Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has split from her longtime fiancé Riley Roberts after roughly two years apart, ending their engagement in what sources describe as a quiet separation that went largely unnoticed by the public until this week. TMZ confirmed the breakup on August 11, citing reporting from Puck’s Chief Washington Correspondent Leigh Ann Caldwell, who first revealed the couple’s demise.
The 36-year-old congresswoman and Roberts, a web developer and marketing consultant, had been together for more than a decade before he proposed during a vacation in Puerto Rico in April 2022. AOC publicly confirmed the engagement the following month in May 2022.
According to The Independent, a “reputable Democratic source” told Caldwell about 18 months ago that Ocasio-Cortez and Roberts had ended their engagement. Caldwell noted that AOC had stopped wearing her engagement ring several months before that disclosure, and the pair have not been photographed together in recent history. Their last public appearance together was at the 2021 Met Gala, according to multiple sources.
The couple met at Boston University when they were both 19 years old and began dating in their 20s. They maintained an intentionally private relationship throughout AOC’s political career, so the news of their breakup went largely undetected until Caldwell’s recent reporting prompted broader media coverage.
The Timing and Her Personal Priorities
The breakup timing coincides with AOC’s focus on her personal health and future planning. Earlier this month, the congresswoman announced publicly that she is freezing her eggs, documenting her fertility journey on Instagram in a series of videos. In her initial announcement, she made no mention of Roberts or her relationship status.
Some observers have connected the timing of her egg-freezing decision to her relationship status, though Ocasio-Cortez has framed the choice as a personal decision about her future. “I want to share this because I was weighing it for a very long time,” she said during an Instagram live video Saturday, describing the process as “very daunting.”
The breakup also comes as AOC is weighing a potential 2028 presidential or Senate run. In recent interviews, she has declined to rule out either option, telling NBC News on August 9 that she has not ruled out a potential run for president or the Senate in 2028. Some political insiders have speculated that the couple’s split may be connected to her political ambitions, though no official statement has confirmed this.
Neither Ocasio-Cortez nor Roberts has publicly commented on the breakup. When contacted, AOC’s representative declined to comment on the matter. The couple’s decision to keep their separation private—never announcing it publicly—reflects the low-profile approach they maintained throughout their relationship.
Sources
- TMZ — confirmed the breakup and reported that AOC and Riley split roughly two years ago and called off their engagement, citing Puck’s Leigh Ann Caldwell
- The Independent — reported that AOC stopped wearing her engagement ring over 18 months ago and that a reputable Democratic source told Caldwell about the ended engagement; confirmed they met at Boston University and dated for more than a decade before his 2022 Puerto Rico proposal
- NBC News — reported that Ocasio-Cortez said she has not ruled out a potential run for president or the Senate in 2028
