Kamala Harris and husband Doug living separate lives as she embraces secluded new life in $8m Malibu beach house and weighs future

By RUTH STYLES, US SENIOR REPORTER Published: 20:32, 29 May 2026 | Updated: 20:40, 29 May 2026 He was MIA throughout much of her 33-city book tour. She failed to show when he was honored with a humanitarian award at a glitzy Los Angeles club last week. Indeed, Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff haven’t been officially seen together at any public events for many months, thanks to their increasingly busy lives, with the former veep spending more time on the campaign trail as she weighs another run for the White House. As a result, speculation is growing over whether scandal-plagued Emhoff would be willing to trade his comfortable post-second gentleman life for another round of presidential campaign scrutiny. Adding fuel to the fire is the couple’s purchase of an $8million Malibu pad last December, although sources told the Daily Mail the new home was bought due to security concerns – especially after President Donald Trump abruptly yanked Harris’s Secret Service protection in September last year.  ‘Her house in Brentwood is right on the curb, which made it harder to protect,’ one insider explained of the home, which was bought last December. ‘The new house is more secluded and is well off the road, which makes it easier to secure.’ But while the power couple are not seen together at as many public events as they used to be, the pair regularly feature on each other’s social media – including over Easter when they posted pictures of themselves celebrating at their new pad. Images from earlier this month show them together in Malibu, where Harris appears to be embracing a more 'unburdened-by-what-has-been' lifestyle.  Kamala Harris greeted supporters during a fireside chat at MEET Las Vegas on May 7. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, was MIA throughout much of her 33-city book tour Emhoff accepted the humanitarian award at Inner City Law Center's Annual Awards Luncheon last week - Harris was nowhere in sight The couple bought an $8 million home in Malibu last December The lavish home, which they own together with their former space 15 miles away in Brentwood, is a four-bed, seven-bath house sitting on a clifftop overlooking the Pacific at the top of a long, winding driveway.  Prior to the Easter photos, the couple's last pictures together came in March, when Emhoff posted a loved-up snap of them preparing to watch the Oscars. Before that, it was Valentine’s Day when Harris posted a video of Emhoff at one of her book signings and captioned it: ‘Happy Valentine’s Day to my husband, who shows up for me every step of the way. I love you so very much, Dougie.’ The couple, both 61, have maintained a relatively low profile since Harris’s presidential run flamed out with a dramatic loss to Trump in November 2024. While Emhoff has resurrected his legal career and is now a partner at blue-chip law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, where he splits his time between the company’s Los Angeles and New York offices, Harris has been licking her wounds and briefly contemplated a run for California governor before deciding to sit the race out. She finished her book, 107 Days, which chronicled her uphill climb as she was given so little time to campaign for the Oval Office after former President Joe Biden stood down following a disastrous debate in June 2024. Last week, Emhoff was handed a humanitarian award by the Inner City Law Center at a glitzy lunch in downtown Los Angeles but Harris was nowhere to be seen. That, sources claim, was because she chose to spend the very week of her husband’s honor in Deep Red Tennessee campaigning for State Representative Justin Pearson, who is running for the US Congress. More recently, Emhoff has been spending time with his New York-based daughter Ella, 27, who is visiting Los Angeles and surprised her dad with a visit to his office. Harris and Emhoff haven’t officially appeared together at any public events for many months, but were seen together near their Malibu home earlier this month  Emhoff was by Harris's side when she won the Chairman's Award at the NAACP Image Awards at Pasadena Civic Auditorium last February. The couple, both 61, have maintained a relatively low profile since Harris’s presidential run flamed out with a dramatic loss to Trump in 2024 While the power couple are not seen at as many public events as they used to be, they regularly feature on each other’s social media – including in posts over Easter Sources told the Daily Mail the new home was bought due to security concerns – especially after President Trump abruptly yanked Harris’s Secret Service protection last September Harris, meanwhile, has been weighing in on the increasingly competitive Los Angeles mayoral race and has endorsed incumbent Karen Bass, who is facing an insurgent challenge from former reality star Spencer Pratt. During his wife’s last campaign, Emhoff faced a slew of embarrassing revelations – including the Daily Mail’s bombshell that he had cheated on his first wife with the nanny, got her pregnant and then pressured her into having an abortion – all as he posed as a ‘wife guy’ happy to stand behind his successful other half. Harris addressed the Daily Mail stories in 107 Days, saying they 'are, sadly, part and parcel of running for office these days' Then, another ex-girlfriend came forward – this time to say he had slapped her during an argument while the pair were attending the Cannes Film Festival in 2012. Emhoff, while copping to the affair and saying he had confessed all to Harris, denied the slap allegations. Harris addressed the stories in 107 Days, describing them as ‘hurtful and degrading', adding that such comments 'are, sadly, part and parcel of running for office these days.' She went on: ‘Where it crosses the line is when opponents go after family members. ‘Of course, I knew about this. Doug had told me about it when we were dating. We disclosed it during my vetting for VP.' While lauding Emhoff for expressing regret about the incidents and ‘dealing with it like the mensch he is’, Harris did talk about a fight the pair had had towards the end of the campaign – sparked by him repurposing an anniversary gift into a birthday present and by his failing to bring her a towel. The Daily Mail's cheating bombshell caused a panic in Harris’s campaign, just as she has overtaken Donald Trump in several polls and ramped up her final push to win  Doug Emhoff cheated on his first wife with Najen Naylor, who also taught at their children’s pricey private school. Left in 2024, and in an earlier photo Harris recalled: ‘I called Doug to ask him to bring me one. No answer. He was in the other room, watching the Dodgers eliminate the Mets in the playoffs. He couldn't hear me over the television. I called his phone.’ The Democrat heavyweight said she had been hoping for a romantic birthday dinner but found herself in a ‘bland establishment’ and complained that no thought had been put into the hotel or the restaurant. But, she said, the couple quickly got over their spat with Emhoff telling her ‘we can’t turn on each other’ and developing a new habit of leaving handwritten love notes on her pillow. The Daily Mail has reached out to Harris for comment.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.