RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced Saturday that she's freezing her eggs as the progressive New York lawmaker mulls her political future four years following her engagement to her longtime partner.
The 36-year-old congresswoman did not specify whether she plans to have children but acknowledged the "political risk" she took by sharing her personal plans during a series of videos Saturday on Instagram.
"This is a choice that I am making to feel more in control of my life," she said.
The congresswoman later said Sunday that she hasn't ruled out a presidential run or a bid for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by fellow Democrat Chuck Schumer in 2028. Her interview on ABC News' This Wee k, which prompted speculation on her aspirations for higher office, marked her first appearance on a major Sunday news program since 2024, according to The New York Times .
Ocasio-Cortez did not mention her fiancé and longtime partner, Riley Roberts, during Saturday's announcement, but the pair have been engaged since 2022, People previously reported.
Ocasio-Cortez met Roberts, a 38-year-old web developer, while they both attended Boston University as undergraduate students. The couple initially met at a weekly debate event and dated throughout college but broke up after graduation—only to reunite several years later, People reported, citing " Take Up Space: The Unprecedented AOC ," a 2022 biography on the four-term lawmaker.
Ocasio-Cortez confirmed in May 2022 that she and Roberts had gotten engaged.
"It's true!" she wrote on X. "Thank you all for the well wishes."
Ocasio-Cortez said Roberts had popped the question the prior month while in her family's hometown in Puerto Rico. She reportedly told an Insider reporter that she wanted to "savor this time" before planning her nuptials.
Unlike his partner, Roberts maintains a discreet public profile. He moved back to Arizona after graduating from Boston University, where he studied sociology and finance, Business Insider reported in 2019. He then worked for web design and advertising startups before helping found a subscription home-management service called Homebinder in 2014.
Ocasio-Cortez's mother, meanwhile, has previously said she's a big fan of Roberts.
"I love him," Blanca Ocasio-Cortez told the Daily Mail in 2019. "He is the most loving, supporting person I've seen. He helped her tremendously during the election. They've been together for four years now, after they reconnected from a college breakup. I know they love children, and they do very well with children from the family. So, I hope they get married soon, although they haven't told me anything about their plans."
After the couple rekindled their relationship, Roberts returned to New York and worked out of the apartment they shared in the Bronx while Ocasio-Cortez worked at a nearby bar and organized for Senator Bernie Sanders' presidential primary campaign, Business Insider reported.
Roberts also supported Ocasio-Cortez's early political career, assisting with digital marketing and social media outreach. He even appeared in a 2019 documentary, Knock Down the House , that tracked her 2018 congressional campaign.
"Everything from the emotional to the strategic to the practical, he has been a really important partner to her," director Rachel Lears told Business Insider in 2019.
Messages seeking comment from Ocasio-Cortez's staff were not returned on Monday. Attempts to reach Roberts were unsuccessful. But the progressive lawmaker told reporters Sunday she hoped to normalize conversations about the challenges women face in their professional and personal lives.
"In this political environment, where this administration is denying reproductive care to women across the country, from abortion rights to the ability to carry out a healthy pregnancy, I think it’s important for us as leaders to have these conversations," Ocasio-Cortez said Sunday.
Ocasio-Cortez also said women face different levels of scrutiny regarding their personal decisions when compared to men.
"Men run for office, or frankly they interview for jobs, and people don’t think in the back of their minds, 'OK, this guy’s running for office, how old is he? Oh, well, is he going to want to start a family?'" she said.
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