Who is Pete Buttigieg's husband? 5 things you need to know
Here are five things you need to know about Chasten Buttigieg (formerly Chasten Guzman), the 30-year-old man who could become the country’s first 'first gentleman'
Pete Buttigieg’s sexuality became a campaign issue this week when conservative radio host Rush LImbaugh questioned whether Americans would vote for an openly gay man.
“They’ve got to be saying that despite all the great progress and despite all the great wokeness, and despite all the great ground that’s been covered, America’s still not ready to elect a gay guy kissing his husband on the debate stage president,” Limbaugh said on his show last week. The remarks prompted a swift backlash from Buttigieg’s competitors in the Democratic presidential race.
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If Buttigieg won the Democratic nomination, he would be the first openly gay candidate to represent a major party in a presidential election. Appearing on CNN a few days later, Buttigieg responded to Limbaugh, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom during President Trump’s State of the Union speech.
"Well, I love my husband. I'm faithful to my husband. On stage we usually just go for a hug,” he said. “But I love him very much, and I'm not going to take lectures on family values from the likes of Rush Limbaugh.”
Democratic presidential candidate former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, right, and his husband Chasten Buttigieg acknowledge the audience at the end of a campaign event, Monday, Feb. 10, 2020, in Milford, N.H. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Here are five things you need to know about Chasten Buttigieg (formerly Chasten Glezman), the 30-year-old man who could become the country’s first “first gentleman.”
Pete Buttigieg and Chasten Buttigieg have been married since 2018.
The couple tied the knot at the Cathedral of Saint James Episcopal Church in South Bend. Much of the food was local and included tacos and beer.
Chasten Buttigieg taught humanities and drama
Chasten Buttigieg began teaching at Montessori Academy in Mishawaka, Indiana, beginning in 2017, according to their New York Times wedding announcement. He has taken leave to join his husband on the campaign trail. The couple met in 2015 on a dating app called Hinge.
Chasten Buttigieg came out to his family last
When Chasten Buttigieg came out the summer after graduation, he told his family last, according to a Washington Post article. “I remember my mom crying,” he told the Post. “And the first thing she asked me was if I was sick. I think she meant, like, did I have AIDS?" He packed his bags and left home, occasionally bouncing around on people’s couches, and sometimes sleeping in his car in the parking lot of the community college where he was taking classes. Eventually, he told the Post, his mom called and asked him to come home. His parents would later walk him down the aisle at his wedding to Pete Buttigieg, but his two brothers have not yet reconciled with his sexuality.
Chasten Buttigieg studied in Germany and Wisconsin
Chasten Buttigieg studied in Germany as an exchange student before attending the University of Wisconsin — Eau Claire. He earned his bachelor's in theater and global studies in 2011 and moved to Milwaukee, Wisc. where he worked as a teaching artist for First Stage, a children’s theater and academy, USA Today reported.
He’s big on Twitter
He frequently uses his burgeoning social media presence — he currently has about 400,000 followers — to advocate for his husband’s campaign, share photos of the couple’s two dogs or share some inspiration.