Who Is Hunter Biden's Wife? All About Melissa Cohen Biden

Hunter Biden has been married to Melissa Cohen Biden since 2019, and they share one child

Meet Hunter Biden's wife.

The 54-year-old son of President Joe Biden is married to Melissa Cohen Biden. They tied the knot in May 2019, six days after meeting for the first time.

"I instantly fell in love with her. And then I've fallen in love with her more every day," he told ABC News of Melissa in October 2019.

Upon meeting, Hunter opened up to Melissa about the hardships he's faced in the past, including the tragic deaths in his family and his decade-long struggle with addiction.

When speaking to ABC News at the time, Hunter referred to Melissa as his "redemption" and his "protector" as he sought treatment for his substance abuse issues. She described Hunter as "incredibly strong" in response to a question about him maintaining his sobriety in the face of public pressure.

Following their impromptu wedding, Joe personally thanked Melissa for helping his son "to love again" in the wake of several difficult public relationships.

“[Joe] was on speaker, and he said to her, ‘Thank you for giving my son the courage to love again,' " Hunter recalled to The New Yorker. "And he said to me, ‘Honey, I knew that when you found love again that I’d get you back.’ ”

More recently, Melissa has been by Hunter's side amid his federal gun trial, which resulted in a guilty verdict in June 2024. Joe eventually decided to give his son a full presidential pardon in December.

Read on to learn more about Hunter Biden's wife, Melissa Cohen Biden.

Related: Hunter Biden's Guilty Verdict: Read the Full Recap of His Final Day in Court

She is from South Africa

Melissa was born and raised in South Africa, but is now a naturalized United States citizen. Per ABC News, Hunter "proudly" attended the ceremony.

In his memoir Beautiful Things, Hunter notes that Melissa is fluent in five languages, including Italian and Hebrew. He also describes her as an activist.

She is a filmmaker

Hunter described Melissa as an "aspiring" documentary filmmaker in his memoir, Beautiful Things.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Melissa attempted to raise $30,000 for a documentary prior to meeting Hunter, but was unsuccessful. Titled Tribal Worlds, the doc was described by an online crowdfunding profile as a “series on the past present & future of humanity told through the lens of African tribal communities."

Related: Hunter Biden Found Guilty of Illegally Obtaining and Possessing Weapon in 2018

She wed Hunter six days after meeting

The couple met through mutual friends at the Sunset Marquis hotel in 2019. Hunter has described the interaction as love at first sight, recalling the moment in his memoir, Beautiful Things.

"You have the exact same eyes as my brother,” he told Melissa that night. “I know this probably isn’t a good way to start a first date, but I’m in love with you.”

That same night, Hunter admitted his drug addiction to Melissa, to which she replied, "Well, not any more. You’re finished with that."

Hunter writes in his book that Melissa, within days, helped transform his life. “I couldn’t go to the bathroom without her following me inside,” he wrote.

On May 17, the pair tied the knot in a secret wedding on the roof of Melissa's L.A. apartment. They exchanged “the simplest gold wedding bands he could find,” and got matching tattoos soon after marrying.

The wedding came about a month after a report that Hunter had split from Hallie Biden, the widow of his late brother Beau Biden. Hunter made headlines in 2017 when his family confirmed he had split with wife Kathleen and was seeing his former sister-in-law.

She has one son with Hunter

Melissa and Hunter welcomed one child together, son Beau Biden. He was born on March 28, 2020.

Their son was named after Hunter’s late older brother, Beau. The name was confirmed when Joe’s transition officials announced that a “Beau Biden” would be attending the president's inauguration in January 2021.

Hunter is the father to four other children, welcoming his first three with ex-wife Kathleen Buhle. He fathered a daughter, Navy Roberts, in 2018 with an Arkansas woman named Lunden Roberts — but Navy's identity was kept private for years amid a legal dispute between her parents over paternity and child support. 

She was previously married

Melissa was previously married prior to tying the knot to Hunter in 2019. She wed Jason Landver, who comes from a Los Angeles family in the jewelry business.

Few details are known about their relationship, though Hunter writes in his memoir that Jason filed for divorce in 2014 after three years.

Related: Will Hunter Biden Go to Jail? What to Know About a Possible Sentence After His Conviction on Gun Charges

She supported Hunter in court

Melissa was by her husband's side throughout the entirety of his federal gun trial, where he was convicted of three felony charges after a Delaware jury reached its guilty verdict on June 11, 2024.

She was pictured holding Hunter's hand as they arrived each day and seen reacting from the front row during the proceedings. On June 4, she made headlines for lashing out at a one-time adviser for Trump during a break.

In December 2024, Joe announced his decision to give Hunter a full presidential pardon.

"I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice," he wrote in a statement issued by The White House. "It is clear that Hunter was treated differently."