Jonathan Capehart’s husband is Nick Schmit, a former U.S. State Department official who has built a career in government service, public affairs and communications.
Capehart and Schmit married on January 7, 2017, after being together for more than five years. Their wedding took place at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington, D.C., with former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder officiating the ceremony.
Nearly a decade later, Capehart and Schmit remain married. While Capehart maintains a highly visible career in American journalism and television, Schmit generally keeps a lower public profile.
Here is a closer look at their relationship, wedding and professional lives.
Who Is Nick Schmit?
Nick Schmit is best known publicly as Capehart’s husband, but his professional background is firmly established in its own right.
Schmit previously worked for the U.S. Department of State and served as an assistant chief of protocol.
The role placed him in an environment involving diplomacy, government officials and international visitors. Protocol officials help manage the formal details surrounding diplomatic engagements and major government events.
Schmit later moved into public affairs and communications work.
His career has therefore been considerably less public-facing than Capehart’s, even though both have spent significant periods working in Washington.
How They Met
Capehart and Schmit’s relationship began several years before their 2017 wedding.
They were introduced through a mutual connection around 2010. Their relationship developed gradually, and the two eventually became a long-term couple.
By the time Capehart announced their engagement in May 2016, they had already been together for more than five years.
Their relationship unfolded during an important period for same-sex marriage in the United States. The Supreme Court’s 2015 decision establishing a nationwide constitutional right to same-sex marriage came shortly before Capehart decided to propose.
Italian Proposal
Capehart proposed to Schmit during a trip to Italy in May 2016.
The setting was Positano, the picturesque coastal town on Italy’s Amalfi Coast.
The engagement came after years together rather than early in their relationship. Capehart had also spent time with Schmit’s family before making the decision to propose.
News of their engagement subsequently became public, setting the stage for their Washington wedding the following January.
Washington Wedding
Capehart and Schmit married on January 7, 2017, at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington, D.C.
The intimate ceremony brought together friends, relatives and figures from Washington’s media and public-service circles.
One particularly notable detail was the identity of the officiant.
Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder performed the ceremony. Holder had served as attorney general during Barack Obama’s presidency and had a personal connection with the couple.
Reports from the wedding described an emotional ceremony, with Holder himself becoming visibly moved while officiating.
Famous Guests
Given Capehart and Schmit’s careers in journalism and government, their guest list included several recognizable figures.
Television journalist Tamron Hall was among those attending, as was Valerie Jarrett, who served as a senior adviser in the Obama White House.
The gathering nevertheless remained relatively intimate rather than becoming an elaborate public celebrity wedding.
For Capehart and Schmit, the ceremony represented the culmination of a relationship that had developed quietly for years before their engagement.
Who Is Capehart?
Jonathan Capehart has spent decades working in American journalism.
Born in 1967, he graduated from Carleton College with a degree in political science before beginning his media career.
His résumé includes work at the New York Daily News, where he was part of an editorial team recognized with the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing.
Capehart later became a prominent opinion journalist at The Washington Post. He joined the newspaper in 2007 and spent many years writing about politics, society and public affairs.
His long association with the publication ended in 2025.
Career Changes
Capehart’s professional life has continued evolving since leaving The Washington Post.
As of 2026, he remains active in television journalism and political analysis. He is a co-host of The Weekend and continues appearing as a commentator on PBS NewsHour.
He has become especially familiar to PBS viewers through the Friday political discussion segment.
Capehart also appeared on PBS’s Live from the LBJ Library in July 2026, where he discussed his journalism career, race in America and American democracy.
These television commitments have kept him highly visible even after his departure from the newspaper where he spent nearly two decades.
His Memoir
Capehart added another major project to his career with the publication of his memoir, Yet Here I Am: Lessons from a Black Man’s Search for Home, in 2025.
The book explores his personal and professional journey, adding a more autobiographical dimension to a career largely associated with reporting, commentary and interviews.
Its release came during a period of substantial professional change.
Rather than being defined exclusively by newspaper journalism, Capehart’s current work stretches across television, books, interviews and public conversations.
Different Careers
One interesting aspect of Capehart and Schmit’s marriage is that their careers have intersected with Washington institutions in very different ways.
Capehart became known for covering and commenting on political affairs through journalism.
Schmit experienced Washington from the government and public-affairs side, including his work at the State Department.
That professional overlap helps explain why both became familiar with the political and diplomatic world surrounding the nation’s capital, even though their individual responsibilities were quite different.
Schmit has generally avoided the level of public attention that naturally accompanies his husband’s television career.
Nearly A Decade
January 2027 will mark ten years since Capehart and Schmit exchanged vows.
Their relationship itself stretches considerably further back, beginning around the start of the previous decade.
That timeline means the couple had already spent years together before their Italian engagement and Washington wedding.
Despite Capehart’s public career, the pair have not turned their marriage into a constant feature of entertainment coverage. Most public information about them instead centers on significant milestones such as their engagement and wedding.
Still Married?
Yes. As of September 2026, Jonathan Capehart and Nick Schmit remain married.
There is no credible current reporting indicating otherwise.
For people searching for “Jonathan Capehart husband,” Nick Schmit is the person they are looking for. He is a former State Department official with a professional background in government protocol, public affairs and communications.
The couple’s story began with an introduction more than 15 years ago, eventually leading to Capehart’s 2016 proposal in Positano and their January 2017 wedding in Washington.
As they approach their tenth wedding anniversary, Capehart remains prominent in American media while Schmit continues to maintain a considerably more private public profile.
