Matt And Ginger Gaetz Have Quite The Age Gap

Matt Gaetz has raised many a red flag throughout his time in the public sphere, and his marriage is no different. The former congressman from Florida married Ginger Gaetz in August 2021, right when he was being investigated in relation to an alleged sex trafficking ring and being accused of having sex with a minor. But the timing and complicated legal background weren't the only strange things about the wedding. The Gaetzes' decade-plus age gap also didn't go unnoticed.

Since then, observers have noted an array of weird things about Matt and Ginger's marriage. Some even believe that the Gaetzes' marriage is a sham, considering they clearly have differing views on the expectations of gender roles within relationships. But their on-air divergence just seemed to prove that their marriage is built on more than genuine love. Matt and Ginger met at a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago, and she hasn't left his side since. To many, they both seemed to have something to gain from their whirlwind romance.

For Ginger, it offered access to Donald Trump's inner circle. Interestingly, their first (unofficial) date was at a birthday celebration for Donald Trump Jr.'s then-fiancee Kimberly Guilfoyle. Matt, for his part, may have had other reasons for marrying Ginger a full year before the planned date. "Has nothing to do with the whole spouse privilege of not having to testify against him. Nope, not at all," a user wrote on X. Their age difference is yet another piece in the big puzzle that is their marriage.

Ginger Gaetz was born in August 1994, making her 12 years younger than Matt Gaetz, born in May 1982. This means that when they met around March 2020, she was 25 and he was about to turn 38. Despite their age gap, they jumped into the relationship, and she started traveling with him. "My company went totally remote in March so I can do my financial analytics from anywhere," Ginger, who worked for food technology company Apeel back then, told the Daily Mail in December 2020.

While Matt and Ginger's age gap is considerable, it is at least legal. That's significant, considering the accusations he has faced. In fact, Ginger's sister made bold claims about him that went well beyond the 12-year difference he has with his wife. "When a creepy old man tries to hit on you at the bar but your sisters engaged to a literal pedophile," Roxanne Luckey wrote in a video she shared on her TikTok, which has since been made private (via Daily Beast). Luckey's rant came months after the Justice Department announced the probe involving Matt. 

"I saw the character and type of person he is, and when everything came out about him, I honestly, unfortunately, was not surprised," she said. No charges were brought against him. However, a 2024 House Ethics Committee report found "substantial evidence" that he had sex with a 17-year-old in 2017, when he was 35, The Guardian reported. Matt resigned from Congress and later withdrew from consideration as Donald Trump's attorney general pick amid the committee's investigation.