Kirsten Gillibrand’s Husband Jonathan Gillibrand Could Be America’s First, First Man
Kirsten Gillibrand participated in night two of the second round of debates last night, hoping to eventually become the Democratic party's nominee for 2020. It's a crowded field, however, and Gillibrand has not yet secured a spot in the third round of debates in September.
Gillibrand is married to Jonathan Gillibrand. The United States has never had a first gentleman in the White House, but Jonathan is one of several male spouses who might earn that title, including Kamala Harris's husband Douglas Emhoff, Elizabeth Warren's husband Bruce Mann, and Pete Buttigieg's husband Chasten.
There's still many months to go before the caucuses begin deciding who will be the Democratic party's presidential nominee for the 2020 election, but there's already a full roster of candidates offering themselves up for the position. Among them is New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
While Gillibrand has become an increasingly recognizable face on the political scene in recent years, her husband Jonathan has largely avoided the spotlight. Here's everything we know so far about the potential future First Husband.
Jonathan is a venture capitalist by trade.
The fifty-year-old has worked at several venture capital firms over the years, including Redbrick Partners, and his own firm called Venture Capital Partners.
He's from England.
Originally from the U.K., Jonathan came to the U.S. to study for his MBA at Columbia. Though Jonathan had reportedly had only planned to stay in the US for a year, that all changed when he met Kirsten.
He and Kirsten met on a blind date.
While Jonathan was studying at Columbia, he was set up on a blind date with Kirsten who was working at the law firm Davis Polk. "We hit it off right away," she told New York Family. She added to Vogue in 2011, "I thought he was one of the nicest and kindest people I’d ever met. That’s what charmed me."
The couple married in 2001.
A post shared by Kirsten Gillibrand (@kirstengillibrand) on Nov 22, 2018 at 6:41pm PST
Jonathan and Kirsten have two sons.
Kirsten was still working as a lawyer when she gave birth to their first son, Theodore, who is now 15, but had switched to politics by the time their second, Henry, was born in 2008.
She describe their disparate parenting styles to New York Family, saying, "I’m very focused on letting them learn by doing. Jonathan is very focused on academics and reading. So we balance each other well in letting our children develop as young people who will hopefully be strong adults with strong character and good integrity."
Jonathan avoids the spotlight but supports Kirsten's political ambitions.
Though Kirsten's life is obviously lived in the public eye, Jonathan prefers to keep a low profile, appearing on his wife's social media occasionally but eschewing developing one of his own.
"Jonathan has been a really supportive husband," Kirsten told New York Family. "He really believes in what I’m doing in Washington. He’s always said, 'As long as you’re making a difference, as long as you’re helping people, this is something we’re going to do. And the day that you’re not is the day we’re not going to do it!'"
"Not many husbands want their wives to be in politics, because it’s intense," she elaborated to Vogue. "The only thing he doesn’t like is when I’m attacked. He gets very upset."
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