Zohran Mamdani's Marriage Is Full Of Glaringly Obvious Red Flags
New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani met his wife, Rama Duwaji, in the most Gen Z way possible: through a dating app. They're not alone, of course; Lily Allen and David Harbour similarly found each other by swiping right, as did Simone Biles and her husband, Jonathan Owens. In their case, Mamdani and his Syrian artist and illustrator wife met on the popular match-making site Hinge. "So there is still hope in those dating apps," Mamdani told The Bulwark podcast during his campaign in June 2025.
Depending on who you ask, meeting someone online is just the way to date in the digital age, or it might be considered a huge red flag. In 2025, an international study conducted among 6,500 people from all over the world found that couples who meet via online apps often experience lower levels of intimacy and satisfaction than those who meet in person, according to the news outlet ABC. But the revolutionary mayor and New York's First Lady seem to have defied those odds, and they've given others plenty of hope with their sweet love story. "Hinge should be running ads about Zohran Mamdani and his wife daily. Man met his soulmate on their app and is now changing New York politics," one wrote on X in November 2025. "I was on @hinge for years and all I got was emotional damage and a tighter standup set."
The two got hitched in a civil wedding ceremony at the City Clerk's office in early 2025. After right-wing trolls came after Duwaji for her pro-Palestinian views, looks, and race, Mamdani came out with a powerful statement defending his wife. "Rama isn't just my wife, she's an incredible artist who deserves to be known on her own terms," he wrote on Instagram in May 2025," adding towards the end, "You can critique my views, but not my family."
They have a bit of an age gap
According to CBS News, Zohran Mamdani was the first Muslim and the second-youngest candidate to be elected mayor of New York City in history since Hugh J. Grant in 1889. He won and assumed office at 34 years old, making history in more ways that one. Meanwhile, his wife, Rama Duwaji, became the First Lady of New York at 28, putting a modest age gap of six years between them. Another potential red flag, perhaps — one that didn't sit well with a certain corner of the Internet. "Ermm with the election over let's discuss a *real* issue: Zohran's wife is 28. He's 34. When he was 18, she would've been 12. Can I get a YIKES??" someone on X pointed out. Another said, "I just found out Zohran Mamdani's wife is six years younger than him and I cannot believe you all voted for a groomer."
Mamdani has yet to address the surprising age gap between him and his wife as of this writing. But neither the self-declared democratic socialist nor the Syrian artist seem particularly concerned about the chatter surrounding their relationship. (After all, they pale in comparison to these politicians in relationships with uncomfortable age gaps.) For the most part, fans are too busy swooning over their marriage to care about the math. "They're both cute as hell," one user gushed on Reddit. Someone else enthused, "We haven't had a hot couple in politics like this since the Obamas." Well, we can't possibly argue with that.
On Election Day during the primary in June 2025, fans melted after Duwaji cheered on her husband in a rare but heartwarming Instagram post. Sharing a carousel featuring photo-booth snaps of the couple and a too-cute pic of Mamdani as a child, Duwaji wrote in the caption, "Couldn't possibly be prouder." Aww! May these two stay happy, strong, and in love!