Meet the REAL Doug Emhoff: VP Kamala Harris' husband's cheating with the family nanny... work for dodgy arms dealer... and well-timed 'feminist' rebrand as his wife runs for president

It has been awkward timing, to opportunity nan least, for nan Kamala Harris run to statesman rolling retired merchandise featuring a 4 decade-old image of nan vice president's husband.

On Friday, java mugs emblazoned pinch an image of a handsome - noticeably younger, thinner and fuller-haired - Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff went connected waste connected kamalaharris.com.

For conscionable $20.00 – you excessively could aftermath up to that smiling look successful nan morning.

'Kamala's run squad tells maine you liked this photograph truthful overmuch they made merch retired of it,' Emhoff, 59, joked to his Gen-Z fanbase connected Instagram, who person been charmed by nan unassuming, ex-lawyer who seems perfectly contented successful his wife's shadow.

But little than 24 hours later, Doug's gag wasn't landing arsenic well.

DailyMail.com reported exclusively connected Saturday that Emhoff's first matrimony to movie shaper Kerstin Emhoff fell isolated aft he had an matter pinch his young daughter's teacher, Najen Naylor.

Emhoff confirmed nan illicit romance successful a connection to CNN.

Though he did not reside immoderate of nan grim specifications of nan Mail's reporting – specifically, that his matter pinch Naylor, who besides moonlighted arsenic nan family nanny, resulted successful a gestation and, according to Naylor's adjacent friend, she 'did not support nan child.'

(It's not clear if nan gestation was terminated aliases if a kid was fixed up for adoption.)

This would beryllium a shocking revelation astir immoderate governmental spouse but it's moreover much truthful for Emhoff, who is now successful nan moving to go America's first First Gentleman.

What's more, since his woman became Vice President successful 2020, he has embarked connected a nationalist crusade presenting himself arsenic a domiciled exemplary for American men.

'[Toxic masculinity] is thing I person thought astir a lot, thing I've spoken astir a lot,' Emhoff told MSNBC big Jonathan Capehart successful March 2023. 'There's excessively overmuch of toxicity – masculine toxicity retired there.'

'We've benignant of confused what it intends to beryllium a man, what it intends to beryllium masculine, wherever you've sewage this trope retired location wherever you person to beryllium tough, and angry, and lash retired to beryllium strong,' he proclaimed. 'It's conscionable nan opposite. You know, spot is really you show your emotion for people.'

It's remarks for illustration those and others Emhoff has made complete nan years that are not sitting good pinch critics.

And while galore governmental experts concede that his infidelities apt won't wounded his wife's electoral ambitions, they do expose him to allegations that he's a craven hypocrite.

'I've sewage to beryllium honest, I don't really springiness a s*** astir Doug Emhoff and his first marriage,' said erstwhile Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly connected her podcast Monday.

'What I do attraction astir is his preaching and lecturing to nan remainder of america connected what it intends to beryllium toxically masculine…' she explained.

'Is it toxic masculinity to eff astir connected your first woman pinch your children's nanny and past get her pregnant?' Kelly asked.

Indeed, there's a batch much to Doug Emhoff than a flattering image connected a java cup and immoderate lofty ideals. 

And now, arsenic everything from his infidelity to his ineligible activity for a OxyContin pusher and problematic arms trader comes to nan fore, galore are asking: Who is nan existent Doug Emhoff?

He joined his first wife, movie shaper Kerstin Emhoff, successful 1992 and they had 2 children, Cole, 29, and Ella, 25.

As an up-and-coming lawyer successful Los Angeles, Emhoff worked astatine 2 salient firms earlier opening a boutique rule cognition successful 2000, which was sold six years later to firm elephantine Venable.

Emhoff became a managing head of nan firm's West Coast offices.

One of Emhoff's rule partners, Aaron H. Jacoby, told The New York Times successful 2020 that he was hesitant to waste to Venable, but Emhoff convinced him.

'[Emhoff] is simply a persuasive guy. He is nan type of feline — I don't mean this successful a bad aliases nefarious measurement — but he gets what he wants,' Jacoby said.

It was besides astir this clip that Emhoff's matrimony to Kerstin was ending aft she discovered his matter pinch Najen Naylor, sources told nan Mail.

Emhoff's girl was 10 astatine nan clip and his boy was boy 15.

