Kamala Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, responds to revelation he cheated on his first wife

Somehow, a salacious piece of information about the US Vice President’s husband remained a secret for years. Now he’s had to confirm it.

Doug Emhoff, the husband of American Vice President Kamala Harris, has responded to the revelation that he cheated on his first wife.

The extramarital affair, which had not previously been public knowledge, was revealed by The Daily Mail this weekend.

Mr Emhoff, who divorced his first spouse Kerstin in 2008, had an affair with their children’s nanny, who also taught at their private school. The Mail reports the relationship resulted in her becoming pregnant, though that pregnancy was not carried to term.

The woman was a teacher at an elite California primary school called The Willows, which charges up to $US41,000 ($63,000) per student, per year.

Doug Emhoff, left, with his wife Kamala Harris. Picture: Erin Schaff/AFP

Mr Emhoff as Ms Harris was sworn in as Vice President in January of 2021. Picture: Brendan Smialowski/AFP

In a statement, Mr Emhoff accepted blame for the “tough times” he had caused his wife.

“During my first marriage, Kerstin and I went through some tough times on account of my actions,” he acknowledged.

“I took responsibility, and in the years since, we worked through things as a family and have come out stronger on the other side.”

He was married to Ms Emhoff for 16 years, and they have two adult children together, named Cole and Ella. They 15 and 10 at the time of the divorce.

Mr Emhoff didn’t meet Ms Harris, now the Democratic Party’s nominee for president, until a blind date in 2013. They got married the next year, and Ms Harris became a stepmother to the two children. She has a warm relationship with her husband’s ex-wife, who has praised her as a “loving” and “fiercely protective” co-parent.

“Doug and I decided to end our marriage for a variety of reasons, many years ago,” Ms Emhoff said in her own statement.

“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.”

Doug Emhoff, his ex-wife Kerstin and their daughter Ella.

Kirsten Emhoff, a film producer and businesswoman, has long been a vocal supporter of the Vice President’s political career.

Last month, when previous comments by Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance came to light attacking Ms Harris and other Democrats for being “childless”, Ms Emhoff leapt to her defence.

“It’s just a basic fact. You look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC. The entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children,” Mr Vance said in an old interview.

“How does it make any sense that we’ve turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it?”

Again, to be clear, Ms Harris is a stepmother to two children. Mr Buttigieg, the Secretary of Transportation and a potential (albeit quite unlikely) pick to be her vice presidential nominee, has two adopted children with his husband, Chasten.

“These are baseless attacks. For over 10 years, since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala has been a co-parent with Doug and I,” Ms Emhoff said in response.

“She is loving, nurturing, fiercely protective, and always present. I love our blended family and I’m grateful to have her in it.”

Kirsten and Ella Emhoff.

Mr Emhoff’s ex-wife is supportive of both him and Ms Harris. Picture: Erin Schaff/AFP

The Emhoffs’ daughter Ella also spoke out, supporting her mother’s stance on Instagram.

“How can you be ‘childless’ when you have cutie pie kids like Cole and I?” she quipped.

“I love my three parents.”

Mr Vance’s remarks threatened to become a political problem for the Trump campaign, as pointed out by conservative commentator Meghan McCain, whose late father John McCain was the Republican presidential nominee in 2008.

“I have been trying to warn every conservative man I know. These J.D. comments are activating women across all sides, including my most conservative Trump supporting friends,” Ms McCain said at about the same time as the Emhoffs’ posts.

“These comments have caused real pain and are just innately unchristian.”

Mr Vance, meanwhile, defended himself, telling SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly it was “obviously … a sarcastic comment” and joking “I’ve got nothing against cats”.

“It’s not a criticism of people who don’t have children,” he said.

“I explicitly said in my remarks … this is not about criticising people who for various reasons don’t have kids.

“This is about criticising the Democratic Party for becoming anti-family and anti-child.”

Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff. Picture: Saul Loeb/AFP

Should Ms Harris win the election and become president in January, Mr Emhoff will be his country’s first ever “first gentleman”.

He recently revealed he was at an exercise class in Los Angeles, and separated from his phone, when President Joe Biden announced that he was withdrawing from the race and throwing his support behind Ms Harris last month.

Someone else showed him the news, prompting him to recover his phone – and find a series of missed calls from his wife.

“She’s stepped up and she’s going to lead us into the future. So I could not be more proud of her,” he said afterwards.