Donald Trump Jr. just stepped out with his girlfriend, Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle — and the reactions were very mixed.
Trump Jr. shared a photo of himself and Guilfoyle with Bret Michaels, the lead singer of Poison, on Instagram Friday night, along with other photos from the Poison concert. In the caption to the photo, Trump Jr. recognized what Michaels has done for U.S. veterans. The singer has often honored veterans during concerts and performed at a benefit show for veterans. He also won the third season of Celebrity Apprentice.
Rumors that the two were dating started in May. A co-host of Fox News’ The Five, Guilfoyle is also a former model and prosecuting attorney and was previously married to California’s lieutenant governor, Gavin Newsom. She served as the first lady of San Francisco during her marriage to Newsom, who was the mayor of the city at the time. After their split, Guilfoyle married furniture designer Eric Villency, with whom she has one child. They split in 2009.
Trump Jr.’s estranged wife, Vanessa, was the one who confirmed the two are dating. Last week, Vanessa posted a tweet that seemed to give her blessing to Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle’s relationship. She explained that she and her husband have been separated for more than nine months and that they’re focused on co-parenting.
The lengths people will go to attack a woman simply because she’s dating Don. We’ve been separated for over 9 months and respect each other’s decisions & privacy. We’ll focus on raising our great kids.Would be nice if the press did the same rather than obsess over our pvt lives! https://t.co/fa73W3gv43
— Vanessa Trump (@MrsVanessaTrump) June 14, 2018
Vanessa filed for divorce in March; she and Trump Jr. had been married for 12 years. At the time, the two released a joint statement saying their “top priority” was their five children.
But even though Vanessa seems to support Trump Jr.’s new relationship, some fans appear to be less forgiving. One Instagram commenter suggested that Trump Jr. should have waited until his divorce was finalized before dating someone publicly, writing, “How about get that divorce before you are plastering another woman all over your accounts? I’m a big fan of yours, but this just seems disrespectful to your children and their mother.”
“What happened to your beautiful wife Vanessa that you had 5 beautiful children with?” another person commented. And at least one person seemed to imply that divorce isn’t a Christian ideal, writing, “Marriage is a Covenant with God. I wish and hope you and your wife can work things out. She is your flesh, and you have five beautiful children! They are your family! Don’t quit! Fight for what our Lord has given you! God bless you, your wife and your children!”
And one commenter seemed to echo that, as well as the divorce finalization suggestion, writing, “Barf … How about marriage counseling and if that doesn’t work, how about waiting until the divorce is final?! Oh wait! You learned from the best, your womanizing father. You are just doing what you’ve been taught. So disgusting.”
Another person brought Trump Jr.’s kids into it too, writing, “Why do people get divorced? Don’t they realize it’s hard on us kids. Honestly the worst part is seeing one of your parents dating someone else.”
What’s disappointing about many of these critical comments is that they seem to ignore Vanessa and Trump Jr.’s agency as adults, as well as what Vanessa herself has said. Telling Trump Jr. to go back to his wife or to wait until the divorce is finalized takes away the voice she has in the situation — and she has already said that they’ve been separated for a while now. If Vanessa is OK with her estranged husband dating again, fans should be too.
The comments blaming divorce as an institution, or bringing the Trumps’ children into the conversation, are low blows as well. The commenters seem to be suggesting that the estranged couple should have stayed together for appearances, or for the sake of their children. But as the kids get older, it’s doubtful that anyone would want their parents to be unhappy.
Of course, there were also plenty of positive comments, with people saying they “love Kimberly” and are happy for the two of them. And multiple people called Guilfoyle and Trump Jr. a “beautiful couple.” Whatever fans’ opinions of the new pairing may be, it looks like they’re happy to move forward in their relationship and share photos along the way.
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
• Melania Trump trolled over family separations after tweeting that she wants to ‘positively impact children’
• Rachel Maddow brought to tears when reading report on Immigrant babies entering ‘tender age’ shelters
• Tomi Lahren calls border patrol agents ‘humanitarians’ as 2,000 children are taken from their parents
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