Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shared in a new interview that she had initial doubts about whether an intercultural and interracial relationship would be the right fit for her.

The congresswoman told GQ in an interview published on Wednesday, September 7, that her relationship with Riley Roberts, who is white, sparked questions for her about identity and belonging.

Ocasio-Cortez is Nuyorican, a person of Puerto Rican-descent born and raised in New York. {snip}

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The congresswoman explained to GQ that at the beginning of their relationship, she was unsure whether an intercultural, interracial relationship would be right for her. She also expressed initial fears that her relationship would change once she decided to run for office.

“I think it causes a conflict within them that they didn’t even anticipate,” Ocasio-Cortez said about some men who date successful women. “It’s not even a deception. It’s just, they uncover insecurities that they didn’t know were there.” But she said Roberts has been one of her staunchest supporters throughout her career.

“He has been so supportive and willing and deeply engaging. He’s not a witness to this. He dives into the fray for himself in that he uses what we go through as opportunities for personal growth. And it’s incredible,” she said. In 2020, as a part of an Instagram Stories Q&A, Ocasio-Cortez enlisted Roberts to help answer a question about “combating racism as a white person.”

“I think it’s helpful and important to talk to other white people about racism, and I think a lot of people, they don’t want to be racist,” Roberts said in the Instagram Story.

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