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The U.S. Transportation secretary got choked up talking about his relationship with his husband as well as what it's like being a dad.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttiegieg and his husband, Chasten, opened up about marriage life and fatherhood in an interview on CBS Sunday Morning on Father's Day.
Pete Buttigieg, 42, known for his many titles, including U.S. Secretary of Transportation, revealed his most cherished role: “Papa.”
The interview began with scenes of the Buttigieg family at home in Traverse City, Mich., where Pete, was now cutting pancakes and playing with the children and “Daddy” Chasten, 34.
Reflecting on their first date, Pete shared, “It wasn’t just my first date with Chasten. It was my first date with a guy.” Chasten added, “Well, it’s not necessarily true.”
From dating to marriage to parenthood, the road wasn't easy, the two said in the interview. Chasten spoke about these difficult times, describing the heartbreak of getting close to adoption only to face disappointment.
“There were a couple of times where we’d go to bed thinking that maybe by the next day, we might be parents,” Chasten recalled. “Then the phone call comes in, and a different family was selected.”
Eventually, they got the call they wanted to welcome twins Penelope and Gus into their lives.
Chasten vividly described the moment they first met their premature babies. “They were like four and a half pounds, and I remember we walked into the room, we were just frozen, and the nurse said, ‘Dads, you can hold them.’”
Balancing his demanding role as transportation secretary with the responsibilities of parenthood has been a complex challenge for Pete, he said. He recounted moments of working from the children’s hospital intensive care unit as the couple’s son fought a severe RSV infection.
“Sometimes I would have to take my laptop into the bathroom of Gus’s ICU room, close the door, and then put a virtual background on Zoom,” he said.
Despite the demands of his job, Pete said he understood that parenting has come first. “You’ve got to stop for a second to realize that these are some of the best and most important parts of your life,” he said.
Pete and Chasten Buttigieg on fatherhoodwww.youtube.com
Toward the end of the interview, Pete’s eyes welled up with tears as he reflected on his and Chasten’s journey since their first date.
“Part of what’s amazing about falling in love and getting married is that you’re in it for this journey, that you just don’t know where it’s going to take you,” he said, as he fought back tears. “But I can’t imagine I could have asked for anything better. Not that it hasn’t been hard, but if you’d asked me that summer night nine years ago, told me what was going to happen and this, it would’ve seemed greedy to even hope to have all of that nine years later.”
Despite the joy and fulfillment in their family life, the Buttigiegs have faced significant public scrutiny and criticism from conservative politicians andmedia figures who have been obsessed with two married men raising children.Colorado U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert recently mocked Pete for taking parental leave, making homophobic remarks in an attempt to undermine Pete’s dedication to both his job and his family, reflecting a broader trend among manyRepublicans to use bigotry as a political weapon.
These attacks have not deterred the Buttigiegs. Pete and Chasten have continued to advocate for the rights of all parents to take parental leave and to highlight the importance of family, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
When asked about his White House ambitions, Pete said, “I don’t know about that. That’s just not how I’m thinking about even the near future, really.”
“If anything, having kids that little makes you think more than anything about the really long-term future past when I am even around.”
