Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson Are Married

Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, married Bettina Anderson, a Palm Beach socialite and influencer, on Thursday in West Palm Beach, Fla., according to Palm Beach County marriage records.

The marriage certificate listed Brad McPherson, a real estate attorney who has worked with the Trump family, as the officiant, and had his residence as the location of the ceremony.

The couple was believed to be heading to a private island in the Bahamas, where a larger celebration was reportedly planned.

Although President Trump said he would not be attending the wedding celebrations, he offered the couple his blessing in a post on Truth Social on Friday. “While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon-to-be wife, Bettina,” he wrote, “circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so.”

The president added that he believed it was important for him to stay at the White House “during this important period of time,” before congratulating the couple: “Congratulations to Don and Bettina!”

On Thursday, President Trump had told reporters in the Oval Office that he would “try” to attend his son’s wedding, though he acknowledged the war with Iran and “other things” might preclude those plans. He added that the wedding would be a “small, little private affair.”

President Trump told reporters that he had known his daughter-in-law “for a long time,” adding, “hopefully they’re going to have a great marriage.”

The nuptials arrive just five months after the president announced the couple’s engagement at a White House holiday party, and a month after Anderson held a bridal shower at Mar-a-Lago, the president’s 20-acre estate in Palm Beach, Fla.

“The truth is, I would marry you regardless of what your last name is or what family you come from, because I think you’re the most incredible man I’ve ever met in my entire life, and I’m also so proud to be joining your family,” Anderson shared in a speech at the shower. In photos from the event that she shared on Instagram, she was dressed in a white strapless dress by Safiyaa, a London designer, and posed with Tiffany Trump and Ivanka Trump, her sisters-in-law.

Trump Jr., 48, a son of Ivana Trump, the president’s first wife from 1977 to 1990, made an appearance at the shower and opened up about his relationship with Anderson: “We laughed at the same things. We felt the same thing about so many things. We shared a lot of incredible stories.”

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There had been inklings that the couple was initially considering a wedding at the White House, continuing a history of presidential children and relatives using the White House for weddings.

There has also been ongoing construction of the president’s mammoth White House ballroom, which required demolition of the East Wing of the White House in October 2025, which may have further complicated things. The most recent White House wedding took place in November 2022, when former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s granddaughter Naomi Biden married Peter Neal on the South Lawn.

Trump Jr. was previously married to Vanessa Trump, whom he wed at Mar-a-Lago in 2005. They divorced in 2018 and have five children together, including Kai Trump, a golf influencer who recently graduated from high school.

It is Anderson’s first marriage. She comes from a prominent Palm Beach family and is the daughter of Inger Anderson and Harry Loy Anderson Jr., a well-known local banker. According to his obituary in the Palm Beach Daily News, he had six children, four daughters and two sons. He frequently traveled to the Bahamas for diving and fishing.

Anderson, 39, studied at Columbia University and is involved in philanthropic activities in Palm Beach, having helped found a nonprofit conservation group, Project Paradise, which aims to safeguard Florida’s environment.

Anderson is somewhat at odds with traditional MAGA ideals and messaging around marriage and home life. Her Instagram bio reads: “I’m just your typical stay at home mom … only I don’t do household chores … or have a husband … or have kids.”

In the flashy world of Palm Beach society, Anderson’s signature style leans toward understated, consisting of flowy floral dresses, ruffle tops and wide-brimmed hats. Even her engagement ring, an eight-carat emerald-cut D-color flawless diamond, flanked by two half-carat shield diamonds, which she debuted at a White House Christmas party, was apparently consistent with the low-key aesthetic she showcases on her Instagram account. “I didn’t want to give off a ‘look-at-me’ vibe’’ she told the Palm Beach Post.

“The polish and symmetry are excellent, which is as high as you can get,” Sue Gragg, the Dallas-based jeweler who made the ring, told Forbes.

Trump Jr., a businessman who runs the Trump Organization alongside his brother Eric, has plowed ahead with a yawning list of business ventures capitalizing on his family name and proximity to the president.

He was previously engaged to Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host, after proposing in late 2020. Anderson was first widely seen in Trump Jr.’s orbit at the Republican National Convention in July 2024, sitting behind the then-engaged couple. Rumors of a relationship between Trump Jr. and Anderson began to swirl, especially after The Daily Mail published photographs in December 2024 showing Trump Jr. and Anderson holding hands in Palm Beach. (Guilfoyle was soon named ambassador to Greece.)

He and Anderson made their public debut as a couple at President Trump’s inauguration events in January 2025. They have appeared at the Super Bowl, on a gala red carpet in Palm Beach, and at the White House Easter egg roll, among other appearances. They’ve kept remarks about their relationship to a minimum.

Guy Trebay contributed reporting. Susan Beachy contributed research.

Sadiba Hasan reports on love and culture for the Styles section of The Times.

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