Ashley Biden is looking back on 2025 and taking stock of all she has overcome, including her split from her husband of 13 years, Howard Krein.
“2025…broke my heart, fixed my vision, and restored me to the best version of myself. I am more grateful than I have ever been,” former President Joe Biden’s daughter, 44, wrote via Instagram on Friday, December 26. “More present. More aligned with my truest self and values and so hopeful for what lies ahead.”
She continued, “My family, friends, and faith have carried me through the darkest days/nights…and now the future feels so bright ✨I shed all the things and people who no longer serve my highest good 🐍and now ride into the future with my hands confidently holding the reins…with love, grace, strength, and gratitude. 🍀 🏇🧲💚 (disclaimer: the bucking bronco still resides within if you mess with those I love) ❤️.”
Ashley filed for divorce from her estranged husband Krein in August 2025. On the same day, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported she shared a since-deleted Instagram Story of her walking through a park and giving a thumbs up, set to Beyoncé’s “Freedom.”
She also reportedly shared the quote, “New life, new beginnings means new boundaries. New ways of being that won’t look or sound like they did before.” Lauryn Hill’s “Freedom Time” reportedly played alongside the upload.
Weeks later, Ashley via her Instagram Stories and captioned it, “Peace of mind.”
She also shared a photo of herself walking with her father. “Chicken soup for my soul,” she wrote, per the New York Post. “I feel so grateful for our walks and talks. #1 dad.”
Ashley Biden MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
The photo showed Ashley smiling at the camera as she walked next to the former president, who was wearing a a dark blue cap and a long-sleeved shirt in the same shade. A second photo showed the two standing on the boardwalk at the Delaware Bay. The photos were the first publicly shared of Joe since July 2025.
Ashley married her now-estranged husband in Delaware in 2012, one year after Krein proposed. “We are pleased to announce that our daughter, Ashley Blazer Biden, married Dr. Howard Krein this evening in Wilmington, Delaware,” Joe and Jill Biden said in a statement from Joe’s office to Us Weekly at the time.
The statement continued, “The private ceremony was attended by the bride and groom’s close family and friends. We’re happy to welcome Howard into our family, and we wish them all the best in their new life together.”
Joe, 83, also shared son Hunter Biden and late children Beau and Naomi Biden with first wife Neila Hunter, who died in 1972.
Hoda Kotb has shared many life milestones — both triumphant and difficult — with TV audiences for years. Kotb notably missed several episodes of the Today show in early 2023. Her cohosts Craig Melvin and Sheinelle Jones announced that March that her absence was due to a “family health matter,” which Kotb later revealed involved […]
Ashley and Krein do not share any children, but she is an aunt to seven nieces and nephews: late brother Beau’s children, Natalie and Robert; brother Hunter’s children Naomi, Finnegan, Maisy, and Navy; and niece Naomi’s child, William.
At the time, Joe was serving as Vice President during Barack Obama’s two-term presidency. Joe went on to be elected as the 46th President of the United States, serving one term before leaving office in January 2025.
