PoliticsJill Biden Says She 'Fell in Love' With Stepsons Hunter and Beau Before Joe Biden: 'It Was So Beautiful'
Jill spoke about her relationship with her future stepsons before she married Joe.
Sept. 3 2026, Published 5:49 p.m. ET
Jill Biden admitted that before she fell for her husband, future president Joe Biden, she had a soft spot for his kids, Hunter and Beau.
The 75-year-old former first lady dished on the early days of her relationship with Joe to Modern Family actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson on his podcast, "Dinner's on Me."
'They Were Just So Loving'
Jill admitted she immediately felt loving toward the Biden boys.
Joe and Jill’s love story began several years after the death of his first wife, Neilia Hunter, with whom he shared three children: Hunter, Beau and Naomi. Neilia and Naomi were killed in a 1972 car crash that also left Hunter and Beau hospitalized.
Joe met Jill in 1975, and the two soon began dating. Jill told Jesse that it was ultimately Hunter and Beau who convinced her to marry their father.
"Joe's okay with my saying this, but I really fell in love with the boys first," she said. "I think they were five and six, actually, when we were dating. They were just so loving."
The Boys Convinced Her and Joe to Marry
Hunter and Beau told Joe they were ready for him to marry Jill.
Jill said that she was reluctant at first to marry Joe, saying she wanted to make sure she wasn't another source of tragedy for the boys.
But it was Hunter and Beau who convinced her to join the family.
She revealed, "They were the ones that went into Joe and said one morning when he was shaving, they said, 'Dad, we think we wanna marry Jill.'"
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How Hunter and Beau Accepted Jill
Hunter and Beau quickly accepted Jill into the family.
Jill also related stories of the young Biden boys readily accepting her into the family.
At Jill and Joe's 1977 wedding, when the boys were seven and eight, Jill said, "When they say the part, you know, 'Who gives this woman...' They marched right up. You know, 'We do.'"
"They called me 'Jill' for maybe a month," she continued. "And then one day they came in, the bus was outside, and I said, 'Come on, guys, the bus is here.' And they said, 'Okay, bye, Mom.'"
Jesse asked her how she felt in that moment, and Jill replied, "Oh my God, it just was so beautiful. And from that moment on, they called me Mom."
The Bidens Talk About Their Family
Hunter and Jill have been open about their family since the Bidens left office.
Jill and Joe welcomed a fourth child, Ashley Biden, in 1981. Beau passed away from brain cancer in 2015 at the age of 46.
The Biden family has spoken openly about their time in the White House and their personal struggles since Joe left office in January 2025. Joe was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer just four months later in May.
Hunter has been on an extensive media tour, in which he's spoken to interviewers of all political stripes, including conservative firebrands Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens.
Hunter struggled with crack cocaine addiction and was found guilty of tax evasion and improper firearm possession, but was pardoned by his father in December 2024. Both Hunter and Jill have said the decision was made to avoid undue persecution by Donald Trump.
