Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has ruled out dating conservatives following her split from longtime fiancé Riley Roberts.
The 36-year-old New York congresswoman, who recently went public about freezing her eggs on Instagram, was caught by the outlet on Capitol Hill Tuesday and asked whether she’d ever date across the aisle.
“I have to say, probably not,” she told the gossip site with a hearty laugh.
Ocasio-Cortez quickly added a caveat to her dismissal. “No foul to people who do, and of course, how you define that is very different from person to person,” she said. “But I think a lot of politics, sometimes, at least for me is about values and being aligned in values is tremendously important.”
The “Squad” member’s romantic status became public knowledge last month when The Post reported she had quietly ended her engagement to Roberts. She was spotted all smiles in mid-August walking her dog in Queens, her left hand conspicuously bare of the ring she had worn for years.
The Bronx-born politician has since opened up about her reproductive plans, sharing her egg-freezing journey with followers on Instagram. The disclosure came as speculation intensifies about a potential 2028 presidential bid.
The outlet also pressed Ocasio-Cortez on whether she wants children while serving in office. She framed the question as part of a larger life puzzle rather than a political calculation.
“For me, I make decisions about my whole life, it’s not ever just in a career context. It’s about how do I fit all of these things?” she said. “And I feel like my ambition is not just a career ambition, it’s about how do we get to soak up as much of this life as possible?”
The congresswoman tied her outlook to her upbringing. “I was always raised as a family-first kind of person,” she added.
Ocasio-Cortez and Roberts had been together for years before their engagement, making their split a significant personal transition for one of the Democratic Party’s most visible figures. The breakup places her among a small number of unmarried members of Congress, a status that has drawn unusual public interest given her national profile and the outlet-style coverage of her dating preferences.
Her comments about values-based dating come at a moment of intense political polarization, where relationships across party lines have become increasingly rare. A 2020 survey found that majorities of both Democrats and Republicans viewed a prospective partner voting for the opposing presidential candidate as a dealbreaker.
Ocasio-Cortez is expected to continue her congressional duties as she navigates both her personal transition and the swirling speculation about her political future.