Ashley Biden, daughter of former President Joe Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden, has filed for divorce from her husband of more than 13 years, Dr. Howard Krein. Court records show the filing was made Monday in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, though details of the complaint remain sealed.
Shortly after the filing, Ashley posted a cryptic Instagram message reading, “New life, new beginnings means new boundaries. New ways of being that won’t look or sound like they did before,” accompanied by Lauryn Hill’s Freedom Time. The post sparked a wave of speculation online, with some seeing it as a declaration of independence from a marriage that had run its course.
Ashley and Krein began dating in 2010, reportedly introduced by her late brother, Beau Biden. The pair married two years later in a ceremony at St. Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church in Greenville, Delaware — the Biden family’s longtime parish. Krein, a plastic surgeon and ENT specialist, was often seen accompanying Ashley at political and family events, including her father’s 2020 campaign appearances.
Ashley publicly reflected on her wedding at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, recalling her father’s final words to her before she walked down the aisle. Those remarks now take on a bittersweet tone in light of the split.
The divorce comes at a time when Joe Biden, now out of the White House, is keeping a lower public profile but still remains a polarizing figure in political circles. His critics have seized on the news to mock him personally, framing the breakup as yet another “Biden family crisis” in a string of controversies surrounding his relatives. Allies, however, have called it a deeply personal matter that should remain private.
Whether Ashley’s high-profile family name will add pressure to the legal proceedings remains to be seen. For now, she appears intent on drawing a line between her personal and public life — and, judging from her social media tone, stepping into a chapter she sees as one of freedom and reinvention.