Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Welcomes 2nd Baby With Nicholas Riccio
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has welcomed her second baby with her husband, Nicholas Riccio.
"On May 1st, Viviana aka ‘Vivi' joined our family, and our hearts instantly exploded with love. 💕," Leavitt wrote via Instagram on Thursday, May 7, alongside an image of her holding the newborn. "She is perfect and healthy, and her big brother is joyfully adjusting to life with his new baby sister. We are enjoying every moment in our blissful newborn bubble."
She continued, "Thank you to everyone who reached out with prayers during my pregnancy – I truly felt them throughout the entire experience. God is Good.🙏 ."
Leavitt and Riccio are already parents of son Niko, who arrived in July 2024. The couple have been married since January 2025. Later that year, Leavitt announced that she was pregnant with the pair's second baby.
"The greatest Christmas gift we could ever ask for - a baby girl coming in May 2026," she wrote via Instagram in December 2025. "My husband and I are thrilled to grow our family and can't wait to watch our son become a big brother. My heart is overflowing with gratitude to God for the blessing of motherhood, which I truly believe is the closest thing to Heaven on Earth."
Leavitt added that she was "extremely grateful" to President Donald Trump and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles for their "support" and for "fostering a pro-family environment in the White House."
She concluded: "2026 is going to be a great year and I am so excited to be a girl mom!"
Leavitt previously planned on starting her maternity leave from the White House on April 24, but she briefly postponed her absence following the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 26.
After becoming a first-time mother, Leavitt returned to work on Trump's reelection campaign just days after giving birth to Niko.
"It's true when they say there's nothing comparable to the love you feel for your child," she gushed via Instagram in July 2024. "My heart has grown bigger than I ever imagined possible. Babies are the ultimate blessing and I'm bursting with gratitude for our beautiful, happy, healthy boy."
During her time in the spotlight, Leavitt has addressed her 32-year age gap with Riccio on occasion. She detailed their "very atypical love story" during a May 2025 appearance on The Megyn Kelly Show, revealing that they met through a mutual friend hosting "an event at a restaurant" in New Hampshire.
"[Riccio] is incredible," she said. "He's the father of my child and he's the best dad I could ever ask for. And he is so supportive, especially during a very chaotic period of life. … I say, ‘I walked into your life and it's been a circus ever since,' but God bless him because he's fully on board."
In November 2025, Leavitt shared that her family struggled to accept her "unusual" relationship with Riccio because her mother is actually younger than him.
"It's definitely a challenging conversation to have at first," she confessed on "Pod Force One With Miranda Devine" at the time. "But then, of course, once they got to know him and saw who he is as a man, and his character and how much he adores me, I think it became quite easy for them."
She added, "Now we're all friends. I mean, it's a typical family relationship. My husband has such respect for my parents and the way that they raised me, and we all have a lot of fun together when they come to visit."
While Leavitt has a national platform, she reasoned that her marriage works because Riccio is "very introverted" and not interested in the public attention.
"He stays behind the scenes. He's not on social media. He's very private and he's an incredibly hands-on father," she noted. "He and my son are just the best of friends. He's just an amazing guy and he is my No. 1 fan. He watches every interview, every press briefing."
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This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 8:06 AM.