It’s no secret that vice president turned last-minute Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris was left practically scrambling to pick a running mate. So many choices, so little time! But seemingly overnight, Minnesota governor Tim Walz seamlessly set himself apart from the pack after a July 23 appearance on MSNBC. “These guys are just weird,” Walz flatly declared on July 23, referring to both Donald Trump and Trump’s vice presidential pick, JD Vance. (More on all of the strange things about JD Vance we can’t ignore here.) Soon after, all eyes were on the unassuming Minnesotan and his penchant for using such a low-key insult to swiftly knock any adversary off their game. Merely 14 days later, Harris tapped Walz as her running mate.
Since then, Walz has positioned himself as that of a veteran, a public school teacher, a coach, and perhaps most important of all, a family man. Alas, it appears there are a few strange — or dare we say weird – facts about Tim and Gwen Walz’s marriage. Let’s get into it, shall we?
Tim and Gwen Walz’s meet-cute was less than ideal
We would be absolutely remiss not to immediately address the rather strange circumstances around which Tim and Gwen Walz married, aka the flimsy classroom partition that started it all. As deeply committed educators, the couple first met while — you guessed it — educating. The only drawback to their first year of teaching was that they didn’t actually have their own classroom. “Tim and I even shared a classroom with just a divider right down the middle when we were teaching in Nebraska,” Gwen recalled to MPR News.
Fortunately, the tight quarters worked in the budding teachers’ favor. During an interview with The Minnesota Star Tribune (via The Independent), Gwen (known by her students as Miss Whipple at the time) confessed she became “smitten” with Tim after observing the way in which Tim interacted with and taught his students. Petition to bring back classroom dividers, anyone?!
During their first date, Tim Walz predicted he and Gwen Walz would get married
It’s no secret that vice presidential Democratic nominee Tim Walz has no chill. “Who needs sleep? We’ve got a campaign to win,” he shared on Instagram along with footage of himself delivering what can only be described as an enthusiastic locker room pep talk merely two days after officially being named as Kamala Harris’ running mate.
As it turns out however, it appears Walz took the same approach on his first date with his future wife. During an interview with The Minnesota Star Tribune (via Time), Gwen Walz revealed that Tim was a tad overzealous about their romance right out of the gate. The story goes that the pair’s first date consisted of a meal at Hardee’s followed by a trip to the movie to see the crime thriller “Falling Down.” According to Gwen, however, even after rebuffing a kiss from her eager date, he confidently replied, “That’s fine, but you should know I’m going to marry you.”
Tim and Gwen Walz’s wedding anniversary date is somewhat controversial
Ron Johnson attacks Tim Walz for [checks notes] … “getting married on the anniversary of Tiananmen Square” pic.twitter.com/ABBxtlqRDe
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 19, 2024
As one can imagine, shortly after Tim Walz was named as the Democratic Party’s nominee for vice president, Republicans got to work slinging mud, even using his time teaching high school abroad in China against him. Republican Senator Ron Johnson even went as far as to question Tim and Gwen Walz’s wedding anniversary date. “The House is going to investigate it now — it’s very strange. He got married on the anniversary of Tiananmen Square. He’s gone to China. He’s taught in China. He’s got deep connections to China,” the senator said during an August 19 appearance on Fox Business.
Perhaps the only thing stranger than Johnson trying to connect the Walzes’ anniversary date to some sort of deep ties to the East Asian country, however, is Gwen’s actual explanation for why her hubby to be picked the special date. “He wanted to have a date he’ll always remember,” she explained matter of factly to the Scottsbluff Star-Herald (via ABC News) ahead of their nuptials. Strange… but also kinda smart, TBH.
Gwen Walz sometimes substitutes for Tim Walz
Just like teachers have substitutes who fill in for them when they’re sick, Gwen Walz has also subbed in for her governor husband Tim Walz. Case in point: the time Tim came down with a nasty case of laryngitis. The story goes that way back in 2006, the-then aspiring Minnesota governor was set to speak at a campaign fundraiser in Mankato, Minnesota but fell ill at the last moment. Fortunately, Tim’s ever supportive wife swooped in à la a “have no fear, Gwen is here” moment and saved the day! “I don’t think I was the only person who looked around the room wondering, geez, maybe that’s the Walz that should be running,” the president of Augsburg University, Paul Pribbenow, recalled to CNN about Gwen’s slam dunk substitute speech.
Still, it appears Gwen remains rather humble when it comes to her assistance. “We have always worked as a partnership. We are still one another’s closest advisers,” she explained about the couple’s dynamic during an appearance on the “What If It Works” podcast.
Tim and Gwen Walz love a good handshake
While Tim and Gwen Walz appear to have a marriage full of love and admiration, the couple did recently raise a few eyebrows when they opted to greet each in a rather unconventional way. Yep, that’s right. During Tim’s first inaugural rally with Kamala Harris, Tim and Gwen opted to keep it strictly business with nothing more than a firm handshake. To make matters worse, merely steps away, Kamala and second gentleman of the United States, Douglas Emhoff were witnessed enjoying a passionate smooch. (To be fair though, there’s also plenty of weird things everyone ignores about Harris and Emhoff’s marriage too.)
As one can imagine, many Republicans immediately took the married couple to task. “I know that when I see my wife after a big speech, what I really want to do is give her a nice, firm handshake,” Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance quipped during an interview with Daily Mail. “It’s just a completely bizarre response,” he added. Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. also weighed in, tweeting, “Totally normal to greet your wife with a firm handshake and a bro hug/back slap. Tim Walz isn’t weird at all, guys.” It should be noted, however, that Donald J. Trump and even Florida governor Ron DeSantis have also been caught publicly greeting their wives with nothing more than a handshake. And let’s not forget about Kimberly Guilfoyle and Donald Jr.’s most awkward comments about their romance. We’re pretty sure even the most awkward of husband-wife handshakes pale in comparison.
