KEY POINTS

  • Photos of Kamala Harris and Montel Williams from 2001 circulated via Twitter Friday
  • Twitter users were shocked to learn that she dated the talk show host in the early 2000s
  • Williams addressed their past relationship last year 

Vice president-elect Kamala Harris once dated Montel Williams nearly two decades ago, but news of their past relationship recently shocked the internet.

The public is learning more details about Harris' personal life, including her dating history. On Friday, her past romance with Williams resurfaced after photos circulated via Twitter of Harris with the talk show host and his daughter Ashley at the Race to Erase Multiple Sclerosis gala in Los Angeles in May 2001.

Williams and Harris briefly dated in the early 2000s when she was working for the San Francisco City Attorney's office, Newsweek reported.

A number of Twitter users were shocked to learn that they were once an item.

“The Fact that Kamala Dated Montel and it seems like no one remembers lol,” one person tweeted.

"I was planning on having thoughts today but having just learned Kamala Harris dated Montel Williams, that's pretty much all I'll be thinking about for the next 5 hours or so," another user tweeted.

"Well, I didn't know these two dated either. I know who Montel is. I had no idea who Kamala was at that time," a third Twitter user wrote.

See more reactions below:

"Makes me like her even more! I love Montel!" one commented.

"Montel was a catch!! Wow never knew this," another tweeted.

The former "Montel Williams Show" host addressed his past romance with Harris in 2019 when the same photo made rounds on the internet. He confirmed that they dated about two decades ago and made it clear that they were both single at the time.

"@KamalaHarris and I briefly dated about 20 years ago when we were both single. So what? I have great respect for Sen. Harris. I have to wonder if the same stories about her dating history would have been written if she were a male candidate?" Williams tweeted.

Harris married her husband, Doug Emhoff, in August 2014. It was the first marriage for Harris, who was 49 at the time, and Emhoff's second.

Following their wedding, Harris became a stepmother to his two children, Cole and Ella. She also gave them a shoutout during her victory speech on Nov. 7.

"And to my husband Doug and our children Cole and Ella and my sister Maya and our whole family, I love y'all more than I can ever express," she said.

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