Kamala Harris Once Dated This Famous Talk Show Host

California Sen. Kamala Harris, who is poised to be the first female vice president of the United States come January 2021, has done a lot over the course of her career. But before she decided to really dive into California politics, Harris was known in certain circles for something other than her knack for public policy — dating Montel Williams, the famed daytime talk show host. 

Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff were set up on a blind date in 2013, per Entertainment Tonight. At the time, Harris was already California's attorney general. Just less than a year later, the two were married in a courthouse wedding in August 2014. Kamala also became a stepmom to Emhoff's children from another marriage, Cole and Ella, and they've been one happy family ever since. Kamala wrote in a 2019 essay for Elle, "Cole and Ella could not have been more welcoming. They are brilliant, talented, funny kids who have grown to be remarkable adults," she wrote of her stepchildren. "I was already hooked on Doug, but I believe it was Cole and Ella who reeled me in." But before all that, Harris was on the dating scene with some pretty high-profile people, including Williams. 

Just after Montel Williams was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, he was spotted on the red carpet with Kamala Harris and his daughter, Ashley, at the 2001 Eighth Annual Race to Erase MS in Los Angeles, per Inside Edition. At the time, Harris worked for the San Francisco City Attorney's Office. A picture of the three of them ran in both Ebony and Jet magazines at the time, with both outlets identifying her as Williams' girlfriend. 

It didn't last long. According to the Daily Mail, by the next year, Williams was making the rounds with a new woman on his arms, and he eventually married his third wife, Tara Fowler, in 2007. When the pic of them together resurfaced during Harris' campaign, Williams went on social media to address the "news." He wrote, "@KamalaHarris and I briefly dated about 20 years ago when we were both single. So what? I have great respect for Sen. Harris. I have to wonder if the same stories about her dating history would have been written if she were a male candidate?" 

Now that she's shattered the glass ceiling when it comes to being the first female VP, maybe people will be less concerned about her dating life. But at least Williams can say he dated a trailblazer.

Lest you think it's an unlikely pairing, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and Montel Williams might have bonded over a shared love of politics and serving their country. Williams spent almost a decade in the Navy before he got discharged in 1989, and then he was on reserves for another seven years, according to the Daily Mail. Fun fact: He was often deployed on submarines throughout his service.

More recently, he shared his thoughts on President Donald Trump, some of which Harris might agree with — even if she might not be so blunt on a debate stage. Williams called the president's treatment of the press a violation of the Constitution, and he questioned Trump's attitude toward the military. He told Variety, "This is the first commander in chief that I believe doesn't recognize what his role is and doesn't understand that they're not pawns on a chessboard; he's responsible for their lives. I don't believe he understands that, never has understood that...so I'm not really that much of a believer in his relationship other than the fact that he likes people to stand up, salute and say aye aye sir."

The former talk show host wasn't optimistic about the Trump administration's effect on civil discourse, either. "The thing that bothers me the most about it is that... 85% of this country is still so narcissistic, they don't care, and they won't care until it's too late," he added.

After her breakup with Montel Williams, California Sen. Kamala Harris married her husband, Doug Emhoff, in 2014. Emhoff supports Harris wholeheartedly, telling Marie Claire in 2020 of her 2019 decision to run for president, "She made that decision, and I would have supported whatever she decided." He continued, "But I'm not her political adviser. I'm her husband. And so my role was to be there for her, to love her, to have her back, to talk it through, to help her." Harris ended up losing her presidential bid, but in November 2020, she became vice president-elect alongside President-elect, Joe Biden.

As for Williams, he found love with former flight attendant Tara Fowler, who he wed in 2007. The Maryland native sang Fowler's praises after his stroke in 2018, telling People, "She literally slept in a cot beside me, every day for 21 days. Didn't complain once. Every doctor, every nurse that walked in the room had to go through her to get to me." 

It sounds like both Williams and Harris are in a great place relationship-wise.