Ms Harris credits media couple Dana and Matt Walden with being responsible for bringing her together with Mr Emhoff – but even the story of their meeting was not without controversy as Ms Harris entered the campaign trail.

The closeness of the two couples was questioned by Trump because Ms. Walden is the head of Disney, the parent company of ABC News, where the debate between Ms. Harris and Trump took place in September.

Ms. Harris and Mr. Emhoff married in 2014, with the father of two children at Ms. Harris’s side as she ran for president in 2019 and after she was elected as Mr. Biden’s vice president.

Ms Harris also has a close relationship with Mr Emhoff’s two children, Ella, 25, a model and knitwear designer, and Cole, 30, a producer, who they call “Momala”.

Mr. Emhoff worked as an entertainment lawyer for 30 years before giving up his career to teach at Georgetown Law School when he and his wife moved to Washington.

During his campaign this year, Mr. Emhoff frequently told the story of how he missed Ms. Harris’ calls after Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race because he was taking a cycling class in Los Angeles.

After leaving his phone in the car, Mr. Emhoff saw Mr. Biden’s resignation letter on a friend’s phone.

“Devoted father”

When he finally retrieved his phone, it was “self-immolating given the volume of messages and calls,” Mr. Emhoff said.

When he reached his wife, he said he told her, “I love you, I’m proud of you, I’m here for you, I kind of know what to do.”

It’s the kind of story with which Mr. Emhoff, whom Ms. Harris calls “my Dougie,” apparently hoped to build a reputation as a “wifey guy” by portraying himself as a devoted husband who was there first and foremost to cheer him on Ms. Harris.

His social media accounts are full of posts about Ms. Harris.

For Ms Harris’s 60th birthday last month, he shared a montage of videos of them kissing, him handing her a rose and shielding her from the rain with her umbrella.

“Happy birthday, darling. I love you so much and will always have your back,” Mr. Emhoff wrote.

Mr. Emhoff describes himself as a “devoted father” and “proud husband” in the bio on his social media accounts.

He tattooed his children’s initials on his left wrist because he wanted to have “a visceral reminder of them.”

This image of a modern husband and father may have been an attempt to convince voters that they were ready for a female president. Maybe they weren’t prepared for Mr. Emhoff.