Karoline Leavitt Shows First Sign The Brutal Husband Jokes Are Getting To Her

At this point, you can't talk about Karoline Leavitt without also talking about her husband, Nicholas Riccio — and the internet's obsession with their eyebrow-raising age gap. While Leavitt has repeatedly brushed off the chatter, insisting their decades-apart birthdays aren't a big deal, her harshest critics haven't let it slide. Riccio has become the butt of some truly savage nicknames, and it looks like the heat might finally be getting to the White House press secretary. Why? Because Riccio has practically vanished from her socials.

It wasn't too long ago when Leavitt was proudly putting her husband front and center on her Instagram. She posted their engagement with a sparkling ring close-up, shared a buttload of wedding photos, and brought him to public events like the White House Easter Egg Roll, where the age gap was on full display. But now, the posts have pretty much dried up. Instead of proudly posting him, she's started to treat him more like a background character, as if she's soft-launching him rather than acting like the proud wife she used to be. In fact, the last time she shared his face on her feed was at the beginning of May, when she posted a poolside pic that sent her haters into a frenzy. Since then, he's only made cameo appearances on her Instagram Stories, usually with his face hidden or turned away. It's pretty clear that she's since realized that anytime she posts his face, it's open season in the comments section.

To be fair, Leavitt has said Riccio isn't into social media. And maybe this is her finally respecting that. But whether this is her going into damage-control mode or simply honoring his boundaries, one thing's for sure — the days of Riccio being front and center on her grid appear to be over.

If Karoline Leavitt is finally honoring Nicholas Riccio's request to keep his face off the grid — it's about time. It's better late than never, after all. She once admitted on Instagram that, unlike her public-facing persona, Riccio is the total opposite: introverted and incredibly private. "He doesn't have social media and he's an introvert (complete opposite of me)," she said on social media, according to the Daily Mail, adding that he's the perfect one for her. "I respect his privacy on here — but he's my number one fan, the best dad, and just the best man I've ever met." Sweet, but that didn't stop her from posting him left and right for a while.

And while she's cooled it with the Riccio content, she has repeatedly said that the age gap is a non-issue because, at the end of the day, her husband is her number one cheerleader. "He is my greatest supporter, he's my best friend, and he's my rock," she shared in her "The Megyn Kelly Show" interview. "He's fully supportive of me building my success in my career." And hey, it probably helps that Riccio has built a successful business (read: a comfortable net worth), which Leavitt says allows him to fully support her high-profile career. "He's the father of my child, and he's the best dad I could ever ask for," Leavitt added. "And he is so supportive, especially during a very chaotic period of life... I say, 'I walked into your life, and it's been a circus ever since,' but God bless him because he's fully on board."