Who Is Nicole Shanahan's Partner? All About Jacob Strumwasser

Nicole Shanahan and Jacob Strumwasser started dating after meeting at the Burning Man festival and celebrated their commitment to one another in a love ceremony in May 2023

Nicole Shanahan has the support of her partner Jacob Strumwasser as she hits the campaign trail.

On March 26, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. introduced Shanahan as his new running mate for vice president in the presidential election.

While making the announcement in her hometown of Oakland, California, she and Strumwasser were photographed holding hands as they took the stage with RFK Jr. and his wife, actress Cheryl Hines.

Following her divorce from Google co-founder Sergey Brin, with whom she shares daughter Echo, Shanahan found love again with Strumwasser after meeting him at the Burning Man festival.

Instead of having a traditional wedding, they celebrated their commitment to one another in a love ceremony in May 2023.

Here’s everything to know about Shanahan’s partner.

Related: Nicole Shanahan 'Moving On' 1 Year After Alleged Elon Musk Affair, Sergey Brin Split (Exclusive)

He’s the vice president of Lightning Labs

Strumwasser currently serves as the vice president at Lightning Labs, which develops software that powers the Lightning Network for Bitcoin. Per his bio on the company’s website, he was inspired to work full time and grow the network after seeing the “empowerment bitcoin and Lightning provides to those who are disenfranchised.”

He’s a 'reformed Wall Street guy'

Speaking with PEOPLE in July 2023, Shanahan referred to Strumwasser as a "reformed Wall Street guy.” Before working at Lightning Labs, Strumwasser worked on Wall Street for 15 years before switching up careers, per his bio on the company website. “Bringing bitcoin to billions helps change the status quo reflected by Wall Street, and nothing excites Jacob more,” his bio states.

They first met at the Burning Man festival

After Brin filed for a dissolution of marriage from Shanahan in June 2022, she attended the Burning Man festival where she was introduced to Strumwasser through a mutual friend.

“I was there for less than 24 hours and we met over coffee,” Shanahan told PEOPLE of their first encounter. “He had no idea who I was, and I had no idea who he was, and we became friends. Our relationship started as a deep friendship. We saw each other in a silo of our own experience with one another and nothing else.”

They share a love of surfing

As Shanahan and Strumwasser got to know each other, they bonded over their shared love of surfing. In fact, they quickly came to realize that they had both been surfing at the same beach before officially meeting.

"We were living parallel surfing lives it seems,” Shanahan told PEOPLE. “And then we met at Burning Man, which is the driest place on the planet, and talked about how much we missed surfing.”

They committed to each other in a 'love ceremony'

That same beach they surfed at later played a pivotal role in their relationship. In 2023, the two committed to each other during a love ceremony, which included a water blessing from the beach.

"We fell in love surfing there,” Shanahan told PEOPLE of their special spot, where they also surfed during one of their first dates. “We did a love blessing ceremony with water we collected from that beach."

Shanahan added that they finished the sweet ritual at her SoCal property. "It was spontaneous with a few friends," she said of the event. "We didn’t know who was gonna end up there, but we had a handful of friends and we had a friend who believes in the magic of water lead a water blessing for us. It was beautiful."

She noted that she opted for a love ceremony over a traditional wedding after researching handfasting. "I always dreamed of doing a handfasting because I felt like it represents the spirit of marriage more than the legal documentation of marriage," she explained. "I think that in today’s society, we’ve really gone in the direction of these big, very expensive weddings with lots of people and tons of planning. Then we sign these legal documents ... and I wonder if we lost the plot a little bit on what that’s all about."

He’s super supportive as she co-parents her daughter with ex Sergey Brin

Shanahan previously told PEOPLE that Strumwasser has been a supportive partner as she raises her daughter Echo with her ex Brin, with whom she's built "a healthy co-parenting relationship."

"Echo comes first, and Jacob understands that,” she prefaced. When asked what it's been like for her and Echo to start a new life with Strumwasser, Shanahan said, "It’s been a process of trusting myself, trusting him, listening to my daughter and paying very close attention to household dynamics. And she comes first, every day she comes first."

He was by her side as she was named as RFK Jr.’s VP pick

Strumwasser showed his support for Shanahan as she was announced as RFK Jr.’s running mate for the upcoming election during an event held in her hometown of Oakland, California. After taking the podium to introduce herself, she was joined by her partner as they held hands and waved at attendees.

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