Matt Gaetz ties the knot: Congressman elopes to California with Ginger Luckey amid ongoing sex trafficking probe
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida eloped to Southern California to marry his girlfriend Ginger Luckey, 26, on Saturday in a small ceremony on Catalina Island.
The 39-year-old Republican, who is under investigation as part of a sex trafficking probe, announced the wedding on his personal Twitter page.
He exclaimed 'I love my wife!' along with a photo of them together - he in a sport coat, she in a white dress.
Luckey also announced their union on social media, tweeting a photo from the ceremony captioned #GaetzGetsLuckey.
The ceremony was performed by Sergio Gor, a former staffer for Sen. Rand Paul, Vanity Fair reports. About 40 people were in attendance.
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida eloped to Southern California, marrying his girlfriend Ginger Luckey on Saturday in a small ceremony on Catalina Island
Vanity Fair reports that Sergio Gor, a former staffer for Sen. Rand Paul, performed the ceremony that was attended by about 40 people
According to the magazine, notable attendees included war room hosts Raheem Kassam and Natalie Winters.
Family members at the ceremony included Luckey's brother, Palmer, and his partner, Nicole, and Gaetz's adopted son, Nestor Galban.
After the ceremony, Gaetz served as chef at a cook-out reception, serving up BBQ chicken legs, grilled vegetables, and a watermelon salad.
Gol, who officiated, also served as DJ.
The couple's elopement came as quite the surprise as Gaetz was just on a congressional tour in the Midwest.
He was just in Iowa on Thursday with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, speaking at a rally that is part of a national tour where the lawmakers claimed the 2020 election was stolen from President Donald Trump. They also downplayed the COVID-19 pandemic.
Luckey also announced their union on social media, tweeting a photo from the ceremony captioned #GaetzGetsLuckey
The couple's elopement came as Gaetz embarked on a congressional tour in the Midwest. Pictured: Rep. Matt Gaetz and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green speak during the America First Rally in Des Moines, Iowa on August 19, 2021
Gaetz proposed to Luckey, a 26-year-old food analyst from Southern California, at then-president Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in December 2020 after 8 months of dating.
Luckey had one word to say to Gaetz after he got down on one knee and proposed — and it wasn't 'yes.'
'It was actually 'duh,'' Luckey confessed in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com last year.
'It didn't come as a surprise, I had sort of seen it coming,' she said at the time.
During that same interview, Luckey said the couple had first met at Mar-a-Lago earlier that year. She didn't specify exactly when, but blurted out that the next night Gaetz took her to a birthday party for Donald Trump Jr.'s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle. Guilfoyle's birthday was on March 9.
The couple initially said they planned to wed next year.
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Gaetz proposed to Luckey, a 26-year-old food analyst from Southern California, at then-president Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in December 2020
At the time of the proposal, Luckey told DailyMail.com: 'It didn't come as a surprise, I had sort of seen it coming'
Gaetz is currently under investigation as part of a probe that led to the arrest and plea deal of his close friend, Joel Greenberg, a former Seminole Count, Florida, tax collector.
Greenberg pleaded guilty last May to six federal crimes, including sex trafficking of a child, identity theft, stalking, wire fraud and conspiracy to bribe a public official. His plea agreement with prosecutors requires continued cooperation with an ongoing probe into sex trafficking.
Greenberg's cooperation could play a role in an ongoing investigation into Gaetz's supposed pay-for-sex relationship with a 17-year-old girl.
While Gaetz was not mentioned by name, in his plea deal Greenberg said he 'introduced the minor to other adult men, who engaged in commercial sex acts.'
Just last month, his now-wife's sister, Roxanne Luckey, 20, described the Florida congressman as 'weird and creepy' and said she was 'unfortunately not surprised' at his being investigated for sex crimes.
Roxanne Luckey said that she was unsurprised when it emerged that he was being investigated
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In a string of TikTok videos, Roxanne criticized Gaetz, saying that she spent the summer of 2020 in Washington DC working as a White House intern, and was uncomfortable with him from the start.
'As someone who has personally experienced a ton of creepy old politician men hitting on me when I was underage, and experiencing sexual assault at that age by people of power, it's very disheartening,' she said.
'And I have zero tolerance of people like him.'
She added that she is 'tired of them getting away with this type of stuff.'
Gaetz has denied any allegations of wrongdoing and has said repeatedly he will not resign from Congress. No charges have been brought against him.