The ex-wife of Kamala Harris’ husband and mother of her two stepchildren has broken her silence after a clip of vice presidential candidate JD Vance resurfaced in which he called Harris a “childless cat lady.”
Kerstin Emhoff, the ex-wife of Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, defended the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee against “unfounded” criticism about her lack of biological children, claiming Harris is an equal co-parent to their children.
“These are unsubstantiated facts,” says Kerstin told CNN. ‘For over 10 years, since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala has co-parented with Doug and me.
‘She is loving, caring, extremely protective and always there.
“I love our blended family and am grateful that she is a part of it.”
Kerstin Emhoff, the ex-wife of Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, defended Vice President Kamala Harris against criticism that she has no biological children
Her comments came just hours after Vance’s 2021 interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson went viral on social media.
In the interview, Vance said the US is ruled by “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are unhappy with their own lives and the choices they’ve made, and who therefore want to make the rest of the country unhappy as well.”
“You look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC — the entire future of the Democrats is determined by people without children,” Donald Trump’s recently announced running mate continued.
‘How is it possible that we have handed over our country to people who actually have no direct interest in it?’
Her comments came just hours after a clip of vice presidential candidate JD Vance resurfaced in which he described Harris as a “childless cat lady.”
But Harris has been stepmother to Emhoff’s two adult children since marrying their father in 2014 and is affectionately called “Momala.”
In 2019, Harris even an essay written in which she described her stepchildren as her “infinite source of love and pure joy” and explained how the name ‘Momala’ came into being.
“A few years later, when Doug and I got married, Cole, Ella, and I agreed that we didn’t like the term ‘stepmom.’ Instead, they came up with the name ‘Momala,'” she wrote in Elle Magazine.
The vice president also praised Kerstin as someone who has become a “dear friend.”
“Kerstin and I get along well and are good friends,” she wrote in the essay.
‘…We sometimes joke that our modern family is almost a little too functional.’
Harris has been stepmother to Emhoff’s two adult children since her marriage to their father in 2014
Ella Emhoff, now 25, was an art student when Harris was chosen as Biden’s running mate. She has since exploded onto the fashion and art scene when her stepmother became the first female vice president of the United States.
In January 2021, Emhoff signed with the international modeling agency IMG Models. Since then, she has appeared in a series of high-profile fashion campaigns, walked in some of the world’s biggest fashion shows and graced numerous red carpets, including the Met Gala.
However, her pro-Palestinian preferences have recently caused a stir due to the ongoing war in Israel.
As pro-Palestinian protests took place across the country following the October 7 Hamas attack, Emhoff called on her more than 300,000 social media followers to donate to the UN agency accused of supporting the terrorist group.
There no longer appear to be any links to fundraising events on her Instagram page.
Ella Emhoff, now 25, was an art student when Harris was chosen as Biden’s running mate
Less well known to the public is Harris’ stepson Cole Emhoff, right, who lives in Los Angeles and works in the entertainment industry
Less well known is Harris’ stepson Cole Emhoff, who lives in Los Angeles and, like his mother, works in the entertainment industry.
Cole Emhoff was born in 1994 and, at 30, is the eldest of the vice president’s stepchildren.
He was a senior in high school when Harris and his father got together. After graduating, he attended Colorado College.
According to his IMDB page, he has worked on several films, including as an assistant on the award-winning 2020 film ‘Minari’ and on the 2022 remake of ‘Father of the Bride’.
The Vice President solemnized the nuptials in October 2023, when he married Greenley Littlejohn.
In an interview before Harris was sworn in as vice president, Cole said his father and stepmother are “almost sickeningly cute and couple-like”
In an interview just before Harris was sworn in as vice president, Cole was asked about the relationship between his father and stepmother.
“It depends on the setting,” he said. “Because Doug and Kamala are almost vomit-inducingly cute and couple-y together. I’m like, When is this going to play out?”
He said that at home they always called Emhoff “Doug” instead of “Dad” and that he explained it as a term of endearment.