Joe Biden's Son Hunter Secretly Got Re-Married After Splitting with His Brother's Widow

Hunter Biden, the younger son of Former Vice President-turned-presidential hopeful Joe Biden, recently married South Africa native Melissa Cohen, according to multiple reports.

According to TMZ, Cohen and Hunter tied the knot in Los Angeles on May 16. A source told E! News the couple first met the same month as the nuptials, but have also already gotten matching tattoos. Since news of the couple’s wedding broke, Joe confirmed his son’s marriage to CBS News’ Adam Brewster.

Melissa’s father Lee told Page Six that he hopes to meet Hunter and said of Melissa, “She seems very happy. I’ve only spoken to Hunter briefly. She’s a very special girl. She has lots of poise and she’s very present.”

The surprise wedding comes about a month after a report that he had split from the widow of his late brother, Beau Biden.

In 2017 Hunter, 49, made headlines when his family confirmed he had split with wife Kathleen and was seeing his former sister-in-law, Hallie Biden.

It was a surprising turn in a family saga marked by the highest levels of public service and the starkest tragedies, including Beau’s 2015 cancer death at age 46.

“Hallie and I are incredibly lucky to have found the love and support we have for each other in such a difficult time, and that’s been obvious to the people who love us most,” Hunter told Page Six then. “We’ve been so lucky to have family and friends who have supported us every step of the way.”

In his own statement to the outlet, Biden said he and wife Dr. Jill Biden stood behind the new relationship. According to Page Six, Hunter and Kathleen had separated in October 2015.

“We are all lucky that Hunter and Hallie found each other as they were putting their lives together again after such sadness,” the vice president said. “They have mine and Jill’s full and complete support and we are happy for them.”

As family friend Lea Carpenter told PEOPLE in 2017: “No two brothers were as close as Hunter and Beau. And anyone moved to judgment now has no knowledge of the grace and strength with which Hunter and Hallie have navigated the last four years.”

In late April, however, Page Six reported that Hunter and Hallie split for reasons unknown. But the Biden camp stayed silent: Hunter did not respond to a request for comment from PEOPLE. Hallie could not be reached but, according to Page Six, told them “no comment.”

“A source close to the family said it’s a private matter,” Page Six reported, noting “sources further told us that the situation is ‘amicable.’ “

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Earlier this year, Hunter gave a statement to Vanity Fair reflecting on his relationship with Kathleen and his divorce, in which Kathleen claimed he spent extravagantly on drugs and prostitutes, creating “financial concerns for the family,” according to divorce court documents previously obtained by PEOPLE.

The pair quickly finalized their divorce. Biden’s brother Jim told PEOPLE in 2017 that Hunter and Kathleen “had been estranged for quite some time,” and a friend said Beau’s decline and death compounded their problems.