Kamala Harris Has Described one of Her Exes as an "Albatross Around Her Neck"

As the Republican party looks for angles to criticize Kamala Harris during her presidential run, her dating history has naturally come under fire.

Before she married Doug Emhoff, Kamala had a relationship history like many other women in modern-day America.

But because she’s run in some high-profile circles, her dating history was just as visible as her reputation. Ahead of the 2024 election, some people have been criticizing Kamala’s love life. Others are just curious about who she's been romantically linked to in the past. Here's what we know.

The source of much of the criticism towards Kamala comes from her relationship with former California politician, Willie Brown. Willie was a mayor of San Francisco, elected in 1995, although he was speaker of the California State Assembly in the '90s when he and Kamala met. Kamala was an assistant prosecutor at the time. She was 29 years old, while Willie was 60, so their relationship definitely turned some heads.

Willie had been estranged from his wife after they separated in 1982, and had dated several women publicly since (including Kamala). In addition, he confirmed their relationship in a San Francisco Chronicle 2020 op-ed.

“Yes, we dated,” he wrote. “It was more than 20 years ago. Yes, I may have influenced her career by appointing her to two state commissions when I was the Assembly speaker. And I certainly helped with her first race for district attorney in San Francisco. I have also helped the careers of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and a host of other politicians.”

Their relationship publicly ended in 1995, however, when Kamala broke things off after Willie was voted in as the mayor. In fact, in 2003 as she ran for District Attorney, she called her relationship with Willie “an albatross hanging around [her] neck.”

She continued: “I refuse to design my campaign around criticizing Willie Brown for the sake of appearing to be independent when I have no doubt that I am independent of him — and that he would probably right now express some fright about the fact that he cannot control me. His career is over; I will be alive and kicking for the next 40 years. I do not owe him a thing.”

In 2001, Kamala briefly dated television personality Montel Williams, known for his talk show, The Montel Williams Show. A photo of them on the red carpet alongside Montel’s daughter, Ashley, elicited rumors of affairs, which were proven untrue. When their former relationship received attention during Biden’s 2020 campaign, Montel tweeted in support of Kamala.

“[Kamala] and I briefly dated about 20 years ago when we were both single,” he wrote. “So what? I have great respect for Sen. Harris. I have to wonder if the same stories about her dating history would have been written if she were a male candidate?” It’s a pretty good question, and one we’re definitely asking ourselves while sharing Kamala’s past romances.

Kamala and Doug first met in 2013 on a blind date, when Kamala was the California Attorney General. Doug is a licensed lawyer, who worked with DLA Piper until 2020, when he joined Kamala as the Second Gentleman. He was married to Kerstin Emhoff (née Mackin) for 16 years, with whom he shares two children, Cole and Ella.

Once Doug and Kamala met in 2013, the rest was history. They took it relatively slow for the sake of Doug’s children, who now call Kamala their “Momala” instead of “stepmom.” She wrote in an Elle piece about her family life and relationship, “I was already hooked on Doug, but I believe it was Cole and Ella who reeled me in.”