Ashley Biden, the daughter of former President Joe Biden and former first lady Dr. Jill Biden, has filed for divorce from her husband Dr. Howard Krein after 13 years of marriage.
Ashley filed the documents in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on Monday, Aug. 11, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, which cited her spokesperson.
The 44-year-old married Krein, a plastic surgeon who’s 15 years older, on June 2, 2012.
On the same day she filed, Ashley posted a since-deleted photo of herself walking through a park on her Instagram Stories. She gave a thumbs up while Beyoncé’s “Freedom” played in the background.
The former first daughter also reposted a quote about new beginnings: “New life, new beginnings means new boundaries. New ways of being that won’t look or sound like they did before.” She set it to Ms. Lauryn Hill’s “Freedom Time.”
A representative for Ashley didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. PEOPLE also reached out to Krein.
The 2012 Wedding
Ashley and Krein got married at St. Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church in Greenville, Delaware. The ceremony combined Catholic and Jewish traditions to honor both their backgrounds.
Around 200 family members and friends attended the reception at the Biden family’s lakeside home in Wilmington. They served dinner family-style in the backyard.
Joe, who was vice president at the time, helped prepare for the wedding personally. He and Jill laid fresh sod and planted fast-growing vines around the party tent.
The now-former president walked his daughter down the aisle. He’d prepared himself to get emotional about giving away his youngest child.
“I kept telling Ash, we’ve got to open up the church and practice walking up and down the aisle so I can handle it.”
Joe remembered the only other time he’d seen Ashley in a veil – at her First Communion.
“I think to myself, aw, God, my little girl! This can’t have passed so quick,” he said at the time.
How They Met
Ashley and Krein started dating in summer 2010. They met through Beau Biden, one of Ashley’s two older half-brothers.
Krein proposed in October 2011 at sunset on a cliff in Big Sur, California.
When Krein asked for permission to marry his daughter, Joe told PEOPLE: “This is the right guy. And he’s getting a helluva woman.”
Life in the Spotlight
Ashley has mostly stayed away from public attention throughout her father’s political career.
She made a memorable appearance at the Democratic National Convention in August 2024. Her introduction of her father brought him to tears.
Ashley referenced her wedding day in that speech: “Before he walked me down the aisle, he turned to me and said he would always be my best friend. All these years later, Dad, you are still my best friend.”
Krein was present for important family moments during Joe’s presidency. He joined the Biden family in the Oval Office when Joe delivered his speech about abandoning his 2024 reelection bid.
