At just 28 years old, Karoline Leavitt holds one of the most unforgiving jobs in American politics — White House Press Secretary to President Donald Trump. She is the youngest person ever to stand at that podium, a position that devours schedules, sleep, and any hope of a predictable life. But in a rare, deeply candid interview, Leavitt has opened up about something she has never publicly discussed in such detail:
the personal cost of the job, and the emotional toll it places on her marriage to her 60-year-old husband, Nicholas Riccio.

This is not a story about politics.
It’s a story about pressure, sacrifice, and the life lived behind the bright lights of the West Wing.

“I have PTSD about making plans.”

Speaking from her West Wing office — a space filled with glowing TV monitors and stacks of newspapers — Leavitt admits that the pressure doesn’t come from aggressive reporters or policy crises.

It comes from the moments she misses at home.

“Honestly, I have PTSD about making plans,” she says. “So I just don’t. Not anymore.”

Dinner reservations, weekend trips, even a simple movie night — everything is vulnerable to a last-second cancellation.
And the reason is simple: her boss’s schedule is unpredictable by design.

Leavitt and her husband had planned three weekend getaways this summer.
All three vanished overnight.

“Foreign policy doesn’t take a vacation,” she says with a shrug. “You learn to roll with it.”

A 32-Year Age Gap — And a Partnership Tested by Power

Leavitt’s marriage has generated public curiosity ever since she stepped onto the national stage. Riccio, 32 years older than her and older even than her mother, became a talking point as soon as her professional star began to rise.

She admits the relationship was “challenging to explain” to her parents at first. But once they met him, everything changed.

“They saw how much he adored me. That made it easy.”

Still, even the strongest bond is tested by a life lived in proximity to power.

Leavitt says the hardest part is not the age difference — but the constant disruption.

“We don’t schedule date nights,” she says. “We wait for a miracle — a random free evening — and grab it when it comes.”

Some weeks, that miracle never comes.

A Mother First — Even With the Weight of the West Wing on Her Shoulders

Despite the frantic pace, Leavitt has drawn a hard line in her day.

“My priority is always making it home in time for my son’s bedtime,” she says, her voice softening as she mentions her toddler, Niko.

She leaves the White House at what she calls “a reasonable hour,” rushes home, cooks dinner, does the nightly routine — then picks her phone back up.

“Being press secretary, especially for President Trump, is a 24/7 job,” she admits. “Even when I’m home, I’m working.”

But Trump and his Chief of Staff Susie Wiles have encouraged her to protect her family time.

“Both of them tell me all the time: make sure you’re with your kid.”

Her Day Starts at 5 AM — and Doesn’t Truly End

On briefing days, Leavitt wakes at 5 a.m., squeezes in a workout at 5:30, and arrives at the White House gym before the rest of the building comes alive.

“It’s critical for my success,” she says of the early-morning weight training.

Then the real grind begins.

Leavitt flips through every major newspaper delivered to the West Wing, scans across multiple TV screens, and watches the chyrons roll across Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN — all streaming simultaneously in her office.

“Every network is part of the job,” she explains. “I need to know what’s coming at me in the briefing room.”

Then comes a rapid-fire series of calls — Cabinet members, policy advisers, agency heads — until she finally sits down with Trump himself.

“Sometimes it’s ten minutes. Sometimes it’s an hour. It depends on the news cycle.”

And then she steps onto the podium alone, representing not just an administration, but a President known for commanding the spotlight himself.

Why She Stays — And What She Hopes People See

Leavitt’s predecessors rarely lasted more than a year. She has already outlasted three of Trump’s former press secretaries.

She expects to stay until the end of Trump’s second term in 2029.

Why?

Because, she says, the role is more than a job — it is a calling grounded in her Christian faith.

“I couldn’t do this without God. Faith gives me energy, focus, and perspective.”

It also gives her something else: the courage to withstand public scrutiny, sleepless nights, and a marriage pushed to its limits by the demands of government.

Her message to young women watching her?

“Get married, have kids, and work your butt off. There’s no substitute for hard work.”

Hard work — and a love strong enough to withstand the White House.