Karine Jean-Pierre and Longtime Partner Suzanne Malveaux Have Separated: ‘I’m a Single Mom Who’s Co-Parenting’

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and broadcast journalist Suzanne Malveaux have called off their decade-long relationship.

Jean-Pierre, who made history in May 2022 as the first Black and openly gay White House press secretary, revealed in a new interview with Vogue that she and Malveaux, a former CNN anchor and White House correspondent, had separated.

In the profile, Jean-Pierre’s transition to life as a single parent is described as “challenging," as she navigates her demanding work life and motherhood in tandem. She and Malveaux share a 9-year-old daughter, Soleil, whom they adopted in 2014. 

“I’m a single mom who is co-parenting this amazing kid,” she said. 

While they are no longer romantic partners, Jean-Pierre shared that she and Malveaux are determined to not let their relationship status affect their daughter, saying, "Our number-one priority is her privacy and to make sure we create an environment that’s nurturing."

Jean-Pierre first met Malveaux at the 2012 Democratic National Convention. She was working for President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign at the time, and Malveaux was covering the event for CNN. 

In her memoir, Moving Forward, the press secretary said that they met at a donor party in a nightclub. “I know it's a cliché, but the truth is, I spotted her across a crowded dance floor.”

In the book, she shared that they didn’t go on their first date until two months later, in November 2012, and then began dating long-distance, as she was working in New York and her former partner was in Atlanta. In 2014, they moved in together in Atlanta, Jean-Pierre wrote in the book. 

Elsewhere in the memoir, she described the political correspondent as “warm, brilliant, grounded, funny — and supportive of me.”

Jean-Pierre has been open throughout her time as White House press secretary about her sexuality. In honor of National Coming Out Day last year, she took a few moments during a press briefing to share her own fears prior to coming out.

"Like so many in the LGBTQ+ community, coming out wasn't an easy thing to do," she said. "My family was traditional and conservative. Being gay in my family wasn't something that you mentioned out loud or celebrated."

However, she shared that her family “grew to accept who I was” and understood that “who I loved didn’t change who I was as a person.” 

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Since taking over the role in May 2022, she’s made several concerted efforts to use her platform to shed light on the LGBTQ+ community. 

In April, she hosted the cast of The L Word: Generation Q at one of her briefings. "As the first openly queer person to hold the position of press secretary for the President of the United States, I see every day how important visibility and representation are," she said as she introduced the cast of the Showtime series.

Earlier this year, Malveaux announced she was stepping down from her role at CNN after more than 20 years with the network.

"While I've thrived on the energy from covering breaking news and politics, the rhythm of my life has shifted to the more personal," Malveaux wrote in a memo obtained by Deadline at the time.

She shared that her role as a mother to her then eight-year-old daughter had changed her priorities, and she wanted to instead start “focusing on [her] family.”

Of her daughter, she wrote in the memo: "I love being a mom, and the time I have with my eight-year-old daughter is priceless.”

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