Casey And Ron DeSantis' Marriage Has Some Eyebrow-Raising Red Flags

Although Ron DeSantis has been governor of Florida since 2019, it wasn't until he ran for president in 2024 that he really became a household name outside his home state. At that time, he was up against Donald Trump, who would ultimately win the presidency. Like anyone running for U.S. president, DeSantis, as well as his wife, Casey DeSantis, were thrust into the national spotlight.

It was during that presidential run that not only was more light shed on DeSantis' politics, including what his presidential campaign could mean for women, but some major red flags about his marriage to Casey popped up, too. For example, like how the two may be too intertwined in Ron's political position. "She is both his biggest asset and his biggest liability. And I say biggest asset in that I think she does make him warmer, softer," DeSantis donor and supporter, Dan Eberhart, told Politico in May 2023, adding that Ron needs to rely on more people than just Casey. "I've heard from staffers frustrated that they think the governor's made a decision, he talks to her, comes back, the decision is the opposite or different."

Naturally, Casey DeSantis joining the ranks of MAGA women with eyebrow-raising marriages is very much par for the course. After all, if you're going to be truly MAGA, you need to check off all the boxes. From a Disney wedding to Casey allegedly being even more vindictive than Ron, here are the red flags in the DeSantis' marriage.

Casey and Ron DeSantis first met in 2006 on a golf course, of all places. Casey was there doing what most people do on a golf course: practicing her swing and eyeing a bucket of balls. However, Ron mistakenly thought Casey was checking him out. Which, to be honest, is very Florida Man behavior on his part: man thinks a woman is giving him the eye, but she's actually keeping tabs on golf balls.

"I kept looking over my shoulder because I wanted the bucket of balls that somebody had left because my swing was so terrible," Casey told First Coast News in 2018, via People. "As I'm looking over behind me, Ron is over there. He thinks I'm looking at him. I was really looking at the balls. Long story short we started to talk and that's how we met."

In his memoir, DeSantis wrote, via Business Insider, "There was no way I was leaving that driving range without asking her on a date." Although DeSantis was sent to Iraq in 2007 for six months, the two continued their relationship. It was during his stint in Iraq that DeSantis decided to propose to Casey when he got back, per the New York Post.

Ron and Casey DeSantis are Disney Adults? Not quite. As Casey explained during an interview on SiriusXM's Patriot in February 2023, via Daily Mail, because she was born and raised in Ohio, Disney was a special place for her family to retreat to and visit often. So special, in fact, it seemed like the best place for her and Ron to get hitched in September 2009. "And so we figured, you know, if we had this opportunity, my parents were like, 'Man, it'd be really great to go back to Disney,'" Casey told Patriot, adding that her parents celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary there. 

However, in 2022, Ron started a war with Disney after the company expressed its disapproval of his Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, which was dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill, by taking away their self-governing power (tax-exemption) of their district. In 2023, Disney sued DeSantis for violating their First Amendment rights through the use of political bullying. After DeSantis won in January 2024, Disney appealed and, ultimately, settled a few months later in March.

During her 2023 interview with SiriusXM's Patriot, during Ron's legal battle with the theme park, Casey threw her support behind her husband. Despite all her happy childhood memories and tying the knot at the Magic Kingdom, she said she wouldn't bring her own children to Disney "until things change a little bit over there." It's worth noting that the bill also took aim at banning period talk in elementary schools, further highlighting how archaic and anti-women the GOP can be on these matters.

Because getting married at the "happiest place on earth," then getting into a legal battle with them wasn't weird enough for these two, Ron DeSantis expressed his anger with fashion magazines not covering Casey DeSantis' style. In May 2023, Ron appeared on "The Mark Levin Show" to discuss many things, including his wife's fashion sense. After Levin claimed the "corrupt media" was going after Ron's wife, Ron responded by saying, "If she were a Democrat, she'd be on every fashion magazine... They would be making her out to be the biggest deal. But because we're conservative, we know that's not what happens."

