues that had developed over time.

He’s a wonderful father to our children and remains a close friend to me,” she said. “I’m incredibly proud of the loving and supportive blended family Doug, Kamala, and I have created together.

Kamala Harris, referencing the extended duration of her 2024 presidential campaign following Joe Biden’s withdrawal in July, criticized a social media post revealing an affair as a manipulative tactic. She described it as an attempt to provoke a damaging response from the target, either by eliciting an inappropriate statement or causing personal distress.

Like any decent person running for office, I don’t want my family to be harmed. Ideally, we’d keep families out of political attacks, but unfortunately, that’s not the reality anymore.

Even with increased public attention after the news became public, Harris, Doug, and Kerstin had successfully come together as a blended family. The film producer was one of many supporters of Harris’s run for president in 2024.

Ella described them to *The New York Times* in 2021 as a true team, calling them a “three-person parenting squad” and saying it was “really cool.”

She’s really impressed with Doug and Harris’s relationship. She described it as constantly feeling like they’re newly in love, saying, “It’s like they’re always in the honeymoon phase.”

For a closer look at Harris and Doug’s family, keep reading.

Shyamala Gopalan was born in southern India in 1938, and Donald Harris was born in Jamaica the same year. They met in 1962 while pursuing their doctorates at the University of California, Berkeley, and through their involvement with the Afro American Association. They married in 1963 and had two daughters: Kamala Harris in 1964 and Maya Harris in 1967.

Kamala Harris has described her parents falling in love while working together for civil rights in the 1960s. However, they later divorced.

In her book, *The Truths We Hold*, Harris explained that while her parents loved each other, they grew incompatible, and their relationship deteriorated by the time she was five. She noted that her father remained involved in their lives after the divorce, but her mother primarily raised her and Maya.

Donald Harris is now an emeritus professor of economics at Stanford University, after previously teaching at the University of Wisconsin. Shyamala Gopalan, who passed away in 2009 at age 70, was a breast cancer researcher whose work significantly advanced the understanding of hormone-responsive breast tissue, according to Breast Cancer Action.

Doug Emhoff was born in Brooklyn in 1964 and grew up in Matawan, New Jersey, before moving to Los Angeles as a teenager. He earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from California State University, Northridge in 1987, and a law degree from the University of Southern California in 1990.

Emhoff met Kamala Harris in 2013 on a blind date arranged by a friend. He took a chance and texted her during a Lakers game, after being encouraged by his friend. He remembers crafting a playful message: “Hey, it’s Doug. Awkward. I’m texting you.” Harris responded with enthusiastic support for the Lakers, despite being a Warriors fan.

Despite fearing he’d scared her off with a “ridiculous” voicemail, Harris admitted she found the message endearing-though she did quickly Google him before their date.

The couple married in a Santa Barbara courthouse in 2014, three years before Harris was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Emhoff is notable as the first Second Gentleman of the United States and the first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president. He also previously taught law at Georgetown University and is a father to Cole and Ella Emhoff, with whom he shares parenting responsibilities with his ex-wife, Kerstin Emhoff.

Cole Emhoff, born in 1994, fondly remembers the first time he met Kamala Harris. He told *Glamour* magazine in 2020 that they had a wonderful dinner, and he immediately knew Harris was someone special for his father, Doug. He felt it was love at first sight for the whole family. Cole graduated from Colorado College in 2017 and has since worked at Plan B, the production company founded by Brad Pitt. He married Greenley Littlejohn in 2023, with Harris performing the ceremony.

Ella Emhoff, born in 1999 and named after Ella Fitzgerald, shares similar memories of first meeting Kamala Harris. She told *Glamour* that it felt like they had known each other for years, and it was important to get to know Harris as a person, not just a politician.

Years later, Ella introduced Harris at the 2020 Democratic National Convention when Harris accepted the vice-presidential nomination.

Ella, who previously dated *GQ* editor Samuel Hine, graduated from Parsons School of Design in New York City in 2021 with a degree in Fine and Studio Arts. She has experience in design through internships at A.L.C. and work with The Haas Brothers.

Beyond her work as a multidisciplinary artist and founder of her company, Soft Hands, Ella is also a model signed with IMG Models and has walked in fashion weeks in both Paris and New York.

Kamala Harris shares a particularly close relationship with her younger sister, Maya Harris. Kamala has described their bond as unbreakable, saying they’ve always supported each other through life’s joys and challenges.

Maya played a key role in Kamala’s political career, serving as campaign chair for her 2020 presidential bid and later supporting her successful run for Vice President with Joe Biden. Before that, she advised Hillary Clinton during her 2016 presidential campaign.

Maya, born in 1967, is a highly accomplished professional in her own right. She graduated from UC Berkeley and Stanford Law School, and has held leadership positions at organizations like the Ford Foundation and the ACLU of Northern California. She’s also been a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School, and contributed to the book *The Covenant with Black America*.

Maya is married to Tony West, Uber’s Chief Legal Officer and former Associate Attorney General, and they have a daughter, Meena Harris.

Meena Harris, born in 1984, is the niece of Kamala Harris. She received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and later attended Harvard Law School. Throughout her career, she’s worked as an attorney and held roles at major tech companies like Facebook, Slack, and Uber.

Meena is the founder of Phenomenal, a company focused on consumer products and media. Phenomenal has produced Broadway musicals such as *Suffs*, *& Juliet*, and *A Strange Loop*, and also acquired the satirical magazine *Reductress*. She’s also a successful children’s book author, known for titles like *Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea*, *Ambitious Girl*, and *The Truth About Mrs. Claus*.

Meena is a mother to two daughters, Amara and Leela, who she shares with Nik Ajagu.

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2025-09-23 19:47