Earlier this week, it was revealed that a second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, admitted that he cheated on his first wife with the family's nanny -- an affair that resulted in a pregnancy.

According to the New York Post, the ex-wife, Kerstin Emhoff, ran to Emhoff's defense in the wake of the bombshell reports, clarifying that a "variety of reasons" were at play with regards to their divorce.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Kerstin Emhoff insisted that Doug is a "great father" and a "great friend" to her despite his actions during their marriage.

Some on social media suggested that she's only playing nice and downplaying the otherwise toxic admission because his current wife is the Democratic presidential nominee.

What happened?

After a bombshell Daily Mail report regarding Dough Emhoff impregnating the nanny who he cheated with, the second gentleman issued a statement to CNN admitting that he did have an affair in a roundabout way.

"During my first marriage, Kerstin and I went through some tough times on account of my actions. I took responsibility, and in the years since, we worked through things as a family and have come out stronger on the other side," his CNN statement said.

The NY Post noted:

The affair was disclosed to President Biden’s vetting committee four years ago before he chose Harris as his running mate on the 2020 ticket, a source told CNN.

A friend of Najen Naylor, the nanny who he cheated with, confirmed that she was pregnant but didn't keep the baby, though it wasn't clear what the friend meant with that statement.

Shortly after Dough Emhoff's admission to CNN, his ex-wife took over damage control duties in her statement to WaPo.

"Doug and I decided to end our marriage for a variety of reasons, many years ago," Kerstin Emhoff's statement said. "He is a great father to our kids, continues to be a great friend to me and I am really proud of the warm and supportive blended family Doug, Kamala, and I have built together."

Social media responds

Users across social media responded to Kerstin Emhoff's defense of her ex-husband and his cheating.

JUST IN: Second gentleman Doug Emhoff’s ex-wife, Kerstin Emhoff, has come to his defense after he admitted to an affair during their marriage over 15 years ago.

Despite the revelation, she said their split was due to various reasons, and expressed her support for Doug, who is… pic.twitter.com/rdCJKPOS4U

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) August 5, 2024

"Of course she won’t be critical because she doesn’t want to accidentally fall out of a window 10 stories high," one X user wrote.

Another X user wrote, "She would've been better off staying on the sideline. Now that she's injected herself into the conversation the story will only get bigger and probably lead to other things."