While it's cute that Ron thinks Casey and her rookie fashion mistake are worthy of the cover of, say, Vogue, or something similar, the reality is that she is not. Casey is the wife of a governor, not the wife of a president, and therefore isn't likely to sell magazines at the same rate as a cover featuring Michelle Obama would. Although Casey got nominal coverage for her fashion sense, including a forced Camelot à la Jackie Kennedy connection in The New York Times in June 2023, it was a blip on the radar. Just because every politician's wife wants to be the next Jackie Kennedy doesn't mean that they are.

Although it's safe to assume that Ron DeSantis and his family had already settled on a pronunciation of their last name, when Casey DeSantis entered the picture, things changed. According to Axios, in his early political days, DeSantis pronounced his name as "Dee-Santis," but over time, it became "Deh-Santis." In fact, Ron's flip-flopping over his name even caught the eye of Donald Trump, who took to Truth Social in May 2023 to call him out and, of course, add his two unwanted cents to the situation. "He is demanding that people call him DeeeSantis, rather than DaSantis. Actually, I like 'Da' better, a nicer flow, so I am happy he is changing it," Trump wrote.

However, Casey also had her own thoughts on the pronunciation — as it technically became hers too after marriage — and they didn't align with those of Ron. In May 2023, the Denver Post reported that Ron's campaign spokesperson, Stephen Lawson, told the Tampa Bay Times that Ron was on board with the "Dee," while Casey preferred the "Deh." When asked if this was causing the couple's relationship any issues, Lawson responded, "I wouldn't go that far." Now that Ron and Casey are no longer on the campaign trail, at least not on a national level, how the two pronounce their name these days doesn't seem to be much of a concern to anyone.

While it may be Ron DeSantis who was voted into office, according to insiders, he doesn't make a move without Casey's say-so. In May 2023, both former and current staffers of the DeSantis campaign shared with Politico just how involved Casey actually is, and, apparently, it's a lot. "He's a leader who makes political decisions with the assistance of his wife, who was elected by nobody, who's blindly ambitious," one former DeSantis administration staffer told Politico, adding that Casey sees ghosts in every corner, which makes her paranoid. Another staffer shared that while Ron may be vindictive, Casey is even worse, because she's the one who's keeping score.

Casey's involvement in everything Ron does is so well-known that even Trump's buddy, Roger Stone, compared Casey to Lady Macbeth in a Telegram post in October 2022. In Shakespeare's "Macbeth," Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband into killing King Duncan — among others — so she can become queen. Ultimately, Lady Macbeth's own ambitions are her undoing, something that most people know, but perhaps Casey never took Shakespeare 101, so she's unaware of how the play ends. Hint: not well for Lady Macbeth or her husband. We're talking Shakespeare, after all.

Because Donald Trump talking about a third term isn't enough to stress out the Democrats, Ron DeSantis has expressed interest in Casey DeSantis running for governor when his term ends in January 2027. According to The New York Times, Ron told reporters in February 2025 that Casey "would do better than me," but also added that she's "never angled" for the job. Hold the phones: Lacy Macbeth never angled for the job? Interesting take, Ron.

Although Casey never angled for it, per Ron, it also appears that Floridians like the idea of another DeSantis sitting in the Florida State Capitol. A February 2025 poll of Republican candidates for the 2026 gubernatorial race put Casey ahead of everyone else. Of those polled, 57% of registered Republicans said they had a favorable opinion of Casey, while only 22% were unfavorable. Even in 2023, Casey was the top pick for the job when Florida Republicans were polled.

In February 2026, the Miami Herald reported that Casey had undergone some rebranding, which led to further speculation that she intends to run. In other words, maybe Lady Macbeth will have her moment in the sun — despite never angling for it. Of course, if these two really are as thick as thieves, a Casey win will essentially mean four more years of Ron and his high-heeled cowboy boots, roaming the Florida highways, while shaking the hands of constituents and kissing their babies. Based on DeSantis' landslide victory during his second campaign for governor, it's exactly what Florida wants.