Did Karoline Leavitt Actually Edit Her Husband to Look Younger in Their Family Photo on Instagram?

Those who openly opposed Donald Trump and his ideals often find ways to poke fun at him. Because press secretary Karoline Leavitt is in his inner circle, the same criticism applies to her more often than not. So when she was accused of Photoshopping her much older husband's face in an Instagram photo, her harshest critics took the opportunity to go in on her.

Leavitt and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, share a more than 30-year age gap. Even before Leavitt graduated from assistant press secretary to owning the role during Trump's second term in the White House, she was the butt of jokes. Now, people are convinced that she edited a Halloween family photo to make her husband look like he is closer to her in age.

The photo in question is from a Halloween 2025 post on Instagram with pictures of Leavitt, Riccio, and their toddler son. When compared to other photos Leavitt has posted with Riccio, the up-close Halloween picture doesn't look too different, but this photo does have a smoother appearance than, say, a totally unedited photo might.

In another family photo, though, this one from April 2025, Leacvitt's husband does have a noticeable crease in his forehead. Leavitt has not admitted to using Photoshop, Facetune, or filters to change her photos, particularly her husband in the photo. But that hasn't stopped people from assuming and even insisting that she did indeed Photoshop her husband's face to make him look younger than his 60 years.

Someone commented under the post with, "In your own words, 'it's just a fact' that you used a major filter on your old husband."

Another user commented, in no uncertain terms, "Lol you Photoshopped your old geezer husband."

One Instagram user wrote, "Man that smoothing filter on her old man's forehead working overtime."

That might be the closest possibility to what, if anything, Leavitt did to edit the photo with her husband in it. Then again, it's a technique that plenty of people use for their social media photos, so it also wouldn't be unethical for Leavitt to use a smoothing filter to make her husband look younger.

Leavitt and Riccio have a 32-year age gap that has garnered plenty of attention over the years for the young press secretary. Leavitt was 27 and Riccio was 59 when they got married in early 2025. In February 2025, when Leavitt appeared on The Megyn Kelly Show, she admitted that her relationship and age gap with Riccio is "atypical," but that her husband is "incredible."

Leavitt also gushed to Kelly about how supportive her husband, a real estate businessman, is of her work in the White House. Unfortunately, Leavitt hasn't been as open about her Facetuning skills on social media as she is about being seemingly totally secure about her and her husband's large age gap.