The ex-wife of political pundit Robby Soave has broken her silence after the Rising host publicly announced his engagement to his gay lover last week.
Carrie Soave was married to Robby, her high school sweetheart, for almost a decade until they quietly divorced last year.
Last week, Robby, who turns 37 next month, shocked the Washington D.C. social set when he abruptly announced that he was engaged to his new boyfriend, a Korean-American med student named Jie Jung Shih.
Publicly, Carrie has kept a low profile since Robby’s proclamation, but the HR specialist finally addressed the scandal in an exclusive statement to DailyMail.com on Tuesday.
Carrie, 35, shared that she’s ‘healing’ and has been focused on her new life in Michigan since the dissolution of her nine year marriage.
‘I am not as well-known as my former-husband, but I don’t need to be. I know exactly who I am and what I am and am not,’ she said.
‘I am not someone who needs attention and external validation to prove that I am important. “Am I loved” is a question that I stopped asking myself a long time ago and I think that says a lot about the life I have now,’ she continued.
Carrie Soave has broken her silence to DailyMail.com after her husband of almost 10 years, Robby Soave, left her and got engaged to his gay lover
Robby shocked the Washington D.C. social set last week when he abruptly announced that he was engaged to his new boyfriend, a Korean-American med student named Jie Jung Shih
‘The love I have in my life is very real, and the things in it are very fulfilling. I don’t ever wonder whether I matter because that is clear to me every day.’
Carrie also pushed back against some of the homophobic abuse that Robby has received online since his engagement was announced.
‘I firmly believe that people should be defined by their actions and how they regard others and not by sexual preference,’ she said.
As for the future, Carrie admitted that her divorce had been difficult, but that she was thankful to be moving forward.
‘Hurt is real. But so is healing. Divorce is a difficult thing, but it doesn’t have to be devastating when you have love and strength behind you,’ she said.
‘Moving on with my life came with a lot of clarity about myself and I only wish the same for anyone going through it. I am happy that that chapter in my life is closed and I’m enjoying the new one I’m in,’ she continued.
‘I don’t need anything else from the world because I already have the people and the things I need to feel whole. For me, that is a true blessing.’
Carrie left Washington after her divorce was finalized last year and is now spending time with her family in her home state of Michigan, where she is rebuilding her life from scratch and has opened a consulting business.
‘Divorce is a difficult thing, but it doesn’t have to be devastating when you have love and strength behind you,’ she said in a statement
This comes after Carrie issued a private statement to her close friends on Instagram earlier this week, which was obtained by DailyMail.com.
In the emotional post, Carrie admitted that she hadn’t looked at her ex-husband’s engagement photos and wanted to keep it that way ‘for her own peace.’
‘I have really tried to handle this with as much care and grace as I can muster,’ she told her friends and family.
‘Being early in the first wave of divorce for my peers, I wanted to set a tone that is respectful and dignified – two things that I believe everyone deserves, no matter what,’ she continued.
Taking the high road, Carrie also spoke out against the ‘bigotry, cruelty and vitriol’ that had been sent Robby’s way online.
Due to Robby’s prominence in conservative media, the libertarian pundit has received waves of homophobic abuse from right wing trolls since going public with his same-sex relationship.
‘The online world is not real life, but it contains real people and I am so sorry to anyone who felt hurt, unseen, or disrespected in the wake of this,’ Carrie wrote.
‘Please hear me – you matter, you are valuable and loved and you deserve care and respect,’ she continued.
‘I am sorry if this reopened wounds or brought ugliness into your feed or your heart. And I mean that for the two people in the post too. I would never want to inflict anyone with that kind of pain.’
Robby is best known as the co-host of The Hill’s morning show Rising, as well as for his regular appearances on Fox News and his role as a senior editor at the libertarian magazine Reason.
Soave proposed to his lover in Sicily with a Tiffany & Co. ring
Carrie said that she refuses to look at ex-husband Robbie’s engagement post and is taking some time offline to focus on her new life back home in Michigan
Last week, he shocked his followers when he abruptly announced his engagement to male med student Jie Jung Shih.
