Karlie Kloss met husband Joshua Kushner when she was 19 years old, and they’ve been together for over a decade. However, they’re not super public with their relationship. In April 2018, Kloss told Net-A-Porter’s Porter magazine that it wasn’t necessarily intentional and then quoted fashion designer Carolina Herrera.
“It’s not like I’ve ever wanted to be so secretive about my private life. Carolina Herrera always says, ‘A woman who’s an open book is boring. There’s no mystery anymore.’ I know in my life what really matters to me.”
She added, “I’m not trying to hide that from the world; I just really like having a more private, private life. I’ve got nothing to hide, though!”
But things got more complicated as Kushner’s brother, Jared, became a public figure as the husband of Ivanka Trump and senior advisor to Donald Trump during his presidency. Kloss was often interrogated and in the hot seat more frequently than she would have been as the wife of someone related to a family without ties to an insurrection.
They seem to have weathered the storm, however, and are expecting a second child now, announcing the pregnancy in May of this year. Here is a complete timeline of Karlie Kloss and Joshua Kushner’s relationship.
June 2012
The couple have dated since 2012, but the details of how and when exactly they met are a mystery. The only reason the public even knows that much is because Kloss tweeted “four years ago today I met my best friend” in 2016. Do the math!
November 2012
In the fall of 2012, however, Us Weekly established that they were together, and they’d been spotted at the 2012 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show after-party on a date.
January 2014
The pair went Instagram official in 2014. The model stated that her boyfriend is “usually behind the camera,” and he does indeed post many photos of Kloss on his own Instagram grid.
February 2014
In an interview with Metro US, Kloss shared rare details, saying of her relationship, “I was definitely not planning on falling in love, but I think that’s the thing about it. You can’t anticipate or plan it.”
April 2017
It was rumored that the couple was engaged, but the model’s rep said the talk was “completely untrue.”
July 2018
And a year later, it was completely true. Kloss announced her engagement on Instagram, writing, “I love you more than I have words to express. Josh, you’re my best friend and my soulmate. I can’t wait for forever together. Yes a million times over 💍 .”
October 2018
The couple got married a few months later in upstate New York on October 18. Kloss shared a pic of them in their weddings look on Twitter.
Speaking of her life as a newlywed in Vogue’s October 2018 issue, Kloss said, “Josh and I share a lot of the same liberal values that guide our lives and the things we stand for. We’ve really grown together personally and professionally. Josh knows that I’m just a nerdy, curious human being. I think that’s why he loves me. We have each other’s back.”
December 2018
On her honeymoon pics on Instagram, Kloss wrote, “🍯🌙.”
March 2019
Author Vicky Ward’s book on the family, Kushner, Inc., claimed Joshua’s father disliked Kloss and “turned nasty” towards his son because he didn’t think she was “the right person” for him.
June 2019
Not satisfied with one wedding, they held a second ceremony in Wyoming at the Brush Creek Ranch in Saratoga. Kloss called Joshua her “cowboy.”
July 2019
While speaking to British Vogue, Kloss admitted her association with the Kushner family was “hard.”
“But I choose to focus on the values that I share with my husband, and those are the same liberal values that I was raised with and that have guided me throughout my life,” she said. “It was 2012 [when we met], it was a different world. My man and I have been through a lot together. I’m so proud that he’s my partner. It’s not been easy, but it’s worth it. I would make that same decision a million times again.”
January 2020
Kloss went viral online after her family was brought up directly during the January 2 episode of Project Runway. The contestants had been tasked with designing a dress for Kloss to wear to an event in Paris. Designer Tyler Neasloney was criticized for his look and told by judge Brandon Maxwell, “It’s definitely ‘wearable’ in some place that is neither Paris nor Montauk or Martha’s Vineyard…I cannot see Karlie wearing it anywhere, honestly.”
Neasloney responded, “Not even to dinner with the Kushners?”
The internet was amused by the horrified looks he received for even mentioning Kloss’s husband on the show, and Kloss eventually told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live how she felt about the moment.
“I was honored to be one of the first memes of the decade. But honestly, the real tragedy of this whole thing is that no one is talking about how terrible that dress was. That’s why he went home. No, I would not wear that dress to any dinner,” she said.
Later she added, “Andy, I’m sure I’m not the only person in this country who does not necessarily agree with their family on politics. I voted as a Democrat in 2016, and I plan to do the same in 2020.”
March 2020
A source told Us Weekly in March 2020 that Kloss and Kushner had been “trying to have a baby for a few months now” because they thought “this is the right time.”
October 2020
Kloss posted a video she and Kushner dancing at their reception for their anniversary.
“I fall more in love with you every day ❤️️ ,” she wrote. “Happy 2nd anniversary @joshuakushner.” Joshua, for his part, shared a candid shot of his wife, writing: “Happy anniversary Karlie. I pinch myself every day 😍 .”
That same month a year later, it was confirmed that Kloss was expecting. A source close to Kloss told People, “Karlie is overjoyed to be expecting her first child in 2021. She will be the most amazing mother.”
March 2021
Kloss welcomed her first child, the couple’s son Levi. Kushner broke the news on Instagram, sharing a first pic and captioning it, “welcome to the world 🌎”
April 2021
Kloss shared their baby’s name and birth date on April 16: “Levi Joseph 💙 3.11.21”
September 2022
Kushner shared a very rare photo of mother and son. “The Royal (Levi) Tannenbaum,” he wrote.
May 2023
In May 2023, Kloss was pregnant with their second child, debuting her baby bump on the red carpet of the Met Gala.
“Karlie has only told a few close friends about this pregnancy, she and Joshua are so excited to be expanding their family,” a source told Us Weekly just before the big reveal. “Karlie is relieved that everyone will know now.”
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.