Naylor near her occupation arsenic a coach astatine The Willows, an elite backstage simple schoolhouse successful Culver City, California amid nan scandal.

By contrast, Emhoff's profession astatine Venable was only taking off.

He reportedly represented Abbott Laboratories, a multi-national wellness attraction company, successful an OxyContin fraud case.

Among different cases, Abbott was accused by nan authorities of West Virginia successful 2004 of inappropriately trading highly addictive OxyContin to its citizens, while allegedly downplaying nan drug's risks. 

The lawsuit was settled successful 2004 erstwhile Purdue Pharma LP, nan Connecticut institution that developed OxyContin and has been accused of stoking America's opioid crisis, agreed to salary nan authorities $10 million.

Abbott was moving connected Purdue's behalf – and a clause successful their statement reportedly indemnified nan business. Neither institution admitted wrongdoing.

In 2011, Emhoff reportedly represented world arms trader Dolarian Capital successful a lawsuit against different weapons broker, who was accused of lying astir securing an export licence to vessel thousands of AK-47s from Romania to nan Afghan nationalist army.

In 2019, Ara Dolarian, nan proprietor and president of Dolarian Capital, was arrested by nan FBI and charged pinch illegally brokering nan waste of millions of dollars of military-grade arms from Eastern Europe to Nigeria without support from nan State Department.

Dolarian pleaded blameworthy that twelvemonth and was reportedly jailed successful 2023 for 14 months.

Emhoff was besides reportedly portion of nan squad defending pharmaceutical elephantine Merck successful 2013 erstwhile it was sued complete an osteoporosis drug, Fosamax, that 1,200 plaintiffs alleged caused their jaw bones to deteriorate. 

Merck did $3 cardinal successful income of Fosamax successful 2007 alone. The institution settled pinch nan claimants successful 2013 for $27.7 million.

As Emhoff's ineligible profession progressed, truthful did Harris' governmental career. They joined successful August 2014, while she was California's Attorney General.

Emhoff appeared to usage his salient position successful Venable to thief his caller woman connected her measurement up.

When Harris ran for Senate successful 2016, nan largest excavation of her run costs came from Venable's lawyers and employees, according to nan New York Times.

Emhoff near Venable and joined DLA Piper arsenic a partner successful 2017, splitting his clip betwixt nan company's LA and Washington DC offices, arsenic Harris started her caller occupation arsenic a legislator successful nan nation's capital.

And erstwhile Joe Biden tapped Harris to subordinate him connected nan 2020 Democratic statesmanlike ticket, Emhoff took a time off of absence from nan firm.

'I really decided to thin successful connected this rumor of men supporting women, professionally and personally, truthful they tin succeed, moreover if that intends stepping distant from my ain career,' he told a group of young girls astatine a kindness arena successful 2022.

The move was praised arsenic a 'revolutionary' departure from nan old-fashioned 'gendered' norm of nan man arsenic nan breadwinner.

However, Emhoff's determination to put his ineligible profession connected clasp whitethorn not person been wholly down to his feminist sensibilities.

There were grumbles successful nan media complete whether Emhoff's occupation would beryllium problematic for Harris politically. 'Will Doug Emhoff's Legal Career Be an Issue for nan Biden-Harris Ticket?' asked a New York Times header successful September 2020.

Ethics experts besides flagged imaginable conflicts of liking betwixt DLA Piper's lobbying activity connected behalf of world media institution Comcast, defense contractor Raytheon, nan Puerto Rican authorities and countries for illustration Afghanistan and Bahrain.

By November 2020, aft Biden and Harris' electoral victory, Emhoff near DLA Piper.

The closest parallel to Emhoff and his profession choices are those of Marilyn Quayle, nan woman of President George H.W. Bush's vice president, Dan Quayle.

She abandoned her ineligible profession successful 1989 erstwhile concerns complete conflicts of liking betwixt her clients and her husband's domiciled became untenable.

Perhaps, Emhoff is not specified a trailblazer aft all.

Today, Doug is school intermezo rule astatine Georgetown Law wherever he is paid astir $200,000 per year.

Forbes estimates that his and Harris' mixed nett worthy is $8 million, up from $7 cardinal successful 2021.

So, for each of Doug's sacrifices for his wife's profession – it appears he's doing conscionable fine.