Soave popped the question with a Tiffany and Co. ring over candles and champagne in Taormina, Sicily, while the pair were on a romantic getaway together.
Announcing the news on X, formerly Twitter, he wrote, ‘Some personal news from my Sicily trip earlier this month, in case anyone missed it: I got engaged!’
There was no mention of Soave’s longtime wife Carrie, who he celebrated his ninth anniversary with in Positano, Italy, back in October, 2023.
Robby and Carrie were high school sweethearts who went on their first date back in 2004.
The Rising host often posted photos with Carrie on Instagram, and was never shy when it came to gushing about their marriage.
The former couple’s split has become the talk of the town all throughout Washington, D.C.
Robby and Carrie haven’t posted together since their ninth wedding anniversary in October, 2023
In a 2019 post, he wrote, ‘Today, five years ago, @carriesoave and I got married, following just over 10 years of dating that began when we were in high school and continued through college and after.
‘Despite having to spend years and years and years apart from each other, we always knew where we wanted to end up: Together. I love you so much babe!’
While celebrating their wedding anniversary in 2023, Soave gushed, ‘Could not be more overjoyed to celebrate nine years married to @carriesoave!
‘The most wonderful woman on earth, and the love of my life. Of course it’s actually been a lot longer… we fell in love as high schoolers in the early 00s. There’s no one else I’d rather travel the world with. Italy is almost as beautiful as you!’
The former couple were often seen out at events in Washington, D.C., and would dress up together on Halloween.
Robby hasn’t posted anything with Carrie since their ninth wedding anniversary in late 2023.
Robby is best known as the host of The Hill’s morning show Rising as well as for his many appearances on Fox News
Last fall, Carrie officially left D.C. to return home to Michigan to be with her family and to open a consulting business.
Discussing her move with the Grosse Pointe News in March, Carrie said, ‘My family is here and I’d been wanting to come back.’
DailyMail.com hears that the Soaves’ split has been the talk of the town in D.C.’s social circles since the news got out.
While some are happy to see Robby out of the closet, the overwhelming sympathy is with Carrie, who was with Robby for 17 years before fleeing D.C. for a ‘fresh start’ in Michigan after their divorce was finalized.
Others have said that Robby’s sexuality has been part of the D.C. gossip mill for years, so few people were surprised to see him end up with a man.
One insider said, ‘He’s acting like we should all be celebrating his engagement less than a year after his breakup with Carrie!’
They added, ‘Everyone here in D.C. is talking about it and none of it’s good.’
Robby hasn’t shared much about his relationship to fiance Shih, but he did tell Politico that they met at a bar on U Street in D.C. and that it was ‘love at first sight.’
DailyMail.com contacted Robby and Carrie for comment.
Since publicly sharing his engagement, Soave has been inundated with cruel and often homophobic comments from his followers.
‘The amount of extremely homophobic comments this is getting is truly astounding and disgusting,’ wrote one person.
‘Why can’t people just be happy for other people’s happiness? The haters had no call to spew their irrational hatred like that. Very disappointed. Idiots never stop to amaze.’
One insider said, ‘He’s acting like we should all be celebrating his engagement less than a year after his breakup with Carrie!’
Despite the backlash, Soave has received support from a number of other prominent political pundits, including former Rising co-hosts Kim Iversen and Ryan Grim.
‘Congratulations Robby! Wishing you both many great years ahead!’ Iversen gushed.
Soave is a decorated journalist who made it onto Forbes’ 30 under 30 list in 2016.
He’s published two books, is a regular on Fox News and is currently the longest-serving co-host on Rising, which is one of YouTube’s biggest political talk shows.
His partner Jie Jung Shih is a student at the Georgetown University School of Medicine.
Shih is active in the LGBTQ+ community, and was one of a group of med students who volunteered at Capital Pride Festival in Washington last year.
