Massie Marries Ex-Staffer 16 Months After Wife’s Death—Internet Erupts

U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., married former congressional staffer Carolyn Grace Moffa on Oct. 19, just 16 months after the death of his wife of 35 years.

Massie, 53, announced the union Monday on X with a wedding photo.

"Carolyn and I would like to announce our recent marriage! We were legally married in Kentucky on October 19th by the pastor of the church we have been attending for several months. This weekend we celebrated with close friends and family at a Christian wedding ceremony in Pennsylvania where Carolyn is from," he wrote.

Moffa, who has never been married, worked as an agriculture policy aide for Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., from 2011 to 2016.

Massie said he met her more than a decade ago and that she "was a very early proponent and practitioner of Making America Healthy Again."

"She even visited me and my late wife Rhonda on our grass-fed cattle farm several years ago," he added.

Rhonda Massie passed away on June 27, 2024.

"Yesterday my high school sweetheart, the love of my life for over 35 years, the loving mother of our 4 children, the smartest kindest woman I ever knew, my beautiful and wise queen forever, Rhonda went to Heaven," Massie posted on X the next day.

Online backlash erupted immediately, with users slamming Massie for remarrying so soon.

Critics drew parallels to Erika Kirk, the widow of a slain TPUSA founder Charlie who faced fury for intimately hugging Vice President JD Vance after declaring in a speech that “no one could replace my husband...but I see a lot of similarities between my husband and JD."

In Washington, the congressman known for libertarian views now navigates a personal firestorm that shows no signs of abating.