The Mystery Surrounding Tim Scott's Secret Girlfriend Explained

With the 2024 presidential election looming ever closer, the wannabe candidates are coming under increasingly tight scrutiny. So, it's little surprise that the mystery surrounding Tim Scott's secret girlfriend has become a focal point for many in the press. In an ideal world, what you would need to know about Scott to prove his presidential worth wouldn't include anything about his relationship status. Still, we're far from living in an ideal world, so the single Scott has been forced to dish on his love life.

A husband or wife is an essential accessory for most ambitious politicians. According to The White House, James Buchannan is the only POTUS to have never tied the knot. Given how much Scott is actually worth, he makes for quite a catch. Per Forbes, the South Carolina senator has built up a fortune of over a million bucks, which is all the more impressive given his humble roots. So why has Scott never been married?

The Republican vows on his website that he's "a strong supporter of our traditional conservative values" and a champion for "the traditional definition of marriage." Still, Scott told Politico that he's never had the time for romantic relationships. "As a poor kid growing up, the most important thing for me to do was take care of my mom. And until I had that accomplished, starting a new family was just not an option for me," he said. Given his secret girlfriend, it seems that Scott has finally reached that point.

Tim Scott is a devoted momma's boy. In the speech announcing his presidential run, he gave props to his single mother for making him the man he is today. "My mom's work ethic taught me there is dignity in all work. It's why I know if you are able-bodied, you work! Period," he said (via CBS). "My momma said we could be victims or victors — and she chose victorious."

New York magazine notes that Scott rarely mentioned having a romantic partner until after he announced that he was throwing his hat into the presidential candidate's ring. "My girlfriend wants to see me when I come home," the Republican slipped into a speech in May. Scott previously boasted to the National Journal that he was "a proud adult virgin." He vowed to remain so until walking down the aisle. So, the rumor mill went into overdrive after he suddenly namedropped a girlfriend.

The Washington Post questioned if she even existed before conceding that it really shouldn't matter either way. Still, it clearly matters to Scott — a lot. "I'm dating a lovely Christian girl. One of the things that I love about the gospel of Jesus Christ is that it points us always in the right direction," the candidate announced to evangelical voters during an Iowa speech (via Fox News). "Proverbs 18:22 says, 'he who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the lord.'"

Tim Scott's sudden introduction of a secret girlfriend left his political rivals and press members scratching their heads. Still, Scott sees it as no biggie. "The fact that half of America's adult population is single for the first time, to suggest that somehow being married or not married is going to be the determining factor of whether you're a good president or not — it sounds like we're living in 1963 and not 2023," he said during an Axios event.

"As a guy who was raised in a single-parent household mired in poverty, I understand that devastation when a family breaks up," Scott told the crowd at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition's annual fall banquet (via USA Today). "I had to live with the consequences of a father who was not there. I made a commitment to make sure that never happened in my life. I'm so thankful to know a risen savior that has helped guide my way, and I'm so thankful that he's allowed my life to intersect at the right time with the right person. And I just say, praise the living God."

Meanwhile, Scott accused his doubters, like Sunny Hostin from "The View," of being racially motivated in questioning his relationship status. "That's why Sunny is so radical and so disgusting with her comments. They do not want my life story to be told because it disrupts the lies of the radical left," he told Fox News.