AOC and Longtime Fiancé Riley Roberts Quietly Split Two Years Ago
By Alexus Mosley
James Devaney/ GC Images via Getty Images
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her longtime fiancé Riley Roberts have reportedly called it quits, and apparently, this isn’t a recent breakup.
The New York congresswoman and Roberts quietly ended their relationship and called off their engagement roughly two years ago, according to new reports. The split was first reported by Puck’s chief Washington correspondent Leigh Ann Caldwell before TMZ reported additional confirmation on Aug. 11. The revelation comes as a surprise considering just how private Ocasio-Cortez and Roberts have always been about their relationship.
Ocasio-Cortez and Roberts first met while they were students at Boston University, years before AOC would become one of the most recognizable members of Congress. The pair dated during college before going their separate ways after graduation, when Roberts returned to Arizona. They eventually rekindled their relationship after finding themselves back in New York.
As Ocasio-Cortez’s political profile grew, Roberts largely remained outside of the spotlight. One of their rare major public appearances came at the 2021 Met Gala, where Roberts accompanied Ocasio-Cortez as she made headlines in her white Brother Vellies gown emblazoned with the words “Tax the Rich.”
In May 2022, Ocasio-Cortez confirmed that Roberts had proposed during a trip to Puerto Rico. The couple never publicly announced a wedding date, and their relationship remained largely out of view in the years that followed. Now, reports indicate that the engagement actually ended around two years ago, meaning the couple managed to keep their breakup private for quite some time. Neither Ocasio-Cortez nor Roberts appears to have publicly shared details about what led to their split.
News of the breakup arrives just as Ocasio-Cortez has begun publicly documenting another deeply personal chapter of her life. The 36-year-old recently revealed that she is freezing her eggs and has shared parts of the process publicly, describing her decision as a way to preserve options for her future.
While the timing of the two stories has generated attention, the breakup reportedly occurred long before Ocasio-Cortez began publicly discussing egg freezing. There is no indication that she has connected the end of her relationship with her decision to undergo the process.
For someone whose life has unfolded so publicly over the past several years, Ocasio-Cortez managed to keep one major change remarkably private.
Apparently, for nearly two years.