Mason desantis

All About Ron DeSantis Wife Casey DeSantis and Their 3 Kids

Skyler Caruso is a Writer and Reporter of PEOPLE Digital Entertainment. She joined PEOPLE in 2021, but has eight years of experience working in digital publishing with a focus on entertainment and pop culture news.

First Lady Casey DeSantis

First Lady Casey DeSantis is the wife of Florida’s 46th Governor, Ron DeSantis.

The Governor and First Lady DeSantis are loving parents to daughter, Madison (5 years old), son, Mason (4 years old) and daughter, Mamie (2 years old) – who is the first baby born in the Governor’s Mansion in more than 50 years.

First Lady DeSantis has become a champion for fighting cancer in the State of Florida, helping to secure $100 million in recurring funding for cancer research and care in the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Budget. Declared cancer free by doctors in February of 2022 herself, First Lady DeSantis travels the state visiting with patients to draw attention to the importance of early screening and to provide support and hope to families affected by cancer. In honor of her work devoted to this issue, the Florida Legislature recently renamed the Florida Consortium of National Institute Centers Program the “Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program.”

First Lady DeSantis has also launched four major initiatives since Governor DeSantis was elected.

In September of 2019, First Lady DeSantis spearheaded Hope Florida – A Pathway to Prosperity, Economic Self-Sufficiency and Hope. Implemented through the Department of Children and Families, this initiative is uniting communities through ‘Care Navigators’ who guide Floridians on an individualized path to prosperity by focusing on collaboration between the private sector, faith-based community, nonprofits and government entities – breaking down traditional community silos in an effort to maximize resources and uncover opportunities. Beneficiaries of this initiative include, but are not limited to, single parents, Floridians on government assistance, mothers contending with substance abuse disorders, and children aging out of the foster care system.

In March of 2022, First Lady DeSantis announced that the Hope Florida initiative hit the major milestone of providing family-centered assistance to more than 25,000 Floridians to help them achieve economic self-sufficiency. Any Floridian can learn more about connecting with a Pathway to Prosperity ‘Care Navigator’ by visiting HopeFlorida.com or by calling 850-300-HOPE.

In February of 2021, First Lady DeSantis launched her Resiliency Florida initiative – a partnership with professional sports teams and athletes – including Tom Brady, David Beckham, Peyton Manning, Lou Holtz, Tony Dungy, Urban Meyer, Crystal Thomas, Ali Marpet, Bryant McFadden, Mark Richt, Twan Russell, Corey Simon, Tra Thomas, Jonathan Vilma, Charlie Ward, Tyler Johnson, Joey Logano, Brandon Lowe, and Chris Mueller – to address the stigma surrounding mental health. These teams and athletes are lending their voices and personal stories of resilience and hope to empower Florida students to persevere through adversity.

Additionally, to support the Resiliency Florida initiative, First Lady DeSantis worked with the Department of Education to develop Character Education Standards to be taught in Florida’s K-12 schools. Passed unanimously by the State Board of Education in July of 2021, these are Florida’s first standards for Character Education, setting clear expectations for students and teachers and providing opportunities for students to learn how character contributes to the overall civic health of a society and understand the importance of resiliency, responsibility, and respect.

In December of 2019, First Lady DeSantis launched Florida’s “The Facts. Your Future.” campaign – a public affairs partnership between the Office of the Attorney General, the Florida Department of Health, and the Florida Department of Education. This initiative empowers students with the facts surrounding substance abuse and how it negatively impacts their lives. In March of 2022, First Lady DeSantis announced a major new phase of the initiative – the launch of a digital media campaign to send information to students through social media platforms, as well as a standalone website that contains “The Facts. Your Future.” content: TheFactsYourFuture.org.

First Lady DeSantis’ first major announcement was the Hope for Healing Florida initiative in May of 2019, which brought together stakeholders statewide to discuss new community-level solutions to address mental illness and substance abuse with emphasis on resources for children, veterans and first responders. The Hope for Healing website helps navigate the many ways Floridians can access available resources.

First Lady DeSantis attended the College of Charleston in South Carolina, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Economics and was a member of the International Economics Honors Society. There, she competed on the equestrian team and placed runner-up at the Division I NCAA National Championships. Additionally, she is a three-time national champion equestrian outside of school. Following her graduation from college, First Lady DeSantis worked for the PGA Tour as a producer and on-air host. Additionally, she worked for two Florida television stations in Jacksonville, where she held positions ranging from general assignment reporter, police beat reporter, weekend anchor, and morning anchor. She had the privilege of covering numerous military stories including deployments on the USS John F. Kennedy, the last conventionally-powered aircraft carrier, and the USS Florida, a cruise missile submarine. For her work in television, First Lady DeSantis received an Emmy Award for on-air talent and two Emmy nominations: one for an investigative series called Real Life CSI and one for a documentary called Champion, The JT Townsend Story.

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All About Ron DeSantis’ Wife Casey DeSantis and Their 3 Kids

Skyler Caruso is a Writer and Reporter of PEOPLE Digital Entertainment. She joined PEOPLE in 2021, but has eight years of experience working in digital publishing with a focus on entertainment and pop culture news.

Meet Ron DeSantis’ wife and kids.

The Florida governor — who officially announced his 2024 presidential bid on May 24 — is married to Casey DeSantis, his wife of 13 years. Together, they share three kids: Madison, Mason and Mamie.

In 2009, Ron and Casey tied the knot at Walt Disney World, a location that the politician called “ironic” when he and his wife appeared on SiriusXM’s Patriot in February amid his public battle with the company.

Since Ron was officially named governor in January 2019, Casey has served as Florida’s first lady, supporting her husband’s initiatives while launching several of her own.

Even their children have been involved in their father’s political endeavors, appearing in Ron’s Trump-inspired campaign as a then-GOP gubernatorial hopeful. The DeSantis kids have also stepped out alongside their parents at public events, though their personal lives are kept fairly private.

Most recently, Casey showed her support for her husband with a video posted on Twitter that hinted at Ron’s anticipated Republican presidential primary campaign announcement. “America is worth the fight. Every. Single. Time,” the first lady of Florida captioned the social media post featuring Ron walking toward an American flag.

The following day, the Florida governor filed paperwork to run with the Federal Election Commission, confirming longtime rumors that he has been priming himself to earn the Republican Party’s nomination.

Here’s everything to know about DeSantis’ family, including his wife and their three kids.

Casey met Ron DeSantis on a golf course

Casey DeSantis is an Ohio native born on June 26, 1980. While she was raised in her home state, she later moved to South Carolina to pursue an education at the University of Charleston where she graduated with a degree in economics.

Upon graduation, she nabbed a job in television and moved to Florida early in her career. She worked as a television host, in which the Golf Channel was among one of her first gigs. She hosted programs such as On The Tee and PGA Tour Today.

Golf was what first brought Casey and Ron together — a meet-up that occurred when she relocated to Jacksonville to work in television news as a local newscaster, anchor and producer.

“We met at the University of North Florida at the driving range off Kernan,” Casey told First Coast News. “I kept looking over my shoulder because I wanted the bucket of balls that somebody had left because my swing was so terrible. I needed as much practice as I could possibly get.”

She continued, “As I’m looking over behind me, Ron is over there. He thinks I’m looking at him. I was really looking at the balls. Long story short we started to talk and that’s how we met.”

Ron and Casey wed in 2009 at Walt Disney World, a location that the politician said was “ironic” amid his ongoing public battle with the company. “In looking forward to what we ended up doing as Governor and some of the face-offs that we had with some major institutions in Florida, it’s kind of ironic,” Ron said during an interview on SiriusXM’s Patriot.

Casey became the first lady of Florida in 2019

Casey became the first lady of Florida when Ron was elected governor of the state and officially sworn in on Jan. 8, 2019. That year, she established the First Lady’s Medal for Courage, Commitment and Service “inspired by Floridians making a positive impact in their communities.”

Since her husband was elected into office, Casey has launched four major initiatives. Among them include Hope Florida – A Pathway to Prosperity, Economic Self-Sufficiency and Hope, launched in September 2019, and the Resiliency Florida initiative, launched in February 2021.

Casey is an award-winning journalist

In addition to working for the Golf Channel and local news stations in Florida — where she held several positions, including assignment reporter and police reporter — Casey also moderated The Chat, a round-table talk show that aired on Jacksonville networks.

Military stories were among the topics she covered heavily, including the deployments on the USS John F. Kennedy (the last conventionally-powered aircraft carrier) and the USS Florida (a cruise missile submarine). According to her official first lady website bio, she was awarded an Emmy for her work.

Casey is a breast cancer survivor

In October 2021, Ron announced that Casey had been diagnosed with breast cancer. In March 2022, she and her husband announced that she was in remission.

Casey has used her platform as first lady of Florida to help the cause in the state. According to her official bio, she “secured $100 million in recurring funding for cancer research and care in the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Budget.”

In addition, Casey travels the state to speak with patients and their families with the intent of bringing awareness to the importance of early screening.

In May 2023, the Florida Legislature renamed the Florida Consortium of National Institute Centers Program the “Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program” to honor Casey for her work devoted to the cause.

Casey shares three kids with Ron DeSantis

Casey and Ron share three kids together: daughter Madison, 5, son Mason, 4, and daughter Mamie, 2. Their youngest was the first baby born in the Governor’s Mansion in more than 50 years.

While details on their personal lives have been kept private, all three of the DeSantis children have stepped out in support of their dad on numerous occasions through the years. They’re often spotted alongside their mom and dad on stage at public events and on their parents’ respective Instagrams.

Casey and Ron DeSantis’ kids have been featured in his political campaigns

A then-GOP gubernatorial hopeful, Ron featured his two eldest kids in one of his campaign ads in July 2018. The ad appeared to suggest his support of Trump’s agenda, in which he used his kids to further convey his message.

In the ad, Casey begins, “Everyone knows my husband Ron DeSantis is endorsed by President Trump, but he’s also an amazing dad. Ron loves playing with the kids.”

The video then showed DeSantis instructing his daughter, Madison, to “build the wall” as she piles up toy blocks; reading Trump’s The Art of the Deal to his infant son, Mason; encouraging Madison to repeat “Make American Great Again”; and cooing “big league” (or is it “bigly”?) to Mason as the baby wears a pro-Trump onesie.

“You have to look at it in perspective,” said Casey amid his political season that year. “There were millions of dollars in negative attack ads against Ron, special interests. That was kind of where we were and we said well how do we respond? We responded with humor. We had fun I think a lot of people liked it and they got the joke,” she explained.

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