Doug Emhoff's Birthday Reply To Kamala Harris Opens A Can Of Worms About Marriage Tensions

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There have been moments where we've been worried about the state of the marriage between Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff, and a recent birthday post is reigniting some of those worries. Harris posted a birthday tribute to Emhoff on X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram, saying "Happy birthday, my Dougie. I love you so very much" and including a photo of the two of them. That in itself wasn't all that interesting; it's Emhoff's reply on X that highlights some past tensions.

Emhoff replied to Harris with the post: "Awww thx. It's been a great day so far. Love you and promise not to mess up your bday this year!" Harris's birthday comes a week after Emhoff's, and Emhoff landed himself in hot water last year for Harris's birthday, and she let the world know about it. Obviously, he's still got the day on his mind, even on his own big day.

In Harris's book "107 Days," which details her time running for president after Joe Biden dropped out of the race in 2024, she also wrote about a bout of marriage trouble with Emhoff. He dropped the ball when it came to her birthday, and things devolved into a fight. Clearly, he wants to let her know that he'd be better this year, and he's also letting everyone else know too by making a public reference to what sounds like a dramatic day.

In case you don't know, here's what happened on the birthday in question. Kamala Harris was turning 60, and Doug Emhoff didn't plan any big celebration. They ended up in a bland hotel with food ordered by one of Harris's staffers. The gift that Emhoff gave Harris seemed to have been purchased for their anniversary and not her birthday, and the last straw was that he was busy watching a baseball game and didn't hear her ask for a towel after she was done with a bath. It sounds like they were able to make up fairly quickly, with Emhoff noting that the two of them had to stick together even as they were in the midst of being torn down by political opponents on the campaign trail.

As for what Harris did for Emhoff's birthday last year, the two were campaigning in different states, but it sounds like they were able to get together in the evening. They shared his favorite birthday meal of "chicken parm with spaghetti and key lime pie for dessert," via Threads.

Some commenters on Emhoff's X reply to Harris were happy to hear that he would be on top of things this year, with people joking that he better keep his word. We'll have to wait and see if we get an update on Harris's 61st birthday celebration. It sounds like it's been weighing on him for a year (or Harris hasn't let him forget it, or both), so our guess is that he'll be going all out.