How Erika Kirk Really Met Charlie Has The Internet Calling Out All The Red Flags

Charlie Kirk met his wife, Erika Kirk, during a job interview in 2018. Not only is that not the most romantic setting to fall for someone, but it isn't exactly super appropriate either. For many social media users, the way Charlie and Erika met was a major red flag about the nature of their relationship. To sum up, Erika applied for a job at Charlie's organization, Turning Point USA; after going for an initial interview at its headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, she received a social media message from Charlie asking her to contact him.

Erika agreed to meet Charlie at Bill's Burgers in New York City without knowing for sure whether it was an interview or not. It turns out it was — but not for a job. "You're gonna laugh, but you should absolutely interview for your spouse," Charlie said at a 2014 Turning Point USA event. If you think this sounds mighty informal for a recruiting process, you aren't alone. Many think that the whole thing sounds rather disrespectful — and even deceitful.

"Are Christian women aware of the concept of sexual harassment? Or they're supposed to feel flattered and take it?" a Reddit user wrote in a thread about how Erika and Charlie met. Others pointed out the complicated implications behind Charlie's actions. "This is not normal," another Redditor argued. "This is not a meet cute. This is a man starting a relationship by abusing his power dynamic against a potential employee." Erika and Charlie hyped it up like a cute story, but many clearly thought their romance was highly inappropriate.

Erika Kirk disagrees, however. She knew she wouldn't be getting the job when she walked out of the burger joint, but she felt she might get something better. Or at least, that's how she viewed the situation. In fact, Erika called her mother, Lori Frantze, on her way home to tell her about her job/spouse interview. "I was like, 'Well, I didn't get the job ... but I got a boyfriend.' And she's like, 'Oh! That's nice,'" she recalled in a 2021 Instagram video.

She may not have known it then, but Erika's life was about to undergo a major transformation – and she hasn't looked back since. "When I met Charlie, that was it. I could care less about the career," she said at the Young Women's Leadership Summit in June 2025. She went on to emphasize the role that motherhood played in her life. "Motherhood is not a pause. A lot of people think it's a pause in your life — it's a launchpad," she said.

Charlie and Erika promoted plenty of traditional family values in their work, but they didn't always follow their own advice. "[Women] should try to find their husband before they're 25," Charlie said on "The Iced Coffee Hour" in June 2025. Yet Erika was nearly five years older than Charlie and didn't get married until she was 32. Plus, Erika became CEO of Turning Point USA after Charlie's death, showing she's no tradwife at all. Clearly, their meet-cute was not the only red flag in their relationship.