Doug Emhoff is speaking out about an extramarital affair that occurred during his first marriage to Kerstin Emhoff.
In a statement shared with CNN on Saturday, Aug. 3, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris said, “During my first marriage, Kerstin and I went through some tough times on account of my actions.”
“I took responsibility, and in the years since, we worked through things as a family and have come out stronger on the other side,” Doug, 59, continued.
According to a report from The Daily Mail, Doug’s affair led to the couple divorcing. The reported affair occurred years before Emhoff and Harris, also 59, began dating.
In her own statement to CNN, Kerstin, 57, said, “Doug and I decided to end our marriage for a variety of reasons, many years ago.”
“He is a great father to our kids, continues to be a great friend to me and I am really proud of the warm and supportive blended family Doug, Kamala, and I have built together,” she added.
Doug and Kerstin were married from 1992 until 2010. They share two adult children: a son, Cole, 29, and a daughter, Ella, 25.
Kerstin previously praised her ex-husband’s job as Second Gentleman in November 2021. “He’s doing great!” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “We are all so proud.”
She also told TIME in a profile that same year that Doug has changed since their marriage. “Of course he’s a better husband, and that’s great,” Kerstin explained. “That’s how it should be.”
Doug and Harris — who recently secured the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination, less than two weeks after President Joe Biden’s historic decision to suspend his reelection campaign — began dating in 2013 and got married the following year.
