NEW: AOC Splits From Longtime Fiancé After Head-Scratching Social Media Post
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and her longtime fiancé Riley Roberts have reportedly split after several years together, according to a report from TMZ. The report emerged just one day after the far-left lawmaker publicly detailed her decision to freeze her eggs in a series of social media posts.
Ocasio-Cortez, 36, and Roberts, a web developer originally from Arizona, first met as undergraduates at Boston University around age 19. They connected at a weekly campus discussion event known as “Coffee & Conversations,” where students debated topics ranging from foreign policy to culture. The pair dated throughout college but separated after graduation, with Roberts returning to Arizona while Ocasio-Cortez remained on the East Coast.
They reconnected around 2015, according to a report from People magazine. Roberts later moved to New York, and the couple lived together in the Bronx area during Ocasio-Cortez’s early political rise, including her surprise 2018 primary victory that sent her to Congress as one of its youngest members.
They became engaged in April 2022 during a trip to Ocasio-Cortez’s family’s hometown in Puerto Rico. “We got engaged last month in my family’s hometown in Puerto Rico. No future details yet, we’re taking some space to savor this time before diving into planning,” the congresswoman said in a statement to Business Insider at the time.
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On Tuesday, TMZ reported that the couple had quietly split and called off the engagement roughly two years earlier
The outlet cited Puck News Chief Washington Correspondent Leigh Ann Caldwell, who said a reputable Capitol Hill source told her about 18 months prior that the engagement had been called off. Caldwell noted that Ocasio-Cortez had stopped wearing her engagement ring several months before that conversation and that there had been few or no public photos of the pair together in recent years.
Multiple congressional sources told TMZ it had “felt like ages” since the two were seen publicly together. The outlet definitively stated that it had “confirmed” the breakup, though it acknowledged uncertainty on the precise timing, and noted that Ocasio-Cortez’s office had no comment.
“AOC and Roberts broke up about two years ago. Perhaps that’s why she’s freezing her eggs,” Caldwell wrote in a post of her own.
The timing of the reported split comes just days after Ocasio-Cortez posted a series of Instagram videos announcing she had begun the process of freezing her eggs. “This is a choice that I am making to feel more in control of my life,” the congresswoman said in one of the videos.
She described weighing the decision and saving for the procedure for a long time, called the process “very daunting,” and framed it as empowering while acknowledging a “political risk” in sharing personal reproductive details. “If people want to make assumptions about my decision, let them make those assumptions. I feel empowered to make this choice,” she said.
Neither Ocasio-Cortez nor Roberts has publicly confirmed or denied the reports. The congresswoman has historically kept details of her personal life relatively private.
BREAKING: Dolly Parton’s Cause Of Death Revealed: ‘Brief Battle’
Dolly Parton’s death came after a brief battle with cancer, her representatives revealed Tuesday.
The country music legend died Aug. 25 at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. She was 80.
Parton had been admitted to the cancer center Friday, four days before her death. Her representatives confirmed the cancer diagnosis in a statement to PEOPLE but did not disclose what type she had.
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand,” the statement read.
“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact. After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” the statement concluded.
The “Jolene” singer had also been dealing with kidney and autoimmune issues before her death, PEOPLE previously reported.
Just days earlier, Dolly Parton opened up about her declining health and acknowledged that she had put off addressing some medical issues while caring for her husband, Carl.
“As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over [my husband] Carl. You know, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to manage something like this. Back in the early ’80s, I was down for several months with female issues, and I was struggling with my weight at the time too, so it’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” Parton told PEOPLE.
Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death in an Instagram video Tuesday on behalf of the Parton and Owens family.
“My name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next,” he says in the video.
Seaver, who served as Parton’s head of security for more than two decades, said she had asked him years earlier to deliver the announcement.
“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” he continued. “As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.”
Seaver said the moment brought immense pride and heartbreak, but he took comfort in his faith that Parton had been reunited with Carl and other loved ones.
Seaver added: “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless othe
Shocking 'truth' behind Prince Harry's decision to quit major role
Prince Harry should have "resigned in disgrace" from the board of a controversial African wildlife charity, a commentator says. James Walker makes the bombshell remark in Wednesday's episode of this publication's podcast, Daily Expresso.
He and the show's host, JJ Anisiobi, delve into the Duke of Sussex's dramatic decision to step down from African Parks. James, commenting on the controversy, said: "When you hear about this stuff and how long it's been going on for, you should be resigning in disgrace. [Harry] should be saying: 'I'm not touching that with a barge pole. That is a failed entity. We're going nowhere near it'.
"But no. He's still saying he's going to 'support their mission'. And again this Caroline Pearce, executive director of Survival International, goes on to say: 'His departure doesn't undo that record'.
"She alleged that African Parks was aware of the abuses for years, but it was only after Survival complained to Harry that the charity finally commissioned an investigation."
James added: "Well, she's got a point."
It emerged on Monday (August 24) that Harry was no longer a board member of the wildlife charity.
The conservation organisation has admitted that human rights abuses were committed by its rangers against members of the semi-nomadic Baka group in Congo-Brazzaville.
African Parks has said since that it has improved its safeguarding processes both in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park and institutionally.
Its admission followed an independent human rights investigation into allegations guards managed and paid by the charity had beaten, raped and tortured indigenous people in Odzala-Kokoua National Park.
Harry was president of the charity for six years before he became a member of its board of directors in 2023.
A spokesman for the Duke said he remains an active and avid supporter of African Parks. He added: "The Duke is proud of his 10 years with African Parks and fully supports the ongoing strengthening of its board.
"His commitment to conservation in Africa continues and he remains a supporter of African Parks’ mission."
Human rights organisation, Survival International, said it had been calling on Harry to step down from African Parks for years.
The group's director, Caroline Pearce, said in a statement: "It’s outrageous that for 10 years Prince Harry has served African Parks while the organisation has been responsible for abuse and violence against Indigenous people.
"His departure doesn't undo that record — African Parks itself must now be held accountable, and must abandon this model of fortress conservation for good."
Survival International said indigenous peoples know how best to manage their land and the idea outsiders know better is racist and colonial.
