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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Tamara Davison

US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gets engaged to long-term boyfriend Riley Roberts

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has revealed that she’s engaged after her long-term bofriend Riley Roberts proposed last month.

The US Democratic House Representative confirmed the exciting news on social media on Thursday and thanked supporters for their well-wishes.

Speaking to the Business Insider, Ocasio-Cortez also revealed that the proposal took place in her family’s home town in Puerto Rico in April.

However, the couple are “taking some time” to enjoy the engagement before getting down to planning their wedding.

“We got engaged last month in my family’s hometown in Puerto Rico,” she told the publication. “No future details yet, we’re taking some space to savour this time before diving into planning.”

New wave: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was elected in 2018 (EPA)

The 32-year-old New York lawmaker met Roberts when they were both studying at Boston University.

Roberts works in marketing and has kept a relatively low profile in regards to his relationship with Oscasio-Cortez. However, he did appear alongside his partner in the Netflix documentary Knock Down The House - that depicted the election of several progressives to the House of Representatives.

What’s more, a biography about the politician’s life also revealed Roberts to be a supportive partner.

“He doesn’t seem focus-grouped or media-trained for state dinners and press conferences. We know he’s supportive and encouraging in private,” Josh Gondelman wrote in her biography, Take Up Space. “And his expertise, as far as his public image goes, is his elusiveness and restraint.”

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez hasn’t revealed any wedding plans yet (Reuters)

AOC’s confirmation of the engagement on social media has been flooded with congrtulatory messages from supporters and her peers.

Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest congresswoman to ever be elected to the House of Representatives after running for Congress in 2018. Since then, she has remained a prevalant voice among Democratic progressives as well as younger voters.

However, in the last few weeks, the politician has been laying low after revealing that a “health issue” had sidelined her work.

Speaking on Instagram to her followers, the congresswoman didn’t go into details but has stated that she’s bounced back.

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