He\u2019s hit a ruff patch! <\/p>\n
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s ex Riley Roberts was spotted for the first time Saturday since news of the power couple\u2019s split \u2014 walking their shared dog Deco outside of the socialist lawmaker\u2019s Queens apartment.<\/p>\n
The Post spotted Roberts, 38, around midday, looking sallow in a black long sleeve shirt and camo shorts with army green Birkenstocks, as he emerged from the East Elmhurst 3-bedroom apartment they shared together with the beefy, six-year-old French bulldog.<\/p>\n
Riley Roberts, the fiance of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, walks their dog Deco at their home in Queens, NY. Brigitte Stelzer for NY Post<\/p>\n
Sporting a Knicks cap, sunglasses and earbuds, Roberts took a lonely, 20-minute jaunt with Deco before returning to the apartment.<\/p>\n
AOC\u2019s jettisoned beau had not been seen since news of their breakup broke Tuesday<\/a>, after the socialist lawmaker embarked on a public journey to freeze her eggs<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not known whether Roberts still lives with AOC or if the elusive ex has moved since the split and was simply walking the dog as a favor to the rumored 2028 presidential contender<\/a>, who\u2019s been busy this past week filming non-stop videos<\/a> for her 9.7 million Instagram followers about her fertility treatments.<\/p>\n Ocasio-Cortez, 36, and Roberts reportedly broke up in February because she was too successful for the Arizona-born web developer, sources told the\u00a0Daily Mail<\/a>.<\/p>\n Roberts hadn\u2019t been seen since news of the split, until Saturday. Brigitte Stelzer for NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cRare is the man who is able to put himself in the back seat to his wife\u2019s political career,\u201d said a Capitol Hill source who socialized with the couple, adding that AOC\u2019s political star rose so quickly it may have created a \u201cvery, very toxic\u201d power imbalance in their relationship.<\/p>\n \u201cThe marvel is that it lasted as long as it did.\u201d<\/p>\n The pair, who was\u00a0pictured dining out together<\/a>\u00a0at a Midtown\u2019s Black Iron Burger joint in May, have stayed close friends, the sources told the outlet.<\/p>\n AOC said \u201cI don\u2019t comment on my private life\u201d outside her building Wednesday, despite her very public egg freezing journey. Paul Martinka for NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cThey eat together a lot. They are close friends, but it\u2019s no longer a romantic relationship,\u201d said a former Democratic operative.<\/p>\n A third source, identified as a former AOC staffer, said the two \u201creminded me a little bit of my grandparents in their affectionate nature.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo when it was working, it was beautiful,\u201d the ex-staffer continued. \u201cYou know when people get together young. Life is life. Life happens. I hope they\u2019re happy.\u201d<\/p>\n Roberts walked Deco for about 20 minutes Saturday in Queens. Brigitte Stelzer for NY Post<\/p>\n The couple got the French bulldog as a puppy back in 2020. Brigitte Stelzer for NY Post<\/p>\n Neither has publicly confirmed the breakup, with AOC telling The Post \u201cI don\u2019t comment on my private life,\u201d when\u00a0asked outside her apartment<\/a>\u00a0Wednesday.<\/p>\n Her former beau\u2019s 85-year-old father, Vincent Roberts refused to comment about the relationship when reached by phone at his $1.4 million Paradise Valley, Arizona home, this week by a Post reporter.<\/p>\n The couple had been together 15 years, first meeting through a student discussion group when they both attended Boston University. Roberts proposed in April 2022 during a trip to Puerto Rico, with AOC proudly touting her \u201czero emissions ring,\u201d but she stopped wearing it after October 2023.<\/p>\n Ocasio-Cortez walked her French bulldog, Deco, outside her Elmhurst residential building on Wednesday. Paul Martinka for NY Post<\/p>\n The one-time \u201cit\u201d couple \u2014 who made a splash at the 2021 Met Gala when AOC showed up in her infamous \u201cTax the Rich\u201d dress \u2014 bought the purebred pooch in 2020<\/a> \u2014 naming him after the early 1900s art movement.<\/p>\n \u201cWe decided to name him after one of Riley & I\u2019s favorite design styles: Art Deco \u2013 which also is inspired by themes of optimism & social and technological progress and is a fixture in iconic NYC architecture,\u2019\u2019 she then told her Instagram followers.<\/p>\n Ocasio-Cortez and her Roberts appeared in the 2019 Netflix documentary \u201cKnock Down the House.\u201d Netflix<\/p>\n The one-time \u201cit\u201d couple made a splash at the 2021 Met Gala when AOC showed up in her infamous \u201cTax the Rich\u201d dress GC Images<\/p>\n Deco made regular appearances on the couple\u2019s Instagram, like a happy Christmas 2021 snap<\/a> of all three wearing matching outfits. <\/p>\n Now the French bulldog is a sad reminder of their broken home.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n