Arizona Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari, 34, is dating progressive YouTuber Jack Cocchiarella, 24, according to a TMZ report published Thursday.
The two met in spring 2025 when Cocchiarella interviewed Ansari for his channel. They’ve reportedly been seeing each other for the past few months.
Ansari did not address the relationship directly when asked for comment. Instead she used her statement to attack President Trump.
“I’m not commenting on my personal life, nor is it anyone’s business. Right now, ICE is terrorizing communities across the country with zero accountability, and Trump’s reckless war in Iran continues raging on,” she said.
“I’m focused on helping to flip the House so we can pass meaningful legislation — that’s what we should all be focused on,” she added.
Cocchiarella also declined to comment on his personal life.
Ansari represents Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District and is a first-term member of Congress. She was born in Seattle to Iranian immigrant parents, grew up in Arizona, and attended Stanford University. She interned in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco office in 2012, according to Roll Call. In 2024 she became the first Iranian American Democrat elected to Congress.
She has previously had to publicly push back on claims tying her to Iran. In April, an online petition that gathered more than 13,000 signatures called for an investigation into alleged “undisclosed foreign lobbying and ties” between Ansari and Iran. The petition featured a doctored image of Ansari in a turban and offered no supporting evidence. Ansari called the claims “hateful rhetoric, lies, cruel and deliberate misinformation” and said the suggestion she is tied to the Iranian regime is an “outright lie.”
Cocchiarella, from Winter Park, Fla., built his early following as a student activist at Dartmouth College, where he publicly challenged conservative figures including former Rep. Madison Cawthorn. In 2022, he faced multiple sexual assault allegations at Dartmouth, according to the Columbia Spectator. He later sued a former classmate over online claims that he had raped and sexually assaulted women; the case was settled, and Cocchiarella has denied any wrongdoing, the New Hampshire Journal reported in 2023.
He transferred from Dartmouth to Columbia University in 2022, earned a political science degree, and worked as a digital consultant for Democratic campaigns. He now has more than 1.6 million YouTube subscribers and has interviewed Democratic figures including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
