All About Ron DeSantis' Wife Casey DeSantis and Their 3 Kids
Ron DeSantis and his wife Casey tied the knot at Walt Disney World in 2009 and share three children
Meet Ron DeSantis' wife and kids.
The Florida governor — who officially announced his 2024 presidential bid on May 24 — is married to Casey DeSantis, his wife of 13 years. Together, they share three kids: Madison, Mason and Mamie.
In 2009, Ron and Casey tied the knot at Walt Disney World, a location that the politician called "ironic" when he and his wife appeared on SiriusXM's Patriot in February amid his public battle with the company.
Since Ron was officially named governor in January 2019, Casey has served as Florida's first lady, supporting her husband's initiatives while launching several of her own.
Even their children have been involved in their father's political endeavors, appearing in Ron's Trump-inspired campaign as a then-GOP gubernatorial hopeful. The DeSantis kids have also stepped out alongside their parents at public events, though their personal lives are kept fairly private.
Most recently, Casey showed her support for her husband with a video posted on Twitter that hinted at Ron's anticipated Republican presidential primary campaign announcement. "America is worth the fight... Every. Single. Time," the first lady of Florida captioned the social media post featuring Ron walking toward an American flag.
The following day, the Florida governor filed paperwork to run with the Federal Election Commission, confirming longtime rumors that he has been priming himself to earn the Republican Party's nomination.
Here's everything to know about DeSantis' family, including his wife and their three kids.
Related: Disney Scraps Plan to Bring 2,000 High-Paying Jobs to Florida amid Feud with Ron DeSantis
Casey met Ron DeSantis on a golf course
Casey DeSantis is an Ohio native born on June 26, 1980. While she was raised in her home state, she later moved to South Carolina to pursue an education at the University of Charleston where she graduated with a degree in economics.
Upon graduation, she nabbed a job in television and moved to Florida early in her career. She worked as a television host, in which the Golf Channel was among one of her first gigs. She hosted programs such as On The Tee and PGA Tour Today.
Golf was what first brought Casey and Ron together — a meet-up that occurred when she relocated to Jacksonville to work in television news as a local newscaster, anchor and producer.
"We met at the University of North Florida at the driving range off Kernan," Casey told First Coast News. "I kept looking over my shoulder because I wanted the bucket of balls that somebody had left because my swing was so terrible. I needed as much practice as I could possibly get."
She continued, "As I'm looking over behind me, Ron is over there. He thinks I'm looking at him. I was really looking at the balls. Long story short we started to talk and that's how we met."
Ron and Casey wed in 2009 at Walt Disney World, a location that the politician said was "ironic" amid his ongoing public battle with the company. "In looking forward to what we ended up doing as Governor and some of the face-offs that we had with some major institutions in Florida, it's kind of ironic," Ron said during an interview on SiriusXM's Patriot.
Related: Ron DeSantis Polling at Low Levels Ahead of Expected 2024 Presidential Campaign Launch
Casey became the first lady of Florida in 2019
Casey became the first lady of Florida when Ron was elected governor of the state and officially sworn in on Jan. 8, 2019. That year, she established the First Lady's Medal for Courage, Commitment and Service "inspired by Floridians making a positive impact in their communities."
Since her husband was elected into office, Casey has launched four major initiatives. Among them include Hope Florida – A Pathway to Prosperity, Economic Self-Sufficiency and Hope, launched in September 2019, and the Resiliency Florida initiative, launched in February 2021.
Casey is an award-winning journalist
In addition to working for the Golf Channel and local news stations in Florida — where she held several positions, including assignment reporter and police reporter — Casey also moderated The Chat, a round-table talk show that aired on Jacksonville networks.
Military stories were among the topics she covered heavily, including the deployments on the USS John F. Kennedy (the last conventionally-powered aircraft carrier) and the USS Florida (a cruise missile submarine). According to her official first lady website bio, she was awarded an Emmy for her work.
Casey is a breast cancer survivor
In October 2021, Ron announced that Casey had been diagnosed with breast cancer. In March 2022, she and her husband announced that she was in remission.
Casey has used her platform as first lady of Florida to help the cause in the state. According to her official bio, she "secured $100 million in recurring funding for cancer research and care in the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Budget."
In addition, Casey travels the state to speak with patients and their families with the intent of bringing awareness to the importance of early screening.
In May 2023, the Florida Legislature renamed the Florida Consortium of National Institute Centers Program the “Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program" to honor Casey for her work devoted to the cause.
Casey shares three kids with Ron DeSantis
Casey and Ron share three kids together: daughter Madison, 5, son Mason, 4, and daughter Mamie, 2. Their youngest was the first baby born in the Governor’s Mansion in more than 50 years.
While details on their personal lives have been kept private, all three of the DeSantis children have stepped out in support of their dad on numerous occasions through the years. They're often spotted alongside their mom and dad on stage at public events and on their parents' respective Instagrams.
Casey and Ron DeSantis' kids have been featured in his political campaigns
A then-GOP gubernatorial hopeful, Ron featured his two eldest kids in one of his campaign ads in July 2018. The ad appeared to suggest his support of Trump's agenda, in which he used his kids to further convey his message.
In the ad, Casey begins, “Everyone knows my husband Ron DeSantis is endorsed by President Trump, but he’s also an amazing dad. Ron loves playing with the kids.”
The video then showed DeSantis instructing his daughter, Madison, to “build the wall” as she piles up toy blocks; reading Trump’s The Art of the Deal to his infant son, Mason; encouraging Madison to repeat “Make American Great Again”; and cooing “big league” (or is it “bigly”?) to Mason as the baby wears a pro-Trump onesie.
"You have to look at it in perspective," said Casey amid his political season that year. "There were millions of dollars in negative attack ads against Ron, special interests. That was kind of where we were and we said well how do we respond? We responded with humor. We had fun I think a lot of people liked it and they got the joke," she explained.
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