Karoline Leavitt, 28, has ‘PTSD about making plans’ amid busy schedule

WHITE House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, 28, gave an inside look at her chaotic life, and the impact it’s had on her marriage with her husband, 60. 

Leavitt said she has “post-traumatic stress disorder” when it comes to making plans after having to cancel several plans the past year due to her job.  

Sign up for The US Sun newsletter

Thank you!

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said she has ‘PTSD’ from her demanding scheduleCredit: Reuters

Leavitt said her and her husband have had to bend their plansCredit: Instagram/KarolineLeavitt

Leavitt and her husband share a young sonCredit: Instagram / karolineleavitt

“Honestly, I have PTSD about making plans, so I just don’t,” the press secretary told The Daily Mail. 

Leavitt said her family, which also includes her one-year-old child, has grown accustomed to having to adjust their plans at a moment’s notice.

“We just roll with it,” she said.

“If there’s a night where I happen to become free, then we take full advantage of that as a family.”

READ MORE ON KAROLINE LEAVITT

During the interview, Leavitt advised the new reporter never to make plans after work.

She said doing so is a “rookie move.”

“It’s very difficult to make plans in this job,” she said. 

“My husband and I had three different mini weekend getaway vacations this summer. All three got canceled due to foreign policy events.”

Leavitt and her husband, real estate developer Nicholas Riccio, were meant to visit her hometown in New Hampshire but had to cancel the trip after an event popped up on Trump’s calendar this past summer.

“But that’s part of the job, and it’s what makes it fun and challenging and keeps every day new,” she said. 

“And it’s, you know, it’s temporary. We’re one year down. We got three to go.”

Leavitt has already served 300 days working for the president and hopes to stay with him until the end of his second term.

She’s already stayed longer than three of four of Trump’s previous press secretaries, including Stephanie Grisham, Kayleigh McEnany, and Sean Spicer.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders served in the Trump administration from July 2017 to June 2019. 

Get to know Karoline Leavitt

Donald Trump’s press secretary is the youngest White House press secretary ever at 27.

Here are some fast facts about Karoline Leavitt:

She was raised Catholic in Atkinson, New Hampshire
She attended Saint Anselm College
She started her college’s first broadcasting club
She interned at Fox News during college
She worked as the assistant press secretary under Kayleigh McEnany
She won the Republican primary for the US House of Representatives in New Hampshire in 2022
She’s married to 59-year-old entrepreneur Nicholas Riccio
She gave birth to her first son, Niko, in July 2024
She went back to work for Trump days after giving birth
She had her mic cut off in a CNN interview in June 2024 after criticizing presidential debate moderators Dana Bash and Jake Tapper

Leavitt and her husband, who is 32 years her senior, will have to deal with the ever-changing work schedule until 2029.

The couple’s significant age difference has made headlines, with many wondering how they ended up together.

Leavitt and Riccio first started dating when she was 25, and got married just before Trump’s inauguration in 2025. 

The press secretary said it was “challenging” to find eligible bachelors her own age, which led her to Riccio, who owns 15 buildings in New Hampshire.

In 2024, they welcomed their one-and-a-half-year-old son, whom Leavitt says she always tries to spend time with no matter how hectic her work day is.

“My priority is to always make it home for my kid’s bedtime,” she said.

“I leave at a more reasonable hour than people may think, because that’s sort of the line I’ve drawn to get home and cook dinner and go through the bedtime routine and be a mom.”

Leavitt said her workday typically starts around 5 am and includes catching up on the news, meeting with the president, and coordinating with other government officials when responding to press questions.

“She is tough, brilliant, kind and doing an amazing job in one of the hardest roles in all of politics,” Huckabee Sanders, her predecessor, and now Arkansas Governor, told the Daily Mail. 

“I love watching her take on the Press and I am proud to call her my friend.”

Leavitt encourages all women to follow their professional and personal ambitions.

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