Ashley Biden, daughter of former President Joe Biden and former first lady Jill Biden, wrote on social media that it was ‘one of the hardest summers of my life.’
The post comes after a summer during which the former first daughter faced two main challenges: her divorce and her father’s cancer diagnosis.
‘August 2025. The summer of 2025 was one of the hardest summers of my life. I have been preparing for the fall (my fav season) and now ready for the RISE,’ she wrote as the caption of a carousel of summer photos. ‘Grateful for the support of friends and family. Grateful that I took the time/space to grieve, process and heal. Grateful for peace of mind, new beginnings, new seasons, and a rediscovered strength and love for myself.’
She ended the caption with ‘#SturgeonMoon2025’ – a reference to the August full moon – followed by a string of emojis.
Last month, Ashley Biden shared a photo of her with her ex-husband and another woman, who the former first daughter identified as the doctor’s ‘girlfriend.’
She captioned the Instagram story, ‘my husband and his girlfriend holding hands,’ and posted it with the Notorious B.I.G. song ‘Another,’ featuring Lil’ Kim, the New York Post reported.
The outlet also noted that the Instagram story was posted just hours before Ashley Biden filed for divorce from her husband of 13 years.
The story appeared on Aug. 10 and was deleted shortly after it was posted. While it appeared to be aimed at her husband, the people in the image faced away from the camera and were not immediately identifiable.
The Post also reported in August that in a separate Instagram story, which was also deleted, Ashley Biden posted herself walking through a park giving a thumbs-up while ‘Freedom’ by Beyoncé played.
Ashley Biden’s divorce filing states the marriage is ‘irretrievably broken’ and requests spousal support while the divorce is pending, according to filings reviewed by Radar Online.
She married Dr. Howard Krein in 2012 with a ceremony blending her Catholic faith with his Jewish heritage, followed by a reception at the Biden family’s lake house in Wilmington.
At the time, then–Vice President Joe Biden praised his future son-in-law, telling People magazine: ‘This is the right guy. And he’s getting a helluva woman.’
At the 2024 Democratic National Convention, Ashley Biden recalled her father’s role in her wedding to Krein, saying, ‘At the time, my dad was vice president, but he was also that dad who literally set up the entire reception. He was riding around in his John Deere 4-wheeler, fixing the place settings, arranging the plants, and by the way, he was very emotional.’
In May, Biden’s office confirmed he had been diagnosed with an ‘aggressive form’ of prostate cancer.
‘While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management. The [former p]resident and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians,’ Biden’s team shared in a statement.
Ashley Biden made a similar Instagram reflection post at the end of May, writing: ‘May 2025. Heartbroken yet HOPEFUL. MAY I have the courage to handle all that life throws at me (us). So very grateful for all the love + support.’
‘Life is tough my darling, but so are YOU,’ she added at the time.
On the same day, she also posted a picture of herself with her parents and seemingly pushed back against rumors that her family had covered up her father’s cancer diagnosis while he was in the White House.
Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.