It’s no secret that Doug Emhoff has undergone a dramatic transformation. The longtime attorney made history when he became the United States’ first-ever second gentleman. Still, Emhoff has always been adamant that he doesn’t want to be the last, either. “I want to be in a world where this is not unique,” Emhoff told CNN journalist Dana Bash in October 2022. “It should not even be a big deal that I’m a man, going forward.”
No doubt, Emhoff and his wife, Kamala Harris, live incredibly lavish lives, but it hasn’t all been sunshine and rainbows. There have even been a few messy rumors circling about Emhoff during his wife’s time in the spotlight, paving the way for some pretty tragic life circumstances. Let’s discuss, shall we?
Doug Emhoff’s first marriage ended in divorce due to his own actions
From the outside looking in, Doug Emhoff seems like the perfect husband. In June 2019, he even went so far as to wrangle an animal rights protester who rushed the stage while his then-senator wife, Kamala Harris, spoke at the MoveOn Big Ideas Forum in San Francisco. A close call, indeed. “Thx for all the kind notes. We are good. I love @KamalaHarris and would do anything for her,” Emhoff later tweeted about the fiasco and his act of chivalry.
Alas, he’s not always been husband goals. Case in point: his first marriage to Kerstin Emhoff, with whom he shares two adult children. In August 2024, the Daily Mail published an exclusive report alleging that Kerstin filed for divorce in 2009 after she learned that Doug had cheated on her with a teacher from their children’s private elementary school who also moonlighted as their nanny. But that’s not all. The British tabloid claimed that the affair resulted in a pregnancy. While Emhoff never directly discussed the tabloid’s claims, he did release a statement merely hours after the story broke wherein he acknowledged that the divorce was his fault. “During my first marriage, Kerstin and I went through some tough times on account of my actions,” Mr. Emhoff explained, per the New York Times. “I took responsibility, and in the years since, we worked through things as a family and have come out stronger on the other side.”
It was rumored that Doug Emhoff slapped a former girlfriend
Unfortunately, the cheating allegations were just the tip of the iceberg for Doug Emhoff. In October 2024, at the height of Kamala Harris’ presidential run, three anonymous sources claimed during an interview with the Daily Mail that their friend had been physically assaulted by Emhoff while dating him in 2018. Weeks later, the woman in question agreed to speak with the newspaper tabloid under the condition of anonymity. According to the woman, Emhoff became violent with her during a fit of jealous rage after a long night at a glamorous gala benefiting AIDS research in the South of France. “He slaps me so hard I spin around, and I’m in utter shock,” the woman recounted to the Daily Mail. “There had been no fight, no argument. It had been a completely fantastic event. I am so furious. The only thing I could think to do was slap him back. I slapped him on one side, and on the other cheek with the other hand.”
Emhoff, however, vehemently denied the allegations. “This report is untrue,” a spokesperson for Emhoff said in a statement to Semafor . “Any suggestion that he would or has ever hit a woman is false.”
Doug Emhoff gave up his beloved career to be second gentleman
Long before Doug Emhoff wed Kamala Harris and became the second gentleman, he had a successful career all his own as a litigator. Over the years, he represented a gamut of clients, including Big Pharma behemoth Merck, a high-profile guns and ammo dealer, and even the advertising agency responsible for Taco Bell’s mascot, a feisty Chihuahua named Gidget. (Yo quiero Taco Bell, anyone?) In March 2019, while Harris had her eyes set squarely on the presidency, Emhoff told The Hollywood Reporter that he was thankful for his job. “With all this other stuff that’s happening in my life right now, it’s great to have [my practice] because it’s something that I love and I’m good at,” he said.
Alas, once Harris was named Joe Biden’s running mate in the 2020 election, Emhoff’s own professional aspirations became much more complicated. Although Emhoff took a leave of absence from the firm DLA Piper, of which he was a partner, he was swiftly met with many calls to make his exit permanent. “He should leave the firm entirely,” Richard W. Painter, who served as the chief White House ethics counsel under President George W. Bush, told the New York Times. “Leave of absence still imputes the financial interests of the firm to him.” Following Biden and Harris’ 2020 election victory, Emhoff did just that. On November 10, 2020, DLA Piper released a statement confirming that he was leaving the firm once and for all. “We congratulate Senator [Kamala] Harris and our partner Doug Emhoff on this historic accomplishment. We look forward to working with Doug to transition his practice within the firm as he prepares to take on his new role, and we wish him all the best,” the firm said in a statement. No doubt, it was a very bittersweet moment for Emhoff.
