Scandalous Rumors About Karoline Leavitt We Can No Longer Ignore

Every single day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shows up to work with a singular goal: spin, deflect, and defend whatever's going on in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. As Donald Trump's official mouthpiece, she's made quite the impression in record time, and not because she sometimes wears busty outfits to work. Say what you want about her, but the girl's got spunk. Not even in her 30s yet when she started her job, the youngest press secretary in history isn't afraid to go toe-to-toe with the press and swat down controversy. But seeing as she's in the spotlight practically 24/7, she's often subject to rumors, and Leavitt has probably mastered dealing with them at this point.

"Karoline Leavitt did a phenomenal job as the National Press Secretary on my Historic Campaign, and I am pleased to announce she will serve as White House Press Secretary. Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator," Trump said in a statement when he appointed the then 27-year-old to the role. "I have the utmost confidence she will excel at the podium, and help deliver our message to the American People as we Make America Great Again." For the most part, she has been crushing at what she's been hired to do, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

As the face of the White House, it's not at all surprising that Leavitt has found herself smack in the middle of a string of ridiculous rumors, some even downright scandalous. And the rumor that Leavitt has had plastic surgery? That's just the least of it. Here are some of the most scandalous ones making rounds — and why they're too juicy to ignore.

Karoline Leavitt may be enjoying the spotlight now as White House secretary and chief Trump defender, but once upon a time (and by this, we mean in 2022), she had her sights set on something else: being a congresswoman. At the time, she ran for New Hampshire's 1st District, even going as far as to clinch the Republican nomination. But her bid against Democratic incumbent Chris Pappas didn't go exactly as planned, and after the loss, she bowed out of the race. However, she quickly staged a political comeback by joining the Trump campaign and was named the White House chief mouthpiece three years after her failed congressional bid. 

But here's where it gets interesting: her husband, Nicholas Riccio, was reportedly part of her finance committee. The optics alone certainly raise suspicion. Some reports say that he funded Leavitt's run, the implication being that he poured a great deal of money into it, and NOTUS did find that Leavitt's campaign owed Riccio and his company over $2,000 in refunds for excessive campaign donations in 2025. However, Leavitt insists that her connection with Riccio is all romance, and nothing else. Plus, she noted that their love story only started when they were introduced by a friend. "A mutual friend of ours hosted an event at a restaurant that he owns up in New Hampshire and invited my husband," she recalled in a "The Megyn Kelly Show" appearance. "I was speaking. We met and we were acquainted as friends."

Leavitt has stayed tight-lipped about Riccio's role in her campaign, but she's open about one thing: he's pretty wealthy, and he's in her corner. "He's built a very successful business himself so now he's fully supportive of me building my success in my career," she said.

Speaking of her run for office, Karoline Leavitt may have already moved on from her failed congressional bid, but her critics are not about to let her go scot-free. Apparently, her campaign finances at the time were a little bit sus. As it turns out, she's still lugging around $325,000 in unpaid debt, and experts say that much of it stems from illegal donations her campaign shouldn't have touched in the first place.

"It's somewhat common for a campaign to have some campaign finance discrepancies, but the sort of extent of the debt and the extent of these discrepancies in her campaign are, I think, what's raising eyebrows," political reporter Claire Heddles told NHPR. "She owes more than a quarter million dollars. And largely it's from what appears to be illegal contributions that the campaign never should have accepted [and] shouldn't have spent. So the big sort of question is, where did all this money go?"

So far, Leavitt and her camp have stayed silent on the issue, but what's especially curious is this isn't even the first time that her campaign finances were under fire. In 2022, just before election day, she was already facing heat for supposedly accepting campaign contributions that exceeded federal limits. "She took excessive contributions, which is against the law, and is just now reporting them — two years later," End Citizens United spokesperson Bawadden Sayed told NOTUS. "She still needs to raise money to refund these contributions, potentially opening the door for wealthy donors and corporate special interests to curry favor with her."

Beyond rumors about just how much Karoline Leavitt's husband, Nicholas Roccio, may have helped bankroll her congressional campaign, critics also can't help but side-eye their marriage altogether because of their glaring age gap. Roccio happens to be 32 years Leavitt's senior, although the press secretary is hell-bent on proving to everyone that it's not that big of a deal. It's apparently not a big deal that he's old enough to be her father, and definitely not a big deal that they got hitched around the same time she got pregnant, causing people to speculate that they had a "shotgun wedding."

Leavitt, for her part, acknowledges that their relationship is anything but ordinary, but she wouldn't have it any other way. "It's [a] very atypical love story, but he's incredible," she said in her "The Megyn Kelly Show" interview. "He is my greatest supporter, he's my best friend, he's my rock."

And supportive he is indeed — perhaps maybe even too supportive. He apparently encouraged her to return to the grind not even a week after giving birth to their son immediately after they watched Donald Trump get shot on TV. "I had just brought my newborn, my three-day-old baby home from the hospital. And I said, 'I'm going to turn on the television and watch the rally today,'" Leavitt told The Conservateur. "I looked at my husband and said, 'Looks like I'm going back to work.' ... The president literally put his life on the line to win this election. The least I could do is get back to work quickly."

Karoline Leavitt never shies away from sparring with reporters — and she also rarely spares an opportunity to tout her so-called values while at it. A self-proclaimed devout Catholic, she reportedly leads team prayers before stepping onto the podium, and according to her, her faith is the foundation that keeps her grounded as she navigates her chaotic job. "My faith is incredibly important to me. I would argue now more than ever, being in a role that is very demanding and at times controversial, and there's a lot of public pressure and discussion online about who you are and your family," she told CBN. "And you know, it could be difficult for someone who doesn't have faith but with faith, all things are possible."

But not everyone is buying into her saintly image. California Congressman Dave Min didn't hold back after Leavitt made the announcement that the White House would be freezing federal grants and assistance. He took to X to call her out, even going as far as to question her faith. "Karoline Leavitt is a Fake Christian, like so many in this Golden Calf administration," he wrote. 

But of course, Leavitt is not one to let it slide, telling the New York Post that what Min said was far below the belt, especially for someone who is in public office. "I think it's pitiful for an elected member of Congress to say that about a woman who he's never even met," she said. "My Christian faith is a huge part of my life. My faith, my marriage, my family life — it's everything to me."

Karoline Leavitt's job is quite literally being the leader of the Donald Trump defense squad, and for the most part, she has fulfilled that role well. In fairness to her, she has done a great job in defending the White House's policies, so it's not surprising that she's earned a comfy spot in MAGA land. But word on the street is behind her loyalty act, she's not totally buying what she's selling — especially when it comes to Trump's favorite conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was "stolen" from him. Two anonymous sources told The Washington Post that Leavitt privately admitted that Trump lost the election with no foulplay involved whatsoever, although when asked, she insisted that she has no recollection of ever having said that.

Regardless, Leavitt was smart enough not to publicize those thoughts to the public — assuming she had them at all. As it turns out, she clocked early on that full-throated Trump loyalty is basically a career prerequisite in today's GOP. "Karoline learned from Elise [Stefanik] that voters in the MAGA movement will reward and support you when you take tough positions to fight for the cause," Alex deGrasse, Stefanik's top political adviser, told the outlet.

And since then, Leavitt has stuck to the same script. In case anyone's still confused, she wants to let everyone know that she believes Trump was definitely robbed of the presidency years ago. "As Karoline told the Washington Post, these claims are false, and The Daily Beast is fake news for printing these lies again," a White House spokesperson told The Daily Beast. "Karoline has spoken out forcefully against the fraud that took place in the 2020 election and continues to speak the truth on behalf of President Trump behind the podium